Would you give Ambien to your kids?
Note: I am in the process of making a few more changes to my site. Apologies for the weird links and photos! Hopefully I can get them fixed soon. Thanks for bearing with me!
As if my life weren’t exciting enough, I am a huge insomniac. I’ve been one all my life. I can’t take naps, it takes me at least two hours to fall asleep at night, and I am really sensitive to noise and light (and if I wake up, it’s over). It’s SO fun to be married to me. Right, Josh?
Before I had kids, I just kind of dealt with it. I would factor in extra time for falling asleep each night, and I knew that I could just sleep in on weekends if I needed to. Sometimes I was a little tired during the day, but it was manageable.
After I had kids, that all changed. I was just SO TIRED, ALL THE TIME. My kids just aren’t the sleeping type. And that fact, plus my insomnia, equals crazy. I mean, like…CRAZY.
I kept it going for a couple of years, but then I hit some kind of insane insomniac rock bottom. This was right before I decided to move out of my house and into my backyard for a few weeks. I was literally going crazy from lack of sleep.
At the time, I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it. I was hallucinating throughout the day, I had to speak really slowly in order to get my thoughts across, and most of the time I couldn’t really remember what I was trying to do or say anyway. I was a mess. So I started taking Ambien. I just took a little nibble each night – a fourth of a pill – and it was enough to let me fall asleep and stay that way. It was blissful. I got my life back. I could hold a normal conversation again. I felt like a new person.
It felt like magic, like the best gift I ever got. I was so grateful that I wept when I talked to the doctor…about getting a refill.
It changed my life.
As I write this, it’s 10:30 at night here in California. I can hear my 11-year old daughter next door in her room. She’s awake. She won’t fall asleep for at least another half an hour, even though she’s been in bed, lights out, since 9 pm. She got a lot of me in her. Normally she just deals with it, but she can’t take naps, and of course once she wakes up she can’t fall back asleep.
I’m thinking about our trip this summer. Within 30 days, we’re going to Japan, then France and Spain, then back to the US. I’m going to be relying heavily on Ambien to keep me sane. Currently, my daughter doesn’t have that option.
However, I have to wonder: would you give Ambien to your kids?
Sorry, but my feeling is that this post was made in poor taste. Should you really be starting a conversation debating if you should give your children a schedule IV controlled substance? Not only would giving your kids Ambien be poor parenting.. it is also illegal. Just in the past year or two they have found that they have been giving women twice the needed dose. So I can’t even imagine what this would do to a child who’d brain is still developing.
Brent – You’re making a few assumptions here! It seems like you’ve leapt to the conclusion that I would hand my daughter an entire, unprescribed pill. Since I personally lived for decades without Ambien, then years in a state of extreme sleep deprivation, that action would be a little out of character for me.
I guess I just see a difference in asking would you give your kids Ambien and would you ask your pediatrician for sleeping medication. I guess I would have a different opinion if the title and question asked about what options parents have for children on long haul flights that cannot sleep.
Brent – My question is multi-layered. I’m curious if parents would ask a doctor about sleep medication for their kids; I wonder if parents would actually decide to dose their kids if their pediatrician prescribed a sleep aid; I wonder if other parents have insomniac kids and if so, what they did about it; I wonder if both parents would agree to do this…and more.
So, my simple question is…would you give Ambien to your kids? As you can see from the comments, readers have interpreted the question in many different ways, which is fine. I’m very interested in the conversation, as always, so I appreciate you (and everyone else) who participated.
Brent,
For being somewhat smart you are very stupid. She wasn’t talking about cutting up her medication and giving it to her daughter. She was talking about asking the doctor for a prescription and if that is okay to do that to such a young person. I guess common sense is not so common.
My 2 kids and I are also insomniacs. My 12 yr old son’s Dr is trying some safer sleep meds for him, unfortunately, none are effective. I’m not sure what route she will ultimately go with him, but if she prescribed Ambien, like I am on, I would give it a try under very close supervision (I’d stay awake next to him to make sure there were no weird side effects.)
Also, when you write these posts, and people act like jerks, like Brett, I would not even a knowledge them.
I also take ambien. So did my wife. Designer sleep she calls it. One thing I will say is that its horribly addictive and very difficult to not take it after u have been doing so for a while. Ive also forgotten stuff I did shortly before bed. Like one time I hid some disney tickets and to this day I still cannot find them in our house. Not sure wth i was thinking, I just dont remember. The wife stopped and it was hard. I still eat 5mg a night most nights.
