Study Reveals Staggering 80% Of Parents Give Sleep Aids Like Melatonin And Benadryl To Put Their Kids To Sleep

The majority (64%) of parents say the use of the prescription sleep aid was recommended by their doctor every time it was given, while 34% say some of the time, and 2% say never.

A new survey reveals that a huge number of American parents across all generations are giving their children sleep aid pharmaceuticals to put them to bed at night.

The study, conducted by Sleep Doctor, noted in their thesis that ‘the number of young children being given melatonin is skyrocketing, and recently several daycares have been in the news for drugging kids to get them to sleep;’ and therefore wanted to know just how pervasive it is among parents to give children these sleep-inducing substances.

Surveying 1,201 parents across different age groups in the month of April, Sleep Doctor discovered:

79% of parents have given their child a substance for the primary purpose of aiding sleep
66% of parents have given melatonin; 25% gave it to a child 3 years old or younger
35% of parents say they have given benadryl to get their child to sleep
20% have given their child prescription sleep aids

Of those polled, 84% of Gen-Z and 83% of Millennial parents say they are likely or have given a sleep aid to their children.

Melatonin is the most commonly administered sleep aid by those that have. Sleep Doctor reported that ‘the majority of parents (97%) gave their child melatonin more than once. The plurality of parents (21%) gave melatonin to their children about 10 times, while 16% gave it about five times, 14% about two to three times, and 3% only once. Further, 13% of parents say they gave melatonin to their child 50 times or more…