In the wake of her divorce, Meghan King Edmonds feels like everyone hates her. Some days, she’s kind of right.
Right now, she’s getting mom-shamed left and right. Was she reckless with her 3-year-old daughter’s health?
"This angel found a melatonin gummy in mama’s purse leftover from our flight," Meghan King Edmonds captioned a photo.
The Instagram Story narrated: "30 minutes later and Zzzz."
"That was 2 hours ago," Meghan’s caption concluded.
You can see the photo, which has since been deleted, right here:
This adorable photo isn’t eliciting any complaints on its own.
But the context that Meghan provided was raising alarm bells from a number of her followers.
The idea of 3-year-old Aspen taking a "sleeping pill" of any kind filled them with terror.
Sure, a nap is harmless. But what sorts of long-term effects would this have on her?
First of all, what is melatonin? We’re sure that a number of concerned fans scrambled to look it up.
I don’t have to look it up, because it’s the only way that I can fall asleep — ever. Snowed in at a friend’s house without it? I fall asleep at 4am.
Melatonin is not a shady sleep aid like some may imagine when they read that Aspen took a "sleeping pill."
Rather, melatonin is a natural hormone that the body produces in order to sleep.
The idea is that people may take it occassionally to reset their sleep cycle after traveling between time zones.
Others may have to use melatonin regularly (me, I’m others), taking it 30 minutes or less before bedtime in order to fall asleep in a timely manner.
Though melatonin can sometimes cause "odd dreams," it is naturally occurring and not habit-forming in those who take it.
An overdose of melatonin can cause seizures in young children, but one gummy is unlikely to qualify.
Is it the principal of the thing that has fans so upset?
The "what if" situations are easy to imagine. What if it had been a different pill in Meghan’s purse.
Everyone knows that 3-year-olds are going to put gummies in their mouths. It’s not like she decided to drug herself.
Gummies register as "candy" to children and adults — which is why they make it so easy for us adults to take our vitamins.
We have to imagine that if Meghan had been keeping something more dangeorus in her purse, she would have also been more vigilant.
A whole container of melatonin gummies might be dangerous around Aspen. Even one pot gummy would have also been a bad idea.
But Meghan’s purse didn’t have Ambien or pot gummies or opioids. It had a melatonin gummy.
Doesn’t it stand to reason that Meghan was unconcerned for the same reason that she saw fit to share the story on Instagram in the first place?
What happened was a harmless accident that serves as a reminder to watch what your kids can get their hands on.
The backlash and mom-shaming that she is receiving is a reminder of the price of fame.
Everything that you do as a celebrity is heavily policed by scores of fans, many of whom are trying to fill the void in their own lives by ruining someone’s day.
It’s always worse for moms. There are genuinely bad moms in the world, but giving your kid the "wrong" kind of cereal does not not make you one.
This was a normal thing that happens to good parents every day. We can all just chill, okay?