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WEST HAVEN, CT. — Getting young children to bed on time has never been an easy feat. Recently, more and more parents have been turning to an "all natural" supplement, melatonin, to help induce sweet dreams.
Doctors have a warning for parents that melatonin might not be as safe and natural as advertised.
"In one sense I can say I hate it, in another sense I can tell you it's been a lifesaver for my daughter," said Missy St. Peter, a mother of two.
Several times a week before bed, St. Peter and her husband Dan crush a 3 milligram dose of melatonin, mix it with peanut butter and give it to their 9-year-old daughter Vicky.
"If I give her melatonin, she doesn't wake up in the middle of the night," St. Peter said. "She gets a full eight hours (of sleep). Everyone in the house is happy."
After having consistent trouble getting Vicky and their energetic son Bubba to bed on time, the St. Peters turned to melatonin, a hormonal supplement recommended by their pediatrician.
Every time I give him melatonin he wakes up in the middle of the night and he's terrified.
–- Missy St. Peter, mother
However, the supplement also has a potential down side.
The pill that has worked wonders for the St. Peters' daughter has turned out to be a disaster for their 7-year-old son.
"Every time I give him melatonin he wakes up in the middle of the night and he's terrified," St. Peter said. "I stopped the melatonin."
The St. Peter's mixed results are hard to explain but the doctors we spoke to agree one thing is clear: melatonin isn't qualified to be a safe sleep aid for kids.
Melatonin is a hormone that is secreted by your brain and is present in every person's body.
It is produced at a higher rate at a young age. Despite the fact that it is naturally occurring, Hartford Hospital toxicologist Dr. Kelly Johnson-Arbor wants parents to know that the manufactured supplements have not been clinically proven to be a healthy sleep agent.
"It's very easy to walk into a drug store and see shelves of pills that are supplements and are marketed to treat a certain condition even though legally they can't market them as such," Johnson-Arbor explains.
Many bottles sold in drug stores advertise that melatonin actually "helps promote sleep" but if you look closely, there is a disclaimer on the back: "These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, care or prevent any disease."
- Create a bedtime routine that includes least 15-30 minutes of calm, soothing activities.
- Discourage television, exercise, computer and telephone use before bedtime.
- Avoid beverages and foods containing caffeine.
Info: Dr. Andrew Weil
"It's possibly thought to affect growth, to affect sexual development and puberty and a lot of different effects," Johnson-Arbor said. "It is a hormone and it definitely can have these severe interactions that you might not think of just looking at the pill on the counter and buying it over-the-counter thinking it is safe."
Johnson-Arbor cites studies that melatonin is clinically proven to help children with specific disabilities like autism but has not yet been proven to be healthy for children without disabilities.
Pediatrician Dr. Tom Fromson strongly recommends examining bed time routines, exposure to bright screens, exercise and diet before taking melatonin.
"As a routine medication to help a child sleep, I think I should first have a better understanding of why child is having trouble sleeping," Fromson said.
Busy mom St. Peter agrees with Fromson but says she has not had luck with those adjustments.
She's simply a mother who wants her daughter to get a good night's rest so she can be at her best.
"I've tried all that. Even still, we are very conscious about their diet and their exercise and it doesn't matter and I still need it, for them," St. Peter said. "It's definitely very helpful to have especially for her, not just for me, because she can sleep and give school her all or tests her all or whatever big thing we have going on."
Meanwhile, Johnson-Arbor urges parents to think twice, much like how St. Peter did.
"I know it's hard," Dr. Johnson-Arbor said. "I know we all want our kids to sleep well at night, but sometimes a pill isn't always the answer."
