Ok this is a question that's come up around here

[luvmyfam444]

and I want to read your opinions - I'm sure there will be many...

Do you think it's ok to give your child Benadryl when they aren't sick, but to help them sleep - like if you're on a trip & they took a late nap & are now awake running wild @ 2 a.m. when you got to the hotel?
Or to have them sleep in the car when you're travleing with people that can't handle kids being kids??

Just curios - I've seen where some people think it's fine to give it once in a while & others that have said NO WAY that it's a mind altering drug that it would harm the kids......such different opinions

 

[kdibattista]

 

[Tracey1974]

You know I just gave my DS (8 months) Benadryl for an allergic reaction he had this weekend and was very surprised at how sleepy it made him. It was kind of nice to have him take a nice nap! I have always heard of people doing that but I don't know that I would give it to him on purpose.


Ask me in December when we are on the plane to WDW with him when he is 17 months old and I may have a different opinion though!

 

[paigevz]

I don't think it should be used to calm kids..............not because I think it's necessarily harmful for a once-in-a-while dose, but I'm afraid it would be used more and more often instead of just once in a while. I think kids are kids, and should be taught to self soothe, helped by keeping as close as possible to a regular schedule, singing and reading and other calming activities, and tolerated when they just can't.

Funnily enough, when my son used to get car sick as a toddler, the dr. told me to give it to him. I had no clue. I wondered how on earth this would keep him from getting car sick. I soon found out..........he just slept the whole trip! While I wouldn't want to use that each time we went out, I think for a really long trip so he isn't soooo miserable, car sickness might be a viable use (of course, I am pretty sure they have other motion sickness relief, and don't know if it wasn't available then for kids, or if the dr. just thought this would be easier ).

Edited to say, my opinion might be colored by my child having ADHD, though. You have to think of lots of ways to soothe, distract and calm, and have to develop a lot of tolerance..............or you'll go nuts!

 

[Alicnwondrln]

watch out and get your famle suit
i aske dthis question last year as the doctor told us to giveit to ds 2 as he has an ear problem and i got my butt chewed so much it is almost gone
good thing i ate enough to grow it back
LOL

 

[mick67]

Since you're asking, I'll offer my 2 cents.

I wouldn't do it myself, but I don't think it's harmful to the kids on an occasional basis. Do you say something like "you kids are WILD...here take this" or do you slip into their kool-aid? And as far as people who can't handle kids in cars, if they're old people then I see your reasoning, if they're not old I'd let them drive themselves before I drugged my kids for them, but that's just me.

I wouldn't put you in the "evil" category...it's not like you're re-using your beverage mug from a previous trip or anything.

 

[luv2nascar]

no I don't think its okay. I know someone who gives it to their kids all the time. You can tell because they are like zoombies. It really is sad to witness. The excuse they give is car sick.

 

[Tracey1974]

I wouldn't put you in the "evil" category...it's not like you're re-using your beverage mug from a previous trip or anything.

 

[pearlieq]

A couple of my neighbors joke about this. I've seen one of them do it. Frankly, I kind of lost some respect for her. Not totally because of the Benadryl thing, but because she completely refuses to set limits for her kids and then gets upset when they run wild.

I don't think I'd ever do it, but I can imagine I'd certainly be tempted...

 

[lbgraves]

One time when I was just run ragged & at the doctors for a check up for DD, the doctor was asking how things were going. DH was involved in a crash investigation that had him working 16 hour days 7 days a week. DS was wanting daddy & I was up alot with DD. I hadn't slept thru the night in almost 3 years at that point & was running on fumes some days. I mentioned that there were times when I was dealing with the kids that I considered giving one or both of the kids just a little benadryl in their juice...just so that I could get a good night's sleep & be able to handle things better with a fresher outlook. He said "and that would be OK. You need to be in good shape to be able to take care of them." I think that I did this a couple times. With DD it actually helped her start to sleep thru the night after some restless nights. Two nights of good sleep just seemed to reset her inner clock so that she could do it on her own.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Sometimes it can have the opposite effect and make a child instead of

 

[lbgraves]

That is true! I know of a couple friends who had to deal with that when they had to give their child benedryl and was glad that mine didn't react that way. Recently when we were trying to deal with DS's cough that wouldn't end I broke down & filled the Rx for Atuss that the doctor gave him. OMG! He took it at 6 pm & was tired beforehand. He was so hyper after that. He didn't stop chattering in his bed until after 10 pm that night. I will NEVER give him that again!

