A concerned mum feels "betrayed" after discovering her husband was secretly giving their daughter "special" gummies before bedtime.
Recently, mum Sarah* was startled when her five-year-old daughter Kaya got out of her bed and "randomly announced" that she "wished daddy was here so she could have one of her "special gummies'". Sarah's husband Ben was out running an errand at the time, so she sent her daughter back to bed.
The following morning, Sarah told her husband what happened, and he showed her a bottle of melatonin gum tablets - which aid sleep problems like insomnia. Their daughter had been suffering with sleeping and had been following a strict routine, agreed by both parents.
But Ben decided to take extra measures without telling his wife. "I feel sick and betrayed and furious that he would do this behind my back," Sarah commented.
Taking to Reddit, Sarah shared her frustration. While the bottom of melatonin gummies is labelled for children five and older, she believes her daughter is "too little" to eat them.
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She said: "Our daughter is only in the 8th percentile for weight and height, so a much smaller five-year-old than most." Addressing what her husband did, she added: "I'm 99 percent sure he is doing it on nights, he doesn't want a long bedtime - he wants to start drinking sooner. He definitely tried to hide it deliberately."
Redditors have been left divided since sharing their thoughts on the parenting dilemma. One individual said: "To me, this isn't so much the melatonin; it's more of doing it behind your back instead of talking to you about it and making the choice together as parents."
Another said: "This is a huge deal for me. If [my husband] went behind my back and gave my daughter melatonin, I'd be furious. What we give our children is something we need to agree on. Melatonin is a hormone and there are side effects."
What is melatonin?
Melatonin is a hormone that occurs naturally in your body. At night, your levels of melatonin rise, before returning to normal during the day. This helps to control how and when you sleep.
The NHS reports: "You can take a synthetic version of melatonin for short periods if you have sleep problems such as insomnia. This adds to your body's natural supply of melatonin, so you fall asleep more quickly and you're less likely to wake up during the night. It may also help with symptoms of jetlag.
"Melatonin is mainly used to treat short-term sleep problems in people aged 55 and over. It can also sometimes be prescribed by specialists to help with longer-term sleep problems in some children and adults. Melatonin is available on prescription only. It comes as standard tablets, slow release tablets, capsules and a liquid that you drink."
You should speak to your GP if you are suffering with sleep issues or want to know more about melatonin levels and prescriptions.
*Names were changed on the Reddit post for privacy
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