Sleeping Aids for Kids: Useful Facts You May Not Know

You have tried all the usual ways to get your child to bed on time: follow a nighttime routine; prevent them from eating and drinking well before bed, etc. However, neither of these seems to be working well, so he's giving in to the idea of ​​getting a sleep aid for kids. Here are some facts that would encourage you. Facts you probably don't know about how sleeping pills are prescribed for children.

Pediatrics (May 2003), a medical journal, has an article that surveyed 671 pediatricians about when, why, and what actually prescribed or recommended prescription or non-prescription sleep aids for children and teens.

When, why and what do doctors use sleep aids for children?

1. More than half of the pediatricians surveyed had prescribed sleeping pills for children at least once in the past six months. Apparently, his children are not the only ones who have trouble sleeping, and doctors acknowledge sleep aid.

2. About 55% of doctors said they prescribed sleeping medications to treat children's sleep problems to "provide the family with the necessary respite." This includes the short-term use of over-the-counter medications for specific situations, such as travel, severe pain, or stress.

75% of those pediatricians had recommended an over-the-counter sleep aid, including the antihistamine Benadryl.
25% of them recommended melatonin or another herbal remedy, such as chamomile teas and valerian root.
3. The other half of pediatricians said they used sleeping medications in children with "special needs," that is, mental retardation, autism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
This generally requires the long-term use of children's sleep aids or medications such as Tenex, which is used as a sedative in children with ADHD. The most commonly prescribed sleeping pills were alpha agonists. One brand is Calapres, a hypertension medication for adults that has sedative properties.

4. Lastly, it should be noted that the majority of the pediatricians interviewed said that they prescribed sleeping aids for children "in combination with behavioral treatments". Therefore, sleep hygiene and techniques remain as important as having effective sleep aids for children.

Two common sleep problems in young children

Behavioral treatments should go hand in hand with any children's sleep aids because many children have childhood behavioral insomnia. This sleep disorder involves one or both of the following problems:

1. Association of sleep onset

Everyone wakes up briefly a few times at night, especially during the sleep phase called rapid eye movement (REM) when our dreams occur. Usually we are not aware of these awakenings and go back to sleep quickly.

As for young children, they may cry when they wake up. Parents naturally "help" their children go back to sleep by feeding, swaying, cuddling, or lying down with them.

The child learns to connect or "associate" with sleeping with a person or activity. She cannot fall asleep on her own when that action is lacking.

2. Boundary setting problems

Your child refuses to lie down, gets stuck, or has trouble getting out of bed. Usually starting at age two, problems with setting limits can occur at bedtime, at nap time, or when your child wakes up at night.

It can be difficult, but you need to discern what is real and what is simply a delay tactic. They can ask for one more hug, a handkerchief, a drink of water, another story, to turn the light on or off or to "tell you something important".