melatonin for kids

How safe is it to give my 10 year old son Melatonin every night to sleep and what dosage is too much?
The bottle of Melatonin says not intended for people under 18 years of age.

[therese83]

Only give your children any medication on a doctors advice.  Including alternative stuff.  They react very differently to adults.

Hope this helps

[ILADVOCATE]

Well then I would go by what it says on the bottle. Natural remedies are unregulated but Melatonin is generally a safe thing to take with reliable brand and quantities but I don't know if it is for children. I usually suggest to people that they ask their doctor about the medication Rozerem which is a sleep aide that is safe and effective and works in the same manner as Melatonin and actually adjusts the sleep cycle but I don't know if that's meant for children either. If this is just natural difficulties going to sleep, standard variations with going to bed and other routines with sleep hygeine (you could look up the term) would work. If its insomnia that's occuring for an unknown reason best to ask a doctor why and they could tell you what to do from there and diagnose the cause.

[bernie40]

Never give a child a medicine which states on the bottle that it is not to be administered to anyone under the age of 18!!

If you son is having problems sleeping then you need to discuss this with your family Dr, it is very dangerous to mess around with medications whether they be natural or otherwise.

The labels on the bottles are there for a good reason.

[monkeyc]

I cannot believe that parents would consider giving their precious children drugs that are not prescribed for them let alone drugs for an over 18.

Im also amazed that instead of asking your son why he cant sleep you want to give him a drug.

Take him to the doctor.

[freebird227]

Sorry you took such a hard hit It seems a question turned into a moral issue for some. GNC sells Melatonin Cherry flavored Always check with your Dr. I would not use it on a regular basis ,only during hard times for the child.You really don't want to start a habit of " well I can't sleep so I'll take a pill " See the danger in that?Good luck

[monkeyc]

There is no moral issue - giving children drugs not prescribed for them is dangerous.

There is nothing moral about it for me - its simply a case of a silly idea.

The deeper question is why the child is not sleeping and frankly melatonin may or may not work for sleep anyway depending on who you believe but whatever the usage these are questions which need to be taken to a doctor.

We work hard around here to provide safe and factual advice and point 1 is always see a doctor first.

[freebird227]

I think you have recieved some good sound advice. Your child is 10 so I'm assuming this isn't your first time   around the block .I noticed the last post the vulgar language has been removed.Keep us posted as to what the doctor said Blessed Be

[monkeyc]

If someone makes a post with offensive language use the report this link and choose abuse.

Abusive behaviour is not tolerated here and there's no need for people to resort to it - remember guys and gals we are all in this together.

[bernie40]

Well put monkeyc!

Abuse should always be reported, we won't allow it on here as we are a supprotive and caring community who do not judge others and do our best to help.  We are all entitled to our opinions but to blatantly attack another member for their opinions is not acceptable.

Please either use your drop down menu "report this" or contact me.

Bulldozer