Thread: melatonin?

What are eveyrone's experiences with this? My 3 yr old used to sleep WONDERFULLY. Then all of a sudden this fall he decided he doesnt need sleep anymore. The child literally does not go to sleep before 11 most nights, nap or no nap. One night last week we were up until 1am because he was screaming that he wasn't tired...., and then he came in our room at 3, 4, and 5. sometimes we will be lucky enough and he will fall asleep earlier.. (between 9 and 10) BUT he's back up before 5. if not a ton throughout the night. I have tried all kinds of things and he just does not sleep. I am getting to the point its getting to hard to fight him, and Im running out of ideas. I KNOW his little body NEEEDS the sleep (whether he wants it or not) I have had tons of people tell me the wonders of melatonin and was wondering if anyone on here has used it with thier kids? We need to get him on some kind of decent sleep schedule (bc his current one is not working) before baby is here.... or before mommy has a breakdown due to no sleep.

How much outside time does he have at daycare? I'm just wondering if he's not active enough in the day.

I have had no experience with this. But I know how you feel, DS has NEVER slept good. He is almost 6 and has rarely had a full, uninterrupted nights sleep. I have kind of gotten to the point of just deciding that is just the way he is. But it is very frustrating!

Heather he doesnt get much outside time right now because it's so cold but he is MORE than active!

My daughter was the worst sleeper. Worst. From birth. And even now, she's almost 8 and still struggles. The only thing that worked for her was swimming. At this point she is swimming laps for an four 2-3 times a week (5 days a week during the summer which works well. It doesn't get dark here until after 10 and it's really hard to sleep!). When she misses a scheduled swim day, it starts throwing her sleep pattern off quickly. She's got a cough this week and hasn't hit the pool and she's not sleeping.

I know swimming isn't for everyone and a three year old can't swim laps for an hour. But I think the thing is that swimming exhausts every muscle in the body. It wears her out physically and even when her brain wants to stay awake, her body says NO! I seriously recommend some kind of sport that is completely exhausting, constant movement. Soccer is a good one. When I coach soccer, I need a nap after!

All ideas are good ideas . you can also ask his doctor for advise. Maybe schedule a check up just to be sure it's not a symptom of anything else too. Also I've heard of ppl in my life not sleeping well because of nightmares and being bullied/left out at school. Sorry I'm not much more help. Hope u find rest soon.

Oh right, it's really cold there. LOL. Our daycare takes them out once or twice a day even when the weather is cold...but it hasn't gone below freezing lately. I find the fresh air really helps tire them out.

Swimming has been an *issue* here too simply because it makes DD utterly exhausted and unreasonable. We just started lessons again last week (Tuesdays and Thursdays) and she's beat by the end of it. She's only three but it's still physically demanding enough to tire her out. On top of that they have her playing outside once or twice a day. She's a ZOMBIE by bed time.

Honestly, it sounds to me like he's not getting enough physical activity. That said, I'm working from a place with a good sleeper so I don't really know that well.

We bought this for DS at some point, but never really used it. It's supposed to be safe.
Hyland's Homeopathic - Calms Forte 4 Kids

Originally Posted by LissyT

We bought this for DS at some point, but never really used it. It's supposed to be safe.
Hyland's Homeopathic - Calms Forte 4 Kids

I generally love Hyland's products, but this seemed to help DS none. It is cheap and worth a try though!

Melatonin for an adult - sure. Sorry, I wouldn't use it for a child though... Even if it turns out that your DS just isn't much of a sleeper, even in another year he will be able to entertain himself while he is awake, so much more then he can right now. Hang in there! Definitely do everything you can to get him active during the day.