OUR RULES OF THUMB FOR SURVIVING JET LAG

By Charlotte Burgoyne.

Having a multicultural family living on both sides of the Atlantic ocean, doubled with a passion for traveling, I get to experience long flights with my girls quite often. My last trip from Algeria to the US with my 1-year-old and 3-year-old was not glamorous, at least not at the beginning. It started off with a nerve-racking flight, as my littlest decided that the bassinet was a better place to stand on than to sleep in. When we got to our destination, we had to get up between 3 and 4 am for the first four days, and between 5 am and 6 am the rest of the first week... Coming back home after 15 days away, there were a whole other set of adjustments. Our team of writers from around the world are also very familiar with jet lag and kiddos. Here is a compilation of our best advice for surviving jet lag with the kids.

GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS

  • Be really careful when CHOOSING THE TIME OF THE FLIGHT. Depending on your kids, a day or night flight might be better. I am really ambivalent on this one as my girls never sleep on planes. Day flights are exhausting as my girls don't leave me alone one minute, and night flights are also exhausting as I don't get ANY sleep. I guess you have to pick your battles...
  • AVOID A LAYOVER in the middle of the night. "We had a 3-hour wait in Kuala Lumpur in the middle of the night, it was freezing because of the very strong AC and the seats were very uncomfortable. If you can, try to take the airplane blanket with you if you have a layover to avoid getting cold." Julie Wouters, our contributor in India.
  • For trips with a +6hour time difference, plan to stay at least 10 DAYS to really enjoy it.
  • During the flight, DRINK A LOT OF WATER, MOVE AROUND, AND EAT AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE.
  • The first night after the flight is always easy, it gets tricky afterward...
  • Try HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES. "For the first time this year, I tried a homeopathic treatment (Arnica 10g for Jetlag) and gave it to my kids at take off, during the flight and at landing. It is hard to believe, but for the first time it took us only 4 days to recover from the time difference, so I believe it really helped!
  • DON'T FIGHT JET LAG TOO HARD. Play in the middle of the night if you need to (while keeping the lights low), read (no TV), take a bath to relax, drink a cup of warm milk...and after a reasonable time go back to bed!
  • SLEEP WITH YOUR KID. At home, everybody sleeps in their own room, but when traveling I forget this rule. I find that it really helps my toddler to see us sleeping or at least trying to.

Traveling East to West - The hardestWhat to expect

  • Very early mornings.
  • 5 days to adjust (for a six-hour time difference. The rule is 1 day per hour of time change but I find it took less time for us).
  • Super long afternoon naps where you'll probably have to wake them up.
  • Poor appetite.

What to do

  • This might seem obvious but REALLY try to do it as it is the most important: Get mentally ready to EMBRACE a messy schedule for a few days, meaning be prepared to play from 3 am to 7 am.
  • Try to KEEP YOUR KID UP until their naptime (even if he woke up at 4 am, try to keep him up until 12 pm if it is his naptime at home (and don't calculate how many hours of sleep your little angel is missing. You will be surprised how long he can stay up if he is stimulated).
  • GET OUT. To help him stay up until his naptime for instance, get him out in the natural light as much as possible.
  • If you can, try to LIMIT CAR OR STROLLER RIDES as it will be very hard for your kid to resist falling asleep. Cat naps can disrupt solid naps from happening and it might mess up the schedule you are trying to get him on. If you have a super napper outside of the house then don't pay attention to this. My kids, especially my 1-year-old, always wakes up after 20 minutes if she is not in bed.
  • LET YOUR KID HAVE A LONG AFTERNOON NAP; but make sure to wake him up before it's dark out (especially during the winter). My toddler was really disturbed to wake up at 5 pm and not see the sun!
  • PUT YOUR KID TO BED LATER than the ideal bedtime you'd like him to have, in order to move the wake up time. Once the wake-up time is fixed, then you can move back the sleep time.
  • KEEP THE LIGHTS LOW until the sun comes up. Let your kid play in low light, or better yet, try to all hang out in bed, you might all fall back asleep after an hour of chilling.
  • ALLOW YOUR KID TO SLEEP WITH YOU, especially if he wakes up in the middle of the night and is having a hard time going back to sleep.
  • If your BABY IS NOT SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT, the time change should not affect both of you too much. If he is nursing, he might want to do more of it for comfort.

Traveling West to EastWhat to expect

  • Late bedtime, and late morning wake ups.
  • Poor appetite.
  • Feeling tired for several days.

What to do

  • When traveling West to East on long distance, night flights are very common (and pretty the only option when you fly out of the States.) If you know your kid is a great sleeper and will doze off easily, I would say go for a night flight. If you're unsure of your little one's sleeping abilities, try to find a DAY FLIGHT, as a sleepless night for the entire family takes days to recover from...
  • Don't hesitate to SKIP THE AFTERNOON NAP to help your kid fall asleep earlier.
  • WAKE your little one up at a normal time in the morning. This is what is really gonna make a difference and help you get back on track faster.
  • Live at the pace of the country, for instance try to RESPECT THE LOCAL MEAL TIME.
  • GET OUT. Being exposed to natural light is going to help you reset your biological clock.
  • AVOID SCREENS after 6 pm, it is well known that screens make it harder to fall asleep and as this is already a challenge, it would even be better to avoid them completely in the afternoon, at least for a few days.
  • SOOTHE YOUR KID TO SLEEP more than usual. Don't hesitate to do some extra rocking for babies or stay with your older kid to help them fall asleep.
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