Should toddlers be given sleeping pills to help them sleep well?
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M$4 Answers
There are safer options that your neighbor might try also; I've listed the link below.
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M$"You gotta be f**king kidding me!"
I'm not a doctor. I'm not a pharmacist. I'm a patient.
And for almost six years, I've been known as "Dad."
The answer would be "No," because the child's mind is developing, and you don't want to introduce any substance that would intoxicate an adult--in this case, sleeping pills--to a child's system and impede the development of a growing brain.
I'm almost 40. It's true that there are so many things our parents did which are now considered no-no's and we survived. Now we know about those things.
But the HUGE red flag is that there's no telling what the neighbor gave the kid or how much. I've worked in Drug and Alcohol Education at a major state university. The child could become addicted to it and not go to sleep without it--like someone who needs to have a drink before they go to bed--and then she's got withdrawal on her hands.
If the child gets too much of any medicine, it could be a fatal overdose. Worse yet, among other things, I take a common narcotic at night for control of some major seizures. The level is closely monitored regularly by blood test More than once, I've had to call my doctor from the pharmacy because a pharmacist filled a cough medicine prescription with something that had another narcotic in it..
I haven't had a drink in 18 years since I started taking the seizure medicine. I've been told that a dessert like a piece of rum cake or tiramisu won't do any harm, but I'm not a small guy. You won't ever catch me ordering a drink, even in the middle of the day (say, at a baseball game).
You're talking about a 3-year-old kid--about 10-15% of my weight. (35/265). If -I- won't have even a single alcoholic drink, you could bet that if that mom gives her kid a cough syrup with alcohol AND a sleeping pill, it won't be the kid you'll hear crying the following night.
Shocking? Good. If this post saves the life of this kid or another, I'm happy.
I usually write posts on what I know, off the top of my head and find research to support it. Let's look at mamapedia.com's testimonies that agree. This was apparently about a woman studying to be a physician's assistant, doing the same thing with her stepson -and the kid's 13
(spelling as it appears on their website--clipped & pasted for educational purposes)
"My mom got my little sister addicted to the things. My mom would take them becuase she i guess couldnt sleep...ever...and then my 17 year old sister started complaining of insomnia. They would buy costco size bottles of the stuff. I was so appaulled when i heard about it. No sixteen year old should have that much trouble falling asleep or staying asleep is my opinion. If they are maybe there is a deeper issue. Like maybe they are getting bully at school an that is causing the problem. I just cant believe that they would need them. I told my mom that it was becoming a problem and she did nothing my little sister still takes them just about every night and i can garuntee that if she tried she would have a hell of a time getting off of them. Have you ever taken onE? They almost make you feel high. So i am surprised that a mom who is going to school to be a physicians asst. would willingly give her own kids the pills. Is she doing it so she has more time to spend studying? There are alot of questions i would ask as a parent. What does your Hub think about it? Sorry to have sort of gone off on a tangent I just feel very strongly that kids that age have no business taking pills like that."
"...(There) are major problems I see with this. I would contact a pharmacist and ask their opionion. My husband worked in a pharmacy for three years and there are so many people addicted to sleeping pills and it can be dangerous as any drug. If they are having such sleep issues one would think they would be taking them do the DR. I hope you find some really good answers soon. I also wonder if she has an addiction to them? Please be careful. That could be serious..."
"I absolutely agree with everyone that what those kids' mother is doing is wrong, wrong, WRONG!!! And, like they also said, just because she's "studying," doesn't mean she knows what she's doing. In fact, I think she's being unethical as a parent, "healer," morally, and legally.
I think you're right to be concerned."
"Giving them slipping pills at this age is wrong. "
"WOW! I am a nurse and I know that you can loose your license for this. She should know this if she is going to school to be a PA. It is against the law to give someone your meds and they are minors on top of it. I would tell her to stop this. If the kids really are having trouble sleeping a doctor should be involved she cant hand this out like candy. Teenagers should not have trouble sleeping they usually sleep tons. Not only is she giving unperscribed serious medication to her children, she is practicing medicine without a license. This is not ok in so many ways. She does not know what she is doing!"
"My advice is this is absolutely NOT Ok. If she is studying in this field she should know better than to just give them one of her drugs. Their are major problems I see with this. I would contact a pharmacist and ask their opionion. My husband worked in a pharmacy for three years and there are so many people addicted to sleeping pills and it can be dangerous as any drug. If they are having such sleep issues one would think they would be taking them do the DR. I hope you find some really good answers soon. I also wonder if she has an addiction to them? Please be careful. That could be serious"
**Your neighbor should take the baby to the doctor--there may be something wrong. There may be nothing wrong. There may be something non-medical causing the child's problems--divorce, domestic abuse between parents, scared of the dark...who knows.
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M$
Please tell me you don't live in Coconut Creek, Florida.
I'm glad to hear the "friend" isn't you--that's a good way people ask doctors and legal professionals questions without the culpability: "Let's say I have a friend who is..."
Sometimes it takes a good, swift kick in the ass for people to see that what they're doing is hazardous. Intervention? In a small way, sort of. But how?
OK, here you go. The next time you see her, make conversation that hopefully wakes HER up: Be a good actor and be flustered. I found a case where a woman was arrested--last week-- in Coconut Creek, Florida--for killing her kid with a sleeping pill she gave him because he wouldn't sleep. The father found the kid. The crazy part is that the woman is a retired New York cop.
One of my favorite papers, The Sun-Sentinel (I have family in Broward County and I've vacationed in the area dozens of times in the last 20 years) ran the article.
"Ohmigosh, did you read about that woman in Florida who was arrested last week for killing her four-year-old kid with sleeping pills?"
In the article:
"Bernabe had told detectives she gave the toddler a Lunesta pill the night of Sept. 9 because he had not been able to stay asleep the previous two nights, police said.
"The child's father, Allan Odze, found the toddler unresponsive in his bed the next morning, police said....
"The Medical Examiner's Office classified the toddler's death a homicide, based on Bernabe's statement to police that she deliberately gave her son the Lunesta....
"In addition to manslaughter, Bernabe also has been charged with delivery of a controlled substance to a minor and knowing sale or transfer of prescription drug to an unauthorized person, authorities said."
Source:
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2010-07-22/news/fl-mom-charged-kid-death-20100722_1_lunesta-raisa-bernabe-toddler-son
A fast check online shows that a family with the same last name as the father moved to South Florida, perhaps from Long Island, in March--that would be a new neighbor. If that's them, I feel don't feel sorry for her, but for the father, and most sorry for the kid.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/38lk3g3
I was trying to vote helpful but the button is not working properly.
It is not me and she is not my friend, just a new neighbor. I don't even take sleeping pills talk less of giving it to my kid... Thanks for your answer :-)
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M$You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