I have given it to my kids once. they are 15/13 and they had it last year on a 10 hr flight. I dont think it will hurt once in a real blue moon but as a regular thing during a trip no way.
David – I’ve definitely had Ambien moments.
I find that Melatonin also works well.
Ambien is for adults, not kids. There is no pediatric dosing available for this drug, plus as a prescription drug it is against the law to give it to someone other than to who it is prescribed. As a matter of fact there is evidence that Ambien may be dangeous in children and I think, as a medical professional, it would be irresponsible to just hand Ambien to a child. (I say that based on a very quick review of the literature.)
In summary:
1. It may be dangerous as there is no dosing/trials availible.
2. It is illegal.
3. It may be dangerous as to side effects documented in children
Mike – Thanks for adding to the conversation.
There actually is a pediatric dose. My son has autism, he is 22 months. He refuses to sleep, fights it until he can’t fight anymore and even then he only slept 4 hours out of every 24 hours. We tried melatonin to help him, his doctors thought it might be melatonin deficiency. It didn’t work at all. So they have put him on ambien to help him with his sleep. Anyone who wants to say it’s “bad parenting” or just me “being a when I feel like it’ parent” (I’ve gotten both), if I do not give him the ambien it causes a great deal more medical issues for him than simply giving it to him. It has been a life saver, one dose at bedtime and he is finally sleeping through the night and even taking his nap the next day. He is also eating better, and his mood swings have improved. Any parent with children who don’t sleep understands the pain of knowing that unless you stigmatize yourself as a parent there is not much that can be done for your children. When we love our children we do what is necessary to keep them healthy. This medication can help with that.
Maggie – Thanks so much for sharing this. I’m so glad you found something that works for your son! My best hopes for you and your family.
Very well said I’m on this site because my daughter has mom’s insomnia. My guess is those that look down on us either #1 don’t have children #2 have children but not children with insomnia #3 the other parent gets to stay up all night with the little insomniac! I work 40+ hours a week she has school 5 days a week INSOMNIA ain’t nobody got time for that! Plus we’re horrible mother’s for wanting our children to sleep well & be focused!
Wide Awake – Amen!!
What milligram of ambien was your son prescribed?
I’m 15 yd I’m freshman in high school and I’m talking ambein 5mg for my narcolepsy, and my really bad paranoia during the night. I think in order to get them for kids is take them to a narogist and see what they can do for u. I understand why u think people my age or a little bit younger shouldn’t. But it’s a real problem let them have it and if u think there starting to get addicted then slowly take them off
No.
By the way, interesting article about insomnia drugs like Ambien (and potential side effects)
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/12/09/131209fa_fact_parker
ABC – I look forward to reading it!
Wow… Are you really asking your readers if it’s appropriate to give a child ambien??
Wow.
Jay – Yep. This isn’t a sugar-coated blog. I’m really asking what people think about this.
Kendra. Oh Kendra. I was a pretty bad insomniac myself for most of my life. For a fair chunk of my earlier parenting years It was exacerbated by chronic pain. As much I I hope you get help, I’m afraid some readers, more likely trolls, will take the opportunity to feed their egos, by leveling harsh criticism at you.
If you haven’t suffered through more than the ocaissional sleepless night, you can’t know the devastating affects it can wreak throughout every aspect of your life.
I also have one child who is not a great sleeper, but she’s just “not great.” It’s not hard core. I have no words of wisdom. Would I give my kid ambien? I don’t think so,but I’m also not desperate. But I do understand that you’re trying to make your child’s life less difficult, less painful, because you’re a good mommy.
I have no advice. One thing that I’ve found works for me, not my daughter, is listening to books on my iPod/phone. It pulls my mind away from any worries that might be overwhelming me. I can set a sleep timer in most apps, and I drift off. Just any book won’t work, it can’t be too funny or exciting. Dickens stories work well for me because the pace is slowish, and there’s generally more language than action. Actually nothing contemporary works. I’ve had luck with Jane Austin, the Brontes, some Mark Twain. I just want to note that watching things like movies, etc. just keeps me up later.
I wish you the best of luck. I hope you get the help you need. And just remember that anyone who thinks they have parenting all figured out, is completely delusional.
Jeri – Thank you for such an awesome comment! You always get where I’m coming from.
The thing is: I’m curious. What do people who have insomniac kids do??? I can’t be the only mom-of-an-insomniac out there.
