Sleeping aids and Kids

One of our producers is a new mom. When her adorable baby hit 3 months he stopped sleeping .. well, in her mind that's what happened. His sleep habits just weren't jiving with her work life. To say she was frustrated is an understatement. But she knows it's part of his development.
Now jump to parents of older children. Seems sleep troubles are a big problem in American homes.
A new study published in the latest issue of "SLEEP" finds some 60 percent of American boys and girls under age 11 experience some kind of sleep troubles a few nights a week. And the treatment - doctors are prescribing sleeping aids - even though they're not approved by the FDA for kids.
But that's not what has some experts really troubled. They say the issue isn't about giving kids pills to sleep . .it's about finding the underlying cause of their trouble getting shut eye.
Dr. Gregg Jacobs, an insomnia specialist with the Sleep Disorders Center at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, Mass., said prescribing drugs often sidesteps the underlying causes of sleep trouble.
"Children are in the golden years of sleep," he observed. "It's not normal for them to have sleep problems. So, if they do, then you know something's wrong. And medicating the child doesn't get to the heart of the problem. It's more important to figure out what's going on. Is it stress, caffeine, a problem in the home environment?"
It's something to think about when you're having trouble drifting off.