QUESTION:
“Do I have a right to be mad at my mom for giving my daughter melatonin? I’m not against the idea considering my daughter stays up until 1, 2, 3 am some nights. It is exhausting and tough on my patience, to say the least. (I don’t live with my mom, she was watching her for me bc I had to have surgery) she knows I am furious with her. It’s the principle of it. She claims she asked me, but what she did was send me a picture of a kid’s melatonin bottle and said, how about trying this? And I told her IDK. And she gave it to her anyone. I snapped at her. Am I overreacting? I know kiddos take it all the time. It’s a fact of not really asking me, not really telling me, and I’d like to consult with my child’s doctor on things like this. I also think my child may have some anxiety, ADHD, anger issues, etc. she’s only six, so maybe this is what’s best for her? As I said, I’d like to hear it from a doctor. But all opinions please…& thanks”
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TOP ANSWERS (AS SELECTED BY MODERATOR):
“I understand being mad about giving her melatonin without your permission, but then again she’s a grandparent who is probably not used to staying up with a child all those hours of the night. If she went to bed at a decent time it would be different. Can’t say I blame her.”
“My children trusted me to use good judgment when taking care of my grandchildren. I am a Registered nurse and they often called me to ask my advice You shouldn’t leave your child with your mother if you don’t trust her. I myself would not keep a child if my daughter fussed at me. My opinion. I’m talking about minor things.”
“Maybe an unpopular opinion but I think it depends on your relationship with your mom. If it was my mom, I would trust her judgment 100% and I also know that she would never do anything that would harm my child.”
“I mean one dose won’t hurt her. I get the being upset because in a roundabout way she did ask but you didn’t give her a direct answer either…”
“You always have a right to your own feelings… With that being said melatonin is natural and one is safe and that’s your mother…… If you like to consult your doctor on that kind of stuff then please let us all know what your doctor thinks of your 6 yr old staying up to 1- 3 am most nights and let us know if they think that anger issue is the cause or the effect of it,”
“I see both points. My mother had definitely done the “undermining” thing to me quite a few times with my daughter. And in turn, I felt disrespected and snapped on her.
The other side I see is… this seems to have gone on for quite some time. My daughter has ADHD and unless she is non-stop action for the entire day… that little girl needs melatonin to fall asleep. No kid should be staying up until 1-3AM. That’s wild. And if this has been going on for quite some time, this should have definitely been consulted with your doctor long ago.”
“If your mom was watching your daughter because you had surgery… I feel to a degree she has some right to give her melatonin because she is under her care and you had time to consult a doctor. You just chose not to. And no grandma wants to be staying up until 3 am because a 6-year-old can’t sleep. I probably would have given her melatonin as well. Just my honest opinion.”
“Sleep is very important to a child’s development. All the issues you described could be due to your child not sleeping properly. I would use melatonin long enough to get a routine established. Then discontinue using melatonin and stick to a strict bedtime routine.”
“I wouldn’t let my kids spend the night if my mom went against my wishes.”
“I think that anyone giving your child any type of medication or melatonin whatever it may be you should have permission from the parent even if you are the grandparent.”
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