Jet lag is for amateurs! Well, not really. Long flights, different time zones can be a challenge for travelling adults let alone young kids. From where we are (Western Australia) most European destinations are 8 hours behind and about 20 plus hours of flying. During our previous European family trips (to Germany, England, Netherlands and Italy) jet lag is inevitable.
But fear not! Jet lag is not as hard to manage or get over as you may think. Your kids, just like our son, will eventually become very good at adjusting to new time zones.
Here are Letsgobeartravels 7 Jet Lag and Kids Tips to Save your Family Travel:
1. Start on the right flight
Choose a flight time when everyone can start the holiday feeling fresh. No right or wrong answer here.
For example, we prefer to fly out on an early morning flight. That way we are all well rested from the night before. For our flights to Europe, this means arriving at our destination in the evening – almost bed time. That way we can have a good rest and start exploring the next morning (or whenever we wake up).
2. Adapt on the plane
As soon as boarding your plane, forget your home time and set your watch to the destination time zone.
If you are ARRIVING IN THE EVENING, do your best to STAY AWAKE during the flight. If you are ARRIVING IN THE MORNING, do your best to get enough SLEEP during the flight.
For parents: go easy on the alcohol and coffee. Keep yourself hydrated. Also take cues from your airline lighting.
Kids (and some adults) might not be able to follow the above. Their body clock will cue them to nap and eat at their usual times. Just do your best, it won’t be the end of the world. Remember to pack your child’s preferred snacks and fruits on board. They won’t be happy made waiting for an extra few hours for their in flight meals to be served.
3. Divide and conquer
As we always say: Happy Parents = Happy Kids. Despite your best efforts, your child may decide to be fully awake at funny hours and refuse to sleep. When this happens, take turns with your partner to accompany your child.
Plan how you will be sharing the parenting duties. It is not fair if only one parent looks after the child all night long, ending up sleep deprived and get sick the next day.
4. Booking a good sleep (for everyone)
Our son luckily is a good sleeper and can sleep really well in new surroundings. But he prefers to sleep on his own bed, so an extra bed for him is a must. Think about your own kids. How easy are they adapting in a new environment? Try to copy the same sleeping arrangement from back home.
Also keep your bed time rituals as you would back home. Having the same cues like evening bath, reading will help your child sleep at the new time zone.
If you are travelling with multiple kids, then try booking a 2 bedrooms apartment. So when one child has jet lag, the whole family will not be affected.
5. The first day… take it easy
On your first day of family travel, begin adapting to the new time zone.
Don’t stay in bed until lunch time. Wake up early, enjoy breakfast and go outside. Getting sun exposure will help a lot! Schedule an easy sightseeing day.
After lunch time, if your kids are feeling tired, then go back to your hotel for a (quick) nap. Make sure you set an alarm.
Resist the temptation to rest until the evening. This will only make your jet lag longer. Try going out for dinner at a nearby restaurant and don’t go to bed too early.
6. Don’t be too strict with your routines
The worst thing you can do is to force your jet lagged kids to sleep and eat at set times. This will only frustrate everyone. Think of your kids and what their confused little minds are going through. Give them small leeway and adjust slowly.
For example with our son, we allow him to:
– Sleep a little later: usually the first few days, Berlin will nap longer than usual. In the evenings he will then usually sleep later than usual.
– Wake up super early: It is normal in the first few days for him to wake up early. Like 4am early! Fully refreshed and energized. We would allow a dim light in the room, but not entertain him (watching TV or play iPad).
– Random snacks top up: Usually we are not big on snacks. While travelling through, we always have milk or biscuits handy to stop the Hangry monster from coming out. Do not give chocolates or other sugary snacks. The last thing you need is a sugar high travelling kid.
7. “We need a holiday after the holiday”
Recovering from a jet lag back home is another process that takes time.
Don’t worry yourself by being concerned that you have to drop off your kids’ school and be at work by 9am routine.
You can follow the similar process above. Back home, the general rule is that you try to recover a few hours time difference each day.
We still haven’t quite perfected the journey back home jet lag. In the first few days, our son would usually wake up late from his nap at 6pm and refuse to sleep again until 2am. We would get him back to his normal sleep cycle by getting him to sleep 1 to 2 hours earlier each day until reaching back to the correct sleep time.
Luckily though, we never had to resort to giving ourselves or our son medication to help with jet lag.
How do you deal with jet lags?
