Need a good sleep aid for gifted 9 year old who won't sleep!!

[preslee1031]

Does anyone know of a good sleep aid for kids?  If there is anything that is all natural that would be great!  I use Melatonin myself but it's not recommended for kids under 10 so I'm a little hesitant to give it to him...

He is up the majority of the night and then won't get up for school in the morning...it's getting out of control....If anyone knows of anything please let me know..

Thanks!!

[Alphaghetti]

One of my son's little buddies used melatonin - he was 6. There were no adverse effects, and his quality of life improved dramatically.

[preslee1031]

Really?  I think I will call his Doctor and ask him if it's okay.....because it works great for me and I assume it would work well for him too...Thanks! 

[DoubleDouble]

Earplugs. I wish we had them when I was a kid. I used to sleep on the side and cover the "up" ear with the pillow.

[preslee1031]

I used to do the same thing.....Earplugs are an option too...  I've tried everything with him and he just "can't sleep".  I've used white noise machines, t.v. on, t.v. off, night light, no night light, his sister sleeping in his room, his sister not sleeping in his room.....NOTHING helps!  He says he can't stop thinking... :-(

[LynnS6]

I've used melatonin with both my kids, and the older is just barely 10 now. Our doctor has never had an issue with it.

Dd, who is 7, has an especially hard time regulating her sleep/wake times. She's naturally a night owl, and will push her bedtime later and later. Some nights she's wide awake after 10 pm, but needs to be up at 7 am for school. In fact, I gave her melatonin last night to 'reset' her clock. She'd been off school for 5 days for the Thanksgiving break, and her sleep schedule was way off. She was at least asleep by 10 pm.

[Tigerle]

I live in Europe where you can't get melatonin OTC and doctors won't prescribe for under 50 yo. So we used magnesium - it is a muscle relaxant but seemed to help relax him all around. He's a lot younger though!

(I should add that I still struggle with this problem myself, and sometimes nothing helps, I am just wired like that).

natural remedies I can think of: a long, extensive bedtime massage. Again, relaxing the body seems to help the mind relax, or at least that's how it works in our family (for both of us). Then, a hot cherry-pit cushion if he is often cold or a cool pack if he feels rather hot.

[preslee1031]

I think the problem last night especially was Thanksgiving break was over for him too....I try to keep him on a schedule but he is a night owl also so he wants to stay up all night.....Last night he was still up at 1:00 am.  Not to mention he has started sleepwalking (once he finally falls asleep).  Sleeping is really a problem with him even when he should be tired.... he has boundless energy so trying to get him to "wind down" is so tough.  I will be trying Melatonin tonight...Does anyone know if it comes in a chewable form?

[Drummer's Wife]

Yes, you can get chewable melatonin from Amazon as well as the Dollar Tree. 3 mg dosage, I believe.

[Imakcerka]

GNC carries the 1 mg chewable in cherry flavor.  I buy that one.  DD1 is the same way can't sleep night owl!  It's rough!  However since I've been giving her that she's out by 8pm and up by 645 every morning and feeling great.  Her moods are better, she's eating better and she's more focused. 

[karne]

I have the "all clear" from my pediatrician to use melatonin-we have since age 7 or 7 1/2.  It's usually recommended to start with the lowest effective dose.  You can get chewables, or the very small sized capsules.  

[preslee1031]

Thank you all so much!!  I spoke with the Pharmacist at CVS today and she told me to look at GNC also.....I will be going there tomorrow....Thanks again!!