Doing your research

I've been wanting to blog for over a week but with the preparation of my spouse leaving the country on business and my failure to keep bedside notes of ideas to blog about...I am taking a moment tonight to throw this one up here. 

It is so important for parents to do their research when making decisions about how to proceed in dealing with/responding to a child's behavior(s).  Ok, so it's also important to do your research with a lot of other aspects of child rearing such as in terms of health decisions (to vaccine now or wait or not at all for example), to research the quality of baby products (from detergents to car seats), to researching babysitters & schools and so on.  But this blog is about behaviors...sleeping in particular.

I do not know one parent who has not struggled in some aspect when it comes to the topic of children and sleeping.  Some parents may not acknowledge their struggle(s) and some resolve/cope with the struggles more quickly & efficient than others, making it seem as if they "hardly had any issues at all."  Some parents may have been "lucky" with one child who "was always a good sleeper" but it is likely their second or third child had issues! LOL

About a month ago, I was alarmed by a friend's facebook post about her daughter's difficulty going to bed and staying in bed (or staying asleep). My friend asked in her status whether anyone had ever used Melatonin as a sleep aid for their child.  To my horror (sorry, but I really was shocked), there were 4 Moms who replied saying "yes" they have & encouraged my friend to do the same. One even mentioned where she could buy it and dosing. I chimed in saying "no one I know uses this for their child & that she needs to consult a physician for a diagnosis if the sleep problem really is something that needs to be corrected with drugs." As I write this I'm trying to be calm because the thought of parents experimenting on their children is NOT good parenting (to say the least).

A friend of mine who is a Mom I respect & also a nurse, shared the following two articles with me.  If you take the time to google the use of Melatonin, use with children, etc you will find similar information.
http://blog.oregonlive.com/themombeat/2009/12/post_6.html

www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/940.html

All of you parents out there...GOOD PARENTING IS HARD... The likelihood that your child has some behavioral issue that is so severe that it requires drugs of any kind is not the norm! It is a rare thing.  If you are too tired, too busy, too ignorant, etc to deal with teaching your child healthy sleep patterns then that is your issue, not your childs.  The child depends on the parent to create environments that are stable, healthy, & supportive of healthy patterns...without the worry of being drugged!  I can't tell you how many times I've heard parents "joke" about giving their kid benedryl to get them to relax & fall asleep better! That parents even think along these lines is crazy to me!  A good parent is someone who vigilantly tries every method they know, heard of, researched, and so on before they resort to drugs.  THERE IS NO EASY WAY OUT OF PARENTING...sorry to be the burden of bad news. You made the choice to be a parent (however that choice came about)...bringing a child into your home to love & care for mind, body, & spirit (the whole package).  Be that parent! Do your research, your child's life depends on it.  And SUPER KUDDOS to those of you who work your butt off addressing your child(rens) behavioral issues!