And of course some people are not going to read this very carefully and assume that I am dosing my kids with all kinds of illegal substances…and some people are just not very nice online…but I’m not interested in sanitizing my posts and only having “safe” conversations.
So thanks for all the support. It means a lot to me.
A little late but my daughter just woke me up again for the whatever night in a row! And YES she takes Ambien! She’s been going to a pediatric sleep specialist for 3 years and we’ve tried a lot of stuff to get to this and now after 2 weeks it is no longer keeping her asleep! Don’t jump to judgment ppl! You’d be amazed how different you become with no sleep! The wrong actions you can take! I was worried at first giving her the medication but she needs sleep even if her body thinks not/rejects it!
I wouldn’t, but what does your pediatrician say?
Denise L – I don’t know! I haven’t asked yet. I’m going to bring it up when we have our next checkup.
The reason I asked the question is that I was curious if there are any traveling parents out there who have experienced the same thing.
I think insomnia is on the rise with the increased use of iPads/tablets in bed. The lighting that tablets emit triggers our bodies to hpyer-alertness. I have found that shutting off my PCs, tablets, smartphones 15-30 minutes before bed time helps.
HeavenlyJane – Yes, that is important for me, too. I think it really makes sense.
I would ask my child’s doctor first. If the doctor says it is OK, then the doctor should give your daughter her own prescription (don’t steal all of her Ambien 😉 ).
Furthermore, I would not recommend giving Ambien to your daughter on an airplane. People have been known to behave badly when taking Ambien on airplanes, and I would hate to see your daughter embarrass herself (and you and Josh)..
Gene – Ha ha!
Serious question, not rhetorical: have you ever seen an Ambien-affected person on a plane? I’m curious what happened!
Well since you ask….I have been naughty on a plane after taking Ambien. On a 14 hour flight from SFO to SYD, I got up mid-flight to check on FirstClassQueen, and he asked me to get him a blanket. Naturally, I proceeded to steal someone’s blanket in First Class while they were in the lavatory (WTH was I thinking??). When I returned to my seat, the purser came over and asked if I had taken Ambien and if I was cold. I was very embarrassed and returned the blanket.
This incident was pretty mild compared to some of the stories I have read. I have also overheard FAs complaining about people taking Ambien on flights, so I imagine they must have seen some pretty bad behavior.
My teenage niece was prescribed Ambien. She saw snow, called people Santa Clause, she plaid peek a boo and would not stay in bed. So I would talk to your doctor and if it is prescribed make sure you see how your child reacts to it. My niece had no recollections of her actions. I have also heard of people taking off their clothes on airplanes. So know how she would react.
Lynn – Yikes!!
Good advice – know what your reaction is before taking a drug on a trip.
Have you tried acupuncture? I had acupuncture a couple of years ago for a stiff neck and realized how well I slept for weeks after it. A friend that we travel with used Ambien nightly, so I suggested acupuncture. It did the trick and Ambien is no longer a nightly ritual for her.
As far as giving any controlled substance to a developing child, IMHO I would avoid it unless absolutely necessary. Just my opinion, and thankfully our two boys don’t have issues where we even have to think about it!
SonomaWine – Yes, I have tried acupuncture. I love it, but it does not help with my insomnia at all. My daughter also gets acupuncture and so far it hasn’t helped her either….but we both agree that it is fantastic for other things.
I wouldn’t give my child UN-prescribed Ambien… but then again neither would you. (You already mentioned that first you’ll speak to her pediatrician at your next check-up). That being said, I see no harm in having a “plan of action” for when lack of sleep begins to be a problem during your trip. That could include:
*Specific pillows/pillowcases
*Eye covers and earplugs
*Essential oils
*Melatonin
*Ambien
Also, don’t discount what treatments you may find in your travels. Just because it isn’t approved for use here, doesn’t mean that you won’t find a safe option for your daughter while you’re in Europe or Asia. They often have MORE stringent safety protocols and better results than we have here at home with the FDA.
So I guess my answer is yes, I would give my child (who seems to have inherited his father’s insomnia) a prescription drug if I had discussed it with our doctor and felt the risk was worth the reward.
Enjoy the many comments you’re going to get today on this one!
Robin
Essential oils should be properly labeled as snake oils if the FDA had any power. Keep wasting your money on useless garbage if you want.
Robin – Thanks for really reading my post, and for such a well-thought-out comment.
