
Falmouth, Maine, on NBC Nightly News for All the Wrong Reasons
Apple Blossom Childcare in Falmouth, Maine, was the top story recently on NBC Nightly News.
But it was for all the wrong reasons. Falmouth, Maine, parent Laura Putnam found out that her son was getting melatonin supplements at the daycare without her permission or knowledge.
Falmouth, Maine, daycare was investigated for giving kids melatonin
Laura enrolled her two kids in Apple Blossom Childcare in Falmouth, Maine, when they were just 1 and 2 years old. She learned from a former employee that her kids, along with others, were given melatonin gummies at nap time. Melatonin mimics a hormone produced in the brain that makes people sleepy. It's not illegal in Maine to give kids at daycare melatonin, but there must be written permission.
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Laura asked her older son about it, she told NBC News,
He said, ‘Oh, it makes the babies go’ — and then he made a snoring sound. He told me he got them when he was younger and they made him very sleepy. And then I asked if his younger brother got them, and he looked at me and said, ‘Yes.’ And I said, ‘How often does he get them?’ And he said, ‘Every day.’
In Maine, it's not illegal for day care centers to give kids melatonin
Melatonin, along with other nonprescription medications, can be given to kids in Maine, but the daycare does need parental consent. Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services launched an investigation into allegations of abuse, neglect, and licensing violations at Apple Blossom Childcare.
Laura Putnam then said that Maine's DHHS informed her that her older son was a victim of abuse and neglect. It was devastating news for a parent who was crushed with guilt of letting their kiddo down. However, the findings of abuse and neglect were reversed and overturned due to 'insufficient information in the case record to support' according to NBC News.
Look for Maine to pass regulations about melatonin and other nonprescription drugs given to kids. This fight is not over.
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Gallery Credit: Joey
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