It's unfortunately no secret that it's difficult to find trustworthy providers when it comes to reliable babysitters and quality daycare centers.
But just when we thought we'd heard everything that a childcare provider could do wrong, it may have just gotten worse.
TikToker @collectivetraumacorgi recently became what he describes as a "personal shopper-slash-delivery driver," which of course gives him access to the scope of the things people in his area are interested in buying. Alarmingly, he was noticing a trend at the daycares in his area.
Reflecting in his car, the TikToker observed:
"One of the weirdest things that I've learned about after being a personal shopper-slash-delivery driver over the past few months is this: Children's daycares order an obscene amount of melatonin gummies."
Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone in the body that helps us regulate our sleep and waking cycles, and it's also involved in mood regulation and fight-or-flight response.
Adults sometimes take supplements of Melatonin to treat symptoms of insomnia, and jet lag, or to simply regulate their sleep routine. It's also becoming increasingly common for parents to give their children smaller doses of Melatonin to help regulate their sleep schedules, especially when they're raising a restless sleeper or a child with ADHD or Autism.
The TikToker then implored parents to do some digging of their own:
"If you are fortunate enough to be able to afford daycare for your children because you’re in a working household, you know, any pediatrician-slash-doctor can do a urine or saliva test for excess melatonin levels."
"You might want to consider it because I’m kind of shocked and appalled."
You can watch the video here:
Any supplement, vitamin, or medicine use should be run by a child's parent or guardian. Though melatonin is naturally occurring in our bodies, giving someone a supplement could deregulate their body's naturally occurring systems, which could potentially lead to other problems down the road.
Fellow TikTokers were deeply concerned by the observation.
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@collectivetraumacorgi/TikTok
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Though this was an observation made by only one delivery driver, the purchasing of melatonin gummies makes unfortunate sense: The use of melatonin gummies would encourage all of the attending children to sleep more soundly for a longer period, causing fewer disruptions among the kids who are still sleeping and allowing for the adults to get a break during the day.
But without parental clearance, and depending on the age of children daycare providers were willing to give gummies to, this surely couldn't add up to anything good for the kids over time.
