Melatonin supplementation doesn't help with toddler sleep
Will melatonin supplements help your toddler sleep?
If you're desperately sleep deprived, and family and work life seem to be falling apart, you will of course start to think through all the options that are available. This might include the flavoured melatonin gummies for children that you've noticed in your local pharmacy.
Melatonin supplements have become very popular for both children and adults in recent years. They are often described as 'safe', 'natural', and as promoting peaceful sleep in young children, but this marketing is misleading.
Melatonin is not recommended for any small child with sleep problems (unless used in the hospital setting, for example, with prematurely born babies). If your toddler is otherwise well without serious medical conditions, there is no role for melatonin supplements, because
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They haven't been shown to be effective
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Dosages are still being determined
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They could make your toddler's sleep problems worse over time (by not dealing with the real cause)
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May result in a range of side effects, including nausea and vomiting, headaches, fatigue, confusion, nightmares
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Product content is not regulated and may contain unexpected substances
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Melatonin dosages affect individuals differently.
The most empowering steps you can take to enjoy healthy sleep and to keep family body clocks in sync, including when families are living with neurodiverse children, are contained in The Possums Sleep Program.
If your child is diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or a medical condition associated with disrupted sleep, and you're wondering if melatonin might help, please talk this over with your own GP or paediatrician, who knows and cares about you and your child's unique situation.
Recommended resources
Will dim lights in the evening increase melatonin and make sleep easier for your toddler?
Melatonin research doesn't support the belief that dimming the lights helps with infant sleep
Can giving baby your expressed breast milk be 'mistimed' because of melatonin levels?
Melatonin: production in babies (term + preterm) and supplementation
Selected references
Owens J, Barnett N, Lucchini M, Berger SE. Melatonin use in infants and toddlers. Sleep Medicine. 2024;120:53-55.
There are many references available under the Recommended resources articles.