Give it to your kids for the benefit of all around you.
In extreme emergency cases like a world trip yes but cut down in size based on the weight of the child and only if they don’t have other medical conditions. I have taken Ambien without guilt ever since my wife was diagnosed with leukemia. My UCSF Dr suggested it and I love it does for me and probably won’t stop until I retire retire. Every long flight after dinner in FC I pull out two tablets and one for me and one for the wife………it’s not rocket science…………
No Way would I give Ambien to a child! They have a similar profile to benzodiazapines and can be addictive as well as have additional side effects. There are many natural things that can help induce sleep. As mentioned Melatonin at low doses (300mcg to 1mg), tryptophan, 5-htp, or even chelated magnesium. There are others as well. Each person reacts differently to all these items and so it may require some time to find the best solution, however Ambien is not a good route to follow.
Asking random people on the internet for medical advice about your kids is ridiculous. Speak with a doctor.
Wandering Aramean – I’m surprised that you had this response! I’m not planning on following “random people’s advice,” rather, I am curious about what people think. I’m interested in the conversation.
Of course I would speak with a doctor with regards to my daughter’s situation, just as I did for my own.
No, but my kids are young (3 and 6). I am not a fan of giving my children medicine, period, so I definitely wouldn’t give them a sleep aid. I would make sure they weren’t having anything that may keep them up before bed (sugar, caffeine, etc), have calm activities (no ipad/tv) and possibly teach them to meditate. Ambien for children just seems like a really, really bad idea, but I am not a dr so what do I know?
So no opinions on the ambien really other than that I think you should talk to your pediatrician.
I had to share a story though…
My dad took ambien for awhile and one morning, we woke up and there was an empty pack of cookies on the kitchen counter that had been full and in the pantry the night before. (Think a pack of Oreos)
Turns out, my dad ate the whole pack while he was sleeping. He was diabetic and his blood sugar was insane that morning.
No one should ever have to apologize when they have a problem and ask for advice……in a blog or in person……..and neither should you…………everyone has to ultimately find their own comfort level in how to deal with it but I would guess that the most vocifious NO comes from those without the problem so YMMV…………….
Asking questions and curiosity is what makes us better parents! I think it’s totally awesome to get a doctor’s advice and a mother’s advice before making decisions.
In my case. As a rule of thumb, I always try home remedies before medicine……always….I have 3 kids. 2 are sleepers and 1 is not. We have found melatonin is pretty wonderful used sparingly. I give it to him then read books in bed for 20 minutes, then BAM he’s toast. 🙂 used to be 1- 1/2 hrs of squirming.It seemed to have jump started his own production. Got him into a rhythm sort of and we rarely use it now. He’s only 6…my herbalist friend recommended the liquid form found at Vitamin shoppe.(Natrol)
Jacki – I haven’t tried the liquid form of melatonin yet! I imagine it would be more easily absorbed. I’ll give it a try for sure. Thanks for the suggestion.
Thanks also for “getting” the point of the post. 🙂
Don’t give your child ambien. It’s a relatively new drug with side effects that are not completely understood. You don’t know what your child will do at night and will need to be monitored. How about trying low dose Benadryl?
I was with you on this post till the very last sentence. Sorry you have such issues sleeping I can’t relate but when I can’t sleep I know how much that stinks, so I can only imagine what a problem this would be daily.
That being said putting out this kind of question in such a public forum can illicit unkind responses from many let alone giving unsavory people the opportunity to have information on you that could be used against you. Sure it’s just a sentence but what gets posted on the net is forever.
Getting off my high horse now.
Keep your own counsel and don’t take any of this seriously. Part of your mission is to entertain and you do.
Kendra
I so hear ya- I am a terrible insomniac and is actually one of the reasons I have never traveled overseas or taken a cruise-my sleep issues really interfere with my life-so to read that you are an insomniac and you don’t allow it to keep you from doing so many incredible things is really great. Just curious do you sleep on planes? I would speak to your pediatrician. I love your blog and thanks for keeping it real:):)
Nance – I don’t sleep on planes! Crossing fingers that one of these days I will figure out the secret to how to do it. If I do, I will NOT post publicly because I don’t want to incur the wrath of the internet…but if you want to check in with me privately via email in a few months (after our big trip), please do!
When you talk to your Pediatrician, ask about Benadryl. One of its’ famous side effects is sleepiness (which is why it is paired with tylenol in “tylenolPM”). Some folks tend to get wired taking it, however, so best to try it out (IF recommended to you), on a weekend night first.
