I feel like there’s an unspoken rule among parents: don’t give someone else’s child medications or supplements without getting permission first. I mean, also with how many kids have allergies nowadays, many parents check before giving a child specific foods, too!
This mom has an 11-year-old son who recently went on a three-day long vacation with his friend and their family. When he came home, they were chatting about his trip, when suddenly her son said that he was thrilled to sleep in his own bed that evening, since he had been sharing a bed with his friend for the time he was away.
“We asked if he was hard to sleep with, and he answered with, ‘Well, nobody snored, and we took melatonin,'” she explained.
“The way my husband and I begged his pardon… son thought we were mad at him. Obviously not his fault. But we weren’t asked if they could give him anything…”
She and her husband are furious and horrified, and they’re not even convinced their son was given melatonin, as it could have been anything.
While melatonin (a sleep aid) is classified as a supplement in America, in other countries, like the United Kingdom, it’s considered a medication and requires a prescription.
She just doesn’t understand why the parents of her son’s friend thought it was acceptable to dole out something to help him sleep without seeking out approval for that first.
Even if her son had a headache and these people dished out Advil to him without asking, she would be upset with that.
She found it completely creepy, as the kids went to a water park, so they wore themselves out and shouldn’t have had a hard time going to bed at all.
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“Our son has gone on this same trip annually for the past 4 years, but just this time, my son has let it slip about the melatonin. I asked him if this is the only time he’s taken it, [but] he doesn’t remember,” she added.
“I am feeling very irresponsible for not having a talk with him about this… never taking anything from anyone, even parents. But it just didn’t cross my mind, I didn’t think I needed to. That was so incredibly stupid of me. I can’t believe it.”
“This is as [messed] up as we think it is, right? I am so mad. At myself and at them. Sadly, I had to tell my son he won’t be joining them any longer.”
She isn’t close to the parents of her son’s friend, nor does she like confrontation, so she’s trying to collect her thoughts and best figure out how to address that she’s angry these people gave her kid melatonin without her consent.
I understand why she’s upset, and they definitely should have checked in with her first before handing melatonin out to her kid, but considering it is available over-the-counter, they probably assumed it wasn’t a big deal.
It’s really an easy solution: she just needs to call up the parents (or text them) and say that she was uncomfortable with the judgment call that they made and would like them to inform her next time before allowing her son to have any supplements or medication.
She can keep it friendly so as not to risk the friendship and just say her son had a wonderful time, but that was one thing she wanted to bring up.
What advice do you have for her?
You can read the original post below.
By Bre Avery Zacharski
Hi, I'm Bre, Chip Chick's CEO! I have a degree in Textile/Surface Design from The Fashion Institute of Technology, and... More about Bre Avery Zacharski
