The Night My Teenager Shocked Me With Melatonin…

So yesterday I had one of those glorious parenting moments where you think, Oh, this has to become a blog. Not because it was meaningful or sentimental or inspirational — no, no. Because it was so absurdly teenage that it deserves to be immortalized on the internet forever.

Let me set the scene.

My daughter Chana is one of those socially gifted teenagers — you know the type. The kind with a circle of friends who somehow manage to talk during school, after school, and then five minutes after walking through the door, she’s already back on the phone with the same kids she just spent nine hours with.

And I mean five minutes.

Not ten.

Not twenty.

Five.

She walks in, drops her bag, and boom — she’s back on the phone with the exact same people she just spent hours with.

Every time I watch this happen, I think:

What else could you possibly have to talk about? You were literally breathing the same air until ten seconds ago.

But apparently, I know nothing. I’m “just a mom.”

Translation: ancient, irrelevant, outdated — somewhere between a typewriter and a rotary phone.

So our evenings usually go like this: she talks, does homework (quotation marks intentional), and then she and her friends end up at each other’s houses. Even when it’s freezing. And here in Montreal — in case anyone forgot — it is already FREEZING.

Who voluntarily goes back outside in this weather? Wouldn’t you rather stay inside, take a hot bath, maybe read? But again, in her eyes I’m soooo old and boring. What do I know?

And then… The Universe Shockingly Removed Her Social Life For One Night

Yesterday, for reasons unknown, the entire friend group fell apart for the evening.

One had an appointment

One was out of town

One was sick

And suddenly — panic.

“What am I going to do for the next X hours??”

You would think she was stranded on a deserted island with nothing but coconuts and silence. The sheer panic in her voice made it sound like she was being asked to solve world peace, not fill a couple of quiet hours.

So naturally, she went over to the sick friend’s house. Because nothing screams “good idea” like hanging out with someone who’s not feeling well.

She shmoozed there until around 9:30 PM, and when she finally came home she was still pacing around, confused about what to do with herself.

“Mom, I’m super tired,” she tells me.

And I look at her — lovingly, but also with deep concern for her logic — and say:

“Maybe… a shower and bed? For once in your life?”

You should have seen her face.

She stared at me like I had just landed from Mars with a suggestion no human had ever heard before.

A shower? And bed? Before 11 PM? Was I okay?

Then Came the Melatonin Moment

And this is where the story gets good.

Because in my house — and I’m sure many parents can relate — every meaningful conversation happens in my bedroom. No one knows why. It’s just the rule. The children could be doing anything else, and somehow the discussion will still migrate to my night table.

So she wanders into my room, opens my drawer, and takes out the melatonin bottle.

And then — without asking, without blinking, without hesitating — she takes two in her hand.

My jaw dropped. I mean DROPPED.

I was absolutely floored.

“What in the WORLD are you doing??”

And she, standing there like an innocent little angel, says:

“Well… I have this thing. If I get into bed before 11 PM, I can’t fall asleep.”

Excuse me?

So let me get this straight:

1) She’s exhausted

2) She has a free evening (for once!)

3) She could go to sleep early — like a normal, tired human

But she has told herself a story that her body refuses to sleep before 11 PM

And because she believes it, her brain just… agrees?

How insane — and also how powerful — is that?

This is EXACTLY what I teach as a coach:

Your mind believes whatever story you tell it.

And teenagers? Oh, they are master storytellers.

But I Didn’t Want to Coach — I Wanted Her to Figure It Out

Now, the coach in me wanted to jump in with solutions.

But I know better.

If the solution comes from her, the new story will actually stick.

So instead, I asked one simple question:

“How do you even know what time it is?”

She looks at me.

Looks at the clock.

Looks back at me.

“My clock,” she says slowly.

Silence for a moment.

And then — the lightbulb moment.

“You know what? I’ll just cover the clock!”

She looked so proud, as if she had invented electricity.

Meanwhile, that was exactly what I wanted her to realize… but shhh.

Let her have this win.

(Though let me just note: she didn’t actually cover it herself. She asked her younger sister to do it for her so she wouldn’t see the time. Genius or diva? You decide.)

And guess what?

She slept.

Of course she slept.

Because her body was tired, but her mind was stuck in a story that wasn’t true.

All it took was removing the “evidence” — the clock — and suddenly her brain gave her permission.

The Lesson? Our Minds Are Wildly Powerful

We laugh about it, but this is such a classic example of how our brains work — teenagers, adults, all of us.

We tell ourselves stories like:

“I can’t fall asleep before X time.”

“I always wake up at Y time.”

“I don’t sleep well unless _____.”

And once the story is planted, the mind does everything in its power to prove itself right.

But the moment you challenge the story?

Everything shifts.

Want Help Rewriting Your Sleep Story?

If your teen (or you!) struggle with sleep habits, routines, or nighttime anxiety, you don’t have to do it alone.

Sometimes one conversation can completely change the narrative.

👉 Book a free 30‑minute call with me and let’s talk about your sleep struggles:

https://calendly.com/chevymermelstein/30min

Curious About Supplements?

I also wrote a full blog about supplements — what helps, what doesn’t, and what you need to know before giving anything (even melatonin!) to your kids.

👉 Read it here:

What Supplements Can I Take to Sleep Better