 

[powellrj]

Sometimes it can have the opposite effect and make a child instead of

It always made my kids little hyper whirlwinds, so no I never did it!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Same here, I gave one of my kids an antihistamine (similar to benadryl) once and whoever it was was off the wall. Never again, except for a bug bite.

 

[HaleyB]

I really don't think it is harmful to the child. I have never done it myself, and my kids are really past the age... hmmm... actually my 19 year old stays up way too late.... lol.

My daughter had a bad time on a plane once as an infant, and I remember I wished I had anything I could give her. She was beyond upset, really misserable. I don't think I would medicate my child for the sake of strangers, but for their own sake, I have no problems with that. I also think a very stressed out parent is not going to be able to calm a stressed out baby, and so in that case too, I would have no problems with it (although a rum and coke for mommy might work too). Not on any sort of regular basis, but once or twice, sure.

If I had to have someone in my car that couldn't take being around my kids, I would be tempted to give them the benadryl- it is much more reliable at making grown-ups sleepy

 

[tevagirl]

When we were on vacation my nephew, who was around 3 or 4 at the time came down with the chicken pox. We had a 12 hour car ride home so my DSIL gave him benadryl to help with the itch and to make him sleepy since the poor kid was going to be stuck in a car seat for all those hours. It hyped him up instead. About 5 hours into the trip the other kids were all passed out asleep (non-medicated) and Billy was still non stop chattering. My DSIL couldn't take it any more and yelled at him to "please stop talking for 5 minutes" to which Billy replied "I can't help it, my teeth won't stop!"

 

[Colleen456]

DD has been on Benadryl for 3 weeks now at bed time per doctors orders. She doesn't sleep through the night and is up 3-4 times a night. He said try it for 3 weeks to see if it would help get her into a good sleep pattern.

Actually tonight is her first night off of it and so far so good. She's actually more chipper and lovable since she's been getting decent sleep.

I've also been told the trick to Benadryl is to keep them calm until it kicks in.

 

[sha_lyn]

The red food dye, not the drug itself is what usually makes kids hyper instead of sleepy from taking bendryl.

DD has been on Benadryl for 3 weeks now at bed time per doctors orders. She doesn't sleep through the night and is up 3-4 times a night. He said try it for 3 weeks to see if it would help get her into a good sleep pattern.

A good friend received very similar advise from their Ped. He (the PED) said the DD is likely ADHD but is too young to medicate for the ADHD. They've tried to take her off the med, but she will not fall asleep without it. she usually does not wake up durig the night once falling asleep. She just can not "turn off" to fall asleep on her own.

 

[Rafiki Rafiki Rafiki]

Each of our pediatricians has told us to give Benadryl to my daughter when she didn't sleep.

No, it's not an excuse for not caring for your child. Yes, it does help on the occasion when a child is not sleping.

Two things about this medicine. One: the user builds tolerance to the drug, so it loses its effectiveness after repeated use.

The second thing is that the rebound effect from this drug can be dreadful and makes a child far more hyper than the 4-6 hours of sleep you'll get from a child taking the medicine.

 

[TinkerBess_SnowTori]

I haven't used Benadryl - but I have used tylenol - does that make me a little less evil?

I was talking to DD's doctor about how I had trouble getting her to sleep in her crib - she was about 18 months at the time - and that the one time she did was after I gave her tylenol for her teeth and was thinking about trying it again - (and then I laughed to show I was joking) and he said "Go ahead, a few nights with tylenol won't hurt her, and the sleep will do you a world of good."

I fell in love with my dd's doctor more than once...