Can I give melatonin to my 3 year old son?

28-year-old woman2 years ago

My 3 year old son has extreme difficulty falling asleep. He is a very calm child by nature and generally listens to instructions, but at bedtime, despite being tired, he does not fall asleep and is active instead of calming down. We have a very stable routine and the same daily and the problem of falling asleep lasts for several months despite everything and without improvement despite the means used to soothe him (books, quiet games, no TV in the evening, lullabies) we have tried the chamomile tea without success, but moreover he hates the taste so we do not force him. We have tried to stay with him to soothe him but it doesn't help him, we have tried to leave him alone after tucking him in without success. He says he can't sleep, can't close his eyes etc. I have heard of the product "la clé des champs" for sleep and melatonin, these are the two alternatives that we have not tried yet and I wonder if we are ready to try one of these options

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28-year-old woman · 2 years ago

Also note that we put coco to bed at 7:00 pm (beginning of the routine at 6:30 pm) and that he does not sleep before 8:30-9:30 pm and this daily

he takes a nap in PM at the daycare and relaxation in PM at home on weekends and in the evening it's the same difficulties during the week or on weekends

28-year-old woman · 2 years ago

once asleep, coco sleeps through the night without any problem until the next day, he doesn't wake up during the night, except occasionally

Naji-tom Samaha · 2 years ago

Hello, thank you for your question!

I realize that the situation may seem very unpleasant. However, melatonin is not an option to consider at this time, especially for a child of this age. We have too little data on kids this age.

Difficulties associated with putting a child to bed are extremely common but do not necessarily indicate any problem.

Keep in mind that at each stage of your child's development, he or she is "relearning" to establish a new sleep hygiene.

These are the pharmacological measures that should be reviewed and/or instituted first. You mentioned several good ones, this is to qualify them:

I invite you to review your child's sleep schedule, for example no screens 1 hour before bedtime, keep the bedroom only for sleeping and not other activities like playing or reading.

Also review whether there are any potentially stimulating objects in his room such as a light source or electronic devices.

Encourage your child to enjoy the outdoors during the day. Sunlight can help establish a better circadian cycle.

Review the appropriateness and/or timing of nap time, even if it means shifting it earlier.

I invite you to consult this document from Ste-Justine for more details.

i remain available if you have any other questions!

Tom Samaha, pharmacist

28-year-old woman · 2 years ago

Well that's what I thought too, considering what you mention the pre-sleep stage with quiet activities and book should be done outside the room which we will try

anyway nap or no nap the problem remains the same for falling asleep since about 7-8 months

well noted for the melatonin we will do without it then!

do you know of the other product for children mentioned?

28-year-old woman · 2 years ago