Also white noise apps might help her and eye pads to darken the cabin enough.
Absolutely not! For many years I monitored adverse events of drugs including drugs in that class. I would never take them and certainly it would never be prescribed for a child. In the travel community I cringe reading about people mixing them with alcohol too. Remember if you take this type of meds and your child has an emergency you are not safe to help.
Hmm, are you working on some type of Ambien affiliate link arrangement? lol
I am not a great sleeper either. So, I just drink myself to sleep late at night when I update TBB. Sometimes I mix in some drug cocktails to inspire me to rant better but this Ambien drug does sound kind of boring to me….zzzzz
Will I give it to my kids? Hell no. I just beat the crap out of them and knock them unconscious. Work EVERY time, you should try it.
Time to fill up 🙂
First of all, I am so sorry that you have to deal with insomnia in both yourself and your child. I have gone through bouts of it in my life, but never to a clinical, diagnose-able level. I have a friend who sounds similar to you though, and I know that it has been devastating for her at times. She has literally lost jobs because she was too deep in an insomnia related fog. It changed her personality when she was going through severe bouts of it as well. I’m pretty sure she ended up using Ambien as well.
As far as giving it to kids…I think that it is easy to judge and to say “no never!” when it is not your own kid and your own situation. If you held a gun to my head and forced me to answer (ha!) I would say no. But not being in that situation with my kids, I can’t.
We have tried melatonin in the past for ourselves (as parents) and for my older child when he was having some sleep issues. Our doc suggested the melatonin and also suggested trying benadryl for travel (which we did not end up needing to do).
For all of you who are horrified by the question….I think that she is just putting it out there for discussion, not for actual medical advice. Most moms that I know are women, and as women we tend to like to discuss and (over) analyze things, discuss things, hash things out, get opinions, do research, talk about things again…at least I do. Public forums for moms discussing mom-ish types of things have existed since the beginning of time, so this is just another question in the realm of “help, I’m a parent trying to figure out this whole parenting thing & wondering what others are doing to get through a similar problem”. No need for nastiness or vilification.
Kirsten – Thanks for the comment. I’m glad you got the idea of the post – putting it out there for discussion. I appreciate that you contributed to the discussion!
Thanks again for your thoughts on this.
Kirsten
Your friend sounds like me…sometimes I just have to feign illness, and quite a bit of the time I’m ok. But Ambien unfortunately does not do a darn thing for me.
That is a real shame.
Well, this has been controversial!
I’ve traveled quite a bit, and while I can find a parking spot anywhere, I have a huge propensity to sit in front of the child who kicks the seat, so I think it is a matter of being a good citizen to get kids to sleep.
I have several thoughts … those of us who are bad sleepers feel your pain. I’ve done a few things that haven’t been suggested here and some that have … I love Chopra, but I bought this particular CD years ago because everyone said it was a terrible meditation CD because it put them to sleep. It does: http://www.amazon.com/Soul-Healing-Meditations-Deepak-Chopra/dp/B00005TZSK/ … I also think being on the computer or any device within 5 hours matters — I know common wisdom is less than that, but I can’t be online and switch off quickly. I also think rituals, whether reading for a bit or doing a little yoga can help. That said, for no good reason I saw the clock turn to 4 am recently. Not stressed, nothing. I think Ambien is one of the scary drugs, and I agree that it should NOT be mixed with alcohol. I would second the Benedryl vote, and sometimes an Advil helps me. At the risk of opening the schedule IV window wider, I think Lorazapam is more effective for me and easier take just a little once in a while. I found with Ambien I could sleep the first night, but if I didn’t take it a second night, I could not sleep.
I have friends who have been Ambien get up in the middle of the night and eat people, and I once flew with a friend who had taken some and she couldn’t feel her legs when we went to change planes in Frankfurt. Frankfurt is lovely, and I’m sure I could have found a wheelchair, but it scared me a great deal. Afterward, she said she didn’t remember changing planes (and we had a bit of a crazy person following us, so it wasn’t forgettable the next day).
I know there are just some of us who are wired so that sleep is a challenge, but maybe you could ask the pediatrician more generally first — what are some things we can try to get my kid to sleep better? I can’t exercise too close to bed, I have to watch afternoon caffeine (including beloved chocolate), and sugar of any kind. Even a glass of wine makes sleeping a challenge. I think your non-sleep issue readers need to see it as one of those things that make us all different — like being a fainter, or getting motion sick.
