Melatonin can be an effective tool for helping children (and adults) get the rest they need. It may be recommended by your pediatrician. It’s available over the counter and is touted as a ‘natural’ sleep aid.

That doesn’t mean it’s appropriate for teachers to sneak it (and other ingredients) to kids, particularly without parental permission.

Currently, four school staff members in Texas are on administrative leave while an investigation into allegations that they did just that ensues.

Child Comes Home With “Sleepy Sticker”

According to KHOU, a four-year-old girl came home from school with a sticker bearing a pattern of stars. When her mother asked about it, the child told her it was a “sleepy sticker” given by her teacher.

Something about this didn’t sit right with the mother, Lisa Luviano, and she began her own investigation. She spoke to other moms, and looked online, where she found what she thought may be the same patches on Amazon.

If she was right, she realized, they were intended for adults and contained melatonin and other ingredients.

Meanwhile, the other moms she contacted asked their kids and received affirmation that they, too, had been given “sleepy stickers.” Some have expressed concern about recent changes in their children’s behavior.

What’s In The Patch?

Luviano says she found the patches on Amazon. They’re called “Sleep Z Patches,” and they list ingredients she’s never heard of.

While these are available in various brands, one that stands out for having the same design is from a brand called Klova. Whether or not it’s the brand that these teachers used, the packaging and information highlights the concerns.

The ingredients listed in the item name alone are “Ashwagandha, L-Theanine, Hops, Melatonin, Valerian, [and] GABA,” and that’s followed by a vague “and other natural ingredients.” (Some of these appear to be lavender oil, hop flower powder, white willow bark extract, and passion flower extract, based on an image of an ingredient list.)

The package also boasts that the treatment is “100% drug-free.”

Risks & Dangers Of Melatonin In Excessive Use

If these are the patches being used, they’re intended for adults. There are other versions marketed for kids, but none seem to match the stickers these children received.

When purchasing melatonin, dosage matters. There is such a thing as a melatonin overdose, and doctors warn that even below the overdose threshold, too much can cause more sleep struggles long-term. Web MD warns that excessive melatonin can cause a range of side effects, including depression, anxiety, stomach cramps, and blood pressure problems.

Unfortunately, supplements in the U.S. are not strongly regulated, and the New York Times reported last year that an investigation of 25 different melatonin products found that 22 of them were mislabeled regarding dosage. Some had no detectable melatonin or less than advertised, while others had more than four times what was claimed.

When a recommended starting dose for an adult is 1 milligram or less, that’s a lot of extra melatonin.

If the patches in this case were indeed the Klava ones, they boast a 3 mg dose. Other brands have similar dosages. One I found that was specifically marketed for kids is sold as a 2 mg dose.

And it’s impossible to know if the patches have the advertised dose, since they aren’t strongly regulated.

A Full Night’s Melatonin For Naptime?

Even if these patches had child-sized doses and the parents had been aware and approved, their product description advertises that they’re a better choice than oral supplements because they continue to release the substance overnight.

In other words, these patches are intended to keep dosing the wearers for 8 hours or more — not for the 30 minutes or hour that kids nap in preschool.

That means kids were getting a full adult all-night dose (assuming that the dosages are trustworthy to begin with) for naptime — it is mind-boggling that teachers could have thought this was acceptable.

Other Ingredients In The Transdermal Patch

Calling these patches “drug-free” is a pedantic tangle. The substances are not regulated as drugs, but certainly fall under the umbrella of substances that cause physiological responses in the body.

Valerian root, for instance, has been used as a sedative for so long that the National Institutes of Health‘s fact sheet mentions that Hippocrates wrote about its effects. They’re well-documented, but their mechanism is still not fully understood, long-term effects haven’t been studied, and because of lack of information, it’s not advised for use in small children (“younger than three” is the specific line) or pregnant women.

It also may have interactions with other medications.

Likewise, the NIH finds that Ashwagandha can be effective for sleep and anxiety but has side effects, including stomach distress and liver injury.

In short, any of these ingredients may be appropriate for some users. Still, the patient (in the case of an adult) or their parent or medical professional should be evaluating the risks and benefits for their personal needs.

That’s a far cry from what is alleged in this situation.

What Should Parents Do?

Every parent should discuss with their children that anything described as “medicine” or “for sleep” should only be given with a parent’s permission.

Talk to your child about medicines and that taking them when they aren’t needed can do harm. Explain to your child why the medicines in your own house are kept out of reach, and why she should only take them when mommy or daddy gives them.

If someone else will be administering meds to your child — such as a babysitter or school nurse — talk to your child about this in advance, so they know that if someone else is right to give them meds, they will have heard about it from you first.

Remember that even ingredients touted as “natural” can be harmful for some users or in excessive doses. There is little regulation in the U.S. of anything marketed as a “supplement,” so make sure to do a little extra research on a specific product or substance before giving it to your child at home.

Above all, talk to your child about their day and be vigilant. One mother who paid attention caught this incident.