This week on Mom to Mom, Local 10’s Nicole Perez spoke to South Florida doctors about the pros and cons of giving children melatonin to help them sleep at night.

Melatonin is a synthetic form of hormone produced naturally by our brains to help you fall asleep at night.

Although many have tried it, the number of parents offering it to their children is increasing.

Dr. Heidi Cohen, medical director of the Children’s Emergency Department at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, says creating a good sleep environment for your child and giving their brain a chance to stop and relax is a best way to get him to fall asleep naturally.

“I’m not part of the melatonin fan club. There is nothing magical about sleep and children. It’s a process and no pill is going to just put them to sleep,” Cohen said.

But some moms, like Nicole Browne, say a special nighttime routine isn’t always achievable.

“It’s not real life. I have three children and I can’t follow a special bedtime routine every night. Hot bath, jams, magnesium massage cream and reading a story. This is not real life,” Browne said.

All of Browne’s children are under the age of four. She said she has never had a bad experience with the supplement.

“I think every now and then when you need it, it’s there. I’ve never had a bad experience. It puts them to sleep and they sleep through the night,” Browne said.

While some pediatricians say it’s a no-go for them, Dr. Hila Beckerman, who is also a mother of four, says she’s OK with it from time to time.

“If you’re considering giving your kids melatonin in the short term, let’s say you’re coming back from a plane and your kids are jet-lagged. This poses no problem. If you want to take a few nights of melatonin, I have no problem with that,” Beckerman said.

A new report from the US Center for Disease Control found that around 11,000 children have ended up in emergency rooms in recent years after ingesting melatonin unsupervised. The report noted that many incidents involved the ingestion of flavored products such as gummies and emphasized the importance of keeping medications and supplements out of the reach and sight of children.

“I think parents are stressed. Times have changed. They say it takes a village, but no one has a village. Most moms do everything themselves,” Browne said.

Melatonin is not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. It is considered a dietary supplement and is therefore not subject to the same standards as over-the-counter or prescription medications. Which means consumers won’t know for sure how many milligrams of melatonin are in a single candy.

“It worries me if I look at a bottle and it says one milligram per gummy, and I want to know it’s one milligram if that’s the case. I would definitely be more careful about the brands I buy or use,” Browne said.

Melatonin can cause side effects like nausea, headache, dizziness and disorientation.

“Honestly, it doesn’t really deter me. I don’t care what other people think they are my children. It’s my life. I think more research needs to be done on this topic and people need to talk openly about it,” Browne said.

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