Can’t wait to see what’s next! Politics? Religion?
GingerSister – Thank you so much for all the ideas and thoughts! VERY helpful and much appreciated!
Yeah, I can’t wait to see what’s next as well. 😉
I am sorry I opened up this thread because these people are treating you like a moron. They aren’t very intelligent and need to get a grip. I know you aren’t talking about giving your child YOUR medication. You wouldn’t be so foolish to post such an illegal thing. People need to get a grip in life. If they would the world would be such a better place.
Lesli – I really appreciate that you took the time to actually read the post. It seems like people don’t always read things very carefully and then leap to conclusions. I really was hoping for a conversation!
God damn right!!!!
I take Ambien sometimes when I sleep in hotels, as I have a tendency to wake repeatedly all night long and it does the trick. Once I took it and tried to send a few emails before bed, though, and it was a total disaster. I got disoriented and projectile vomited all over the room. My husband also took it ocassionally but finally realized it made him very irritable the next day. So, it clearly effects people very differently. On that same point, we once gave our child Benadryl on a long car ride out of desperation, and it had the total opposite effect. He was totally wired and out of control. We won’t be repeating that mistake.
We had the choice to give Ambien to our teenage daughter, under the care of a psychiatrist for severe ADHD. When she could fall asleep she would sometimes sleep walk. Her Dr. finally found an ADHD med combo which enabled her brain to shut down at night so she could sleep. Fortunately we did not have to give her the meds, but as parents were leaning against it just because she was so young.
Today, I read through a Facebook page for families of children with special needs. The discussion was about giving Ambien to a not yet 3 year old. I don’t pretend to understand what these families are going through, but that just stopped me dead in my tracks. And yes, they had a doctor willing to prescribe it. Very disturbing even if the decision was arrived at after much care and consideration.
By reading your story, my youngest son is 6 years old. He has been battling insomnia since he was 2 years old once bed awake its over… I also have insomnia and they put me on ambien then they said it was addictive and took it away. But they put my 6 year old on clonidine and it works for him he has adhd odd and insomnia
I don’t have the time to read through all of these posts (not sure if it’s even current) but I suffer from insomnia and so do my two children 11 months and 26 months). I’m curious to read through the constructive positive comments from the people who understand where the question is coming from. If lots have time lapses, please post any new experiences regarding you situation 🙂
People are so judge mental, emphasis on the Mental!!
People are soooo ready to judge and assume the worst of people and then write harsh comments…sad.
I can see that people are judgemental and full of opinion but I must agree with the blogger here.
But there are options to try first and the general guideline for adult in the medical world, which tends to err on the side of caution, is 12.
Therefore 11 years and some months is an adult in the medical realm.
But I would try natural solutions first. A warm glass of milk first.
My second choice would be 1 capsule of Valarian Root.
The medical field would start with the drugs but they would only be my third choice.
The first drug I would try would be Benadryl. If after 30 minutes and no sleep then I would reluctantly use .25 mg of Xanax which is very close to and in the same family of Restoril.
After 30 more minutes of no sleep then 2.5 mg of Ambien would be my last resort. But for longer term use Ambien
is way safer than benzodiazapenes.
If the situation were chronic and not just one or two nights, then Ambien would a better choice than Xanax as yes these drugs are addictive if given on a regular basis, but Ambien’s only withdrawal symptom that I know of is insomnia which puts you back to where you started. It most certainly wouldn’t endanger an 11 year old.
Anyone can disagree and I dont care because in the country I live in NONE of these are not controlled medications and I read published NIH studies as much as the average American watches TV.
I have had to take control where doctors have failed me by doing my own research and becoming my own doctor.
Before you get all huffy and judgemental with my response, read the following and you will clearly see this is the order that most pediatricians would give (except of course the natural stuff which they do not recommend and why is that?!)
http://www.webmd.com/children/news/20070801/sleep-drugs-often-presecribed-for-kids
Although I would never give anyone an anti depressant for a sleep disorder but it seems to be prescribed to children more than Ambien.
You always err on the side of caution with children and dosages by micro dosing.
You always wait 30 minutes before trying anything else. This may not be practical but it is safer and I am assuming we all love our children.
I am happy to report the Benadryl works just fine, but I agree with the blogger.
(CORRECTION)
in the country I live in NONE of these are controlled medications.