Happy Wednesday,

We’ve been feeding our daughter solid foods for a few months now. At first, she’d eat everything in sight, but now it seems like she has developed favorites and has no problem tossing the unwanted food aside - fortunately it can’t go very far.

I recently sat down with a dear friend who told me that his 3 year old son now refuses to eat spaghetti. He and his wife had tried a number of ways to encourage their son to eat, but had not had success.

That’s when I asked Parenthood what to do. In an instant, it gave us 5 super helpful pieces of actionable advice and you could see the lightbulb go off in his eyes. He let me know a few days later that he had tried a few of the tips and sure enough was able to get his son to eat spaghetti.

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One Big Idea

Rethinking Melatonin Use in Children

Getting your kid to sleep through the night is something we all dream of from the beginning of our parenting journey. In recent years, melatonin supplements have become a popular remedy among parents looking to help their children fall asleep. This trend, backed by startling statistics, raises critical questions about how appropriate and safe this practice really is. Recent studies indicate a significant number of school-aged children and preteens are being given melatonin. With nearly 1 in 5 kids between 5 and 13 years old taking the supplement, and even some as young as 1 to 4 years old, it's essential to understand what melatonin is and its intended use. Melatonin, a hormone naturally produced by our bodies, regulates the sleep-wake cycle. Its supplemental form is widely used as a sleep aid, but its effectiveness and safety in healthy children remain under scrutiny.

Despite its widespread use, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) emphasizes caution, noting melatonin's classification as a supplement rather than a medication, which means it lacks regulation by the Food and Drug Administration. This lack of oversight can lead to significant inconsistencies in the actual melatonin content of these supplements, with some containing substances that require prescriptions. Moreover, the AAP stresses that melatonin is not a sleeping pill and advises using it only after consulting a pediatrician and establishing healthy sleep habits. With over 260,000 accidental pediatric melatonin ingestions reported between 2012 and 2021, and cases requiring mechanical ventilation and even resulting in fatalities, the risks are clear. Pediatricians instead advocate for focusing on sleep hygiene over quick fixes, emphasizing the importance of building a routine over pill-popping solutions. This shift towards establishing healthier sleep routines, coupled with professional guidance when considering melatonin, is vital in protecting our children's health and well-being.

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• Did I Say That? Sometimes I look back at the things I've said to my daughter and realize that parenting is a constant stream of bizarre, never-before-uttered phrases, perfectly tailored for the journey of raising a human. This sums that thought up well

Tip of the Day

• Me, me, me: Parenting experts share advice on how to ‘un-spoil’ your kids

Here’s a dad joke

Why did the golfer bring two pairs of pants?

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