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Tips for jetlag/long flight for kids


KittyloverCA
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my kids are 10 and 13, but other than when my 13 year old was 2 and we went to China, they have never had an overnight flight or dealt with a time difference more than 3 hours.

 

We are traveling from CA to Copenhagen, so very long flight, overnight, the good thing is by the time we get to the hotel it will be night so hopefully they’ll just be able

to go right to bed with the help of melatonin. I’m afraid my 10 yo will have a terrible time falling asleep on the plane as even when she has insomnia at home she cries and carries on in frustration. I’ve been trying to prep her that she can’t have a fit if she can’t sleep on the plane. Any tips? (I’m not opposed to medicating!)

 

And then I have no idea what to expect with the jetlag with them since they’ve never been in that situation

 

Any tips for dealing with this? (Especially if you have more “challenging” kids and not “my kid typically falls asleep 5 min after the plane takes off....)

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It is generally recommended that you try to get kids into daylight as much as possible, and try to put them on the new schedule as much as possible once you land. In Copenhagen, we used Tivoli Gardens to adjust our 3 year old - it's gorgeous at night, and he was so excited by the rides that he was able to stay up to his normal bedtime on our first night in Europe. Your kids might also like a canal cruise in Copenhagen (just bring a jacket since it might get a bit chilly on the water)

 

 

You can try to search on youtube for meditation videos to see if anything works to help your child relax (let her try these out at home to see if you can find anything helpful for her). Clipgrab is a software program that lets you download a youtube video so you'll have it on the plane and ship even without internet access.

 

My son was smaller, but the review in my signature line for the Baltics has a lot of kid friendly activities (I'm missing visiting reindeer in Helsinki, since I didn't know about it then). My son's favorite things were Peterhof, Vasa, the open air lemur exhibit in Skansen and the canal tours in St. Petersburg and Copenhagen. There's also a great restaurant chain called Stolle all over St. Petersburg that makes sweet and savory pies that are fast and delicious.

 

 

You can talk to your doctor about medicating. If you want to try Benadryl, I'd just recommend doing a test run at home. In a very small percentage of children, it makes them hyper instead of falling asleep. I also tried to give it to my 2 year old when we traveled to Norway, and he spit it out. He also refused to drink the milk I'd laced it with when I tried to give him some that way. So Benadryl might work, but not for all kids.

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It is generally recommended that you try to get kids into daylight as much as possible, and try to put them on the new schedule as much as possible once you land. In Copenhagen, we used Tivoli Gardens to adjust our 3 year old - it's gorgeous at night, and he was so excited by the rides that he was able to stay up to his normal bedtime on our first night in Europe. Your kids might also like a canal cruise in Copenhagen (just bring a jacket since it might get a bit chilly on the water)

 

 

You can try to search on youtube for meditation videos to see if anything works to help your child relax (let her try these out at home to see if you can find anything helpful for her). Clipgrab is a software program that lets you download a youtube video so you'll have it on the plane and ship even without internet access.

 

My son was smaller, but the review in my signature line for the Baltics has a lot of kid friendly activities (I'm missing visiting reindeer in Helsinki, since I didn't know about it then). My son's favorite things were Peterhof, Vasa, the open air lemur exhibit in Skansen and the canal tours in St. Petersburg and Copenhagen. There's also a great restaurant chain called Stolle all over St. Petersburg that makes sweet and savory pies that are fast and delicious.

 

 

You can talk to your doctor about medicating. If you want to try Benadryl, I'd just recommend doing a test run at home. In a very small percentage of children, it makes them hyper instead of falling asleep. I also tried to give it to my 2 year old when we traveled to Norway, and he spit it out. He also refused to drink the milk I'd laced it with when I tried to give him some that way. So Benadryl might work, but not for all kids.

 

By the time we get in it will be bedtime anyway (I image about 9pm local), I do plan to keep busy the next days we have there before the cruise. Mostly worrying about the plain ride. Definitely passengers would be more sympathetic to a 3 year old crying than a 10 year old! So probably a bit different experience than you had!

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I feel for you if you think your 10 year old is going to have a melt-down. Definitely a question for her Doc - perhaps something to deal with anxiety?

 

Are you flying direct? What are your flight times? Any way to break up the trip with a day or two on the east coast before heading to Europe?

 

The only other thing for the flight I can suggest is a travel pillow and blanket, and lots of movies for whatever electronic device she will have.

 

Good luck!

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I feel for you if you think your 10 year old is going to have a melt-down. Definitely a question for her Doc - perhaps something to deal with anxiety?

 

Are you flying direct? What are your flight times? Any way to break up the trip with a day or two on the east coast before heading to Europe?

 

The only other thing for the flight I can suggest is a travel pillow and blanket, and lots of movies for whatever electronic device she will have.

 

Good luck!

 

Yes we leave around 7 pm, already booked our ticket....I’m just going to keep prepping her....

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