How to Help Jet Lag for Kids | The Family Survival Guide
It’s an age old question: “How do I beat jet-lag, and how do I help my kids do it too?” We have travelled as family since my son was 3 months old. We did an overseas trip the year my son was born all the way to England from Alberta, Canada. It was 24 hours long – door to door.
We did just fine; and I’ve got some tips to help make sure you and your kids are too! ***Keep reading to find out my secret hack to beating jet near the bottom!
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Beating Jet-Lag for Kids
Give notice
My first piece of advice for beating jet-lag is to give notice to your children. What the heck does that mean? I’ll explain.. Travelling with a baby was a brand new experience for us. We had started a routine for my son around 3 weeks old, which involved things like a warm bath, books, and snuggles before bedtime.
We wondered (and worried) how we would upset the balance in taking him 7 time zones away!
I spoke with his pediatrician about it and she seemed unconcerned, but did mention a piece of advice I’ve never forgotten, and still use today. This definitely works for kids of all ages. She said “Make sure you tell him ahead of time where you’re going, and what’s going to be happening”.
This thought struck me: Imagine being plucked from your regular life with no warning or idea what was happening. That would be incredibly startling! I’m sure babies understand much more than we give them credit for, and toddlers definitely understand!
So, a few weeks before we left, I started telling my son about our upcoming trip. What we’d be doing, who we’d be visiting and when we were leaving.
At 3 months old, there wasn’t a lot of feedback obviously, but that was okay. You’re supposed to talk to babies all the time anyway!
On the Plane
My next piece of advice is to beat jet-lag is to be as prepared for the plane journey as possible. That means bringing special blankets or toys from home to encourage sleep, and providing nutritious and filling food.
I bring snacks from home especially for the journey. It’s always really important to stay hydrated during the flight!
I try to limit screen time when I’m trying to promote sleep, and keep to our routine as much as I can. I changed my son into his pyjamas, read a couple books, and sang our bedtime song together.
If you’re travelling from Canada to Europe, or any other long haul flight – they typically dim the cabin after a couple of hours after everyone’s been fed, and is ready to settle in.
When my son was little, I purchased a blow-up device that fit in front of his seat to make a little bed. It gives kids the opportunity to stretch out. The item is linked here and called Fly Tot . It is accepted on over 50 airlines worldwide.
Bulk Head Seats
Honestly, my son has never slept much on the plane. The only time he slept really well is when he was 3 months old, and we requested the ‘bulk-head’ seats that came with a bassinet.
He probably slept for 6 hours out of an 8 hour flight. The only time we had to take him out of the bassinet was during turbulence. It was perfect; he loved the loud noise of the airplane engine, and after he was fed, he was out-like-a-light.
You have to make the best of flying with kids, it can be stressful for everyone – but I try to remember it’s a big change from their regular routine, and so try to make it as comfortable as possible.
I also remind myself that this is THEIR holiday too, and is a big adventure! Try to see the world through their eyes. Snapping or being short tempered will get you no-where, and fast.
“When travelling with kids, don’t forget to pack your patience” – unknown
Arrival
Beating jet-lag for kids and families becomes the most acute upon arrival at your destination.
We’ve flown to Europe as a family frequently, and that means when you arrive at your destination, it’s still the middle of the night at home, but early morning in Europe. This is where it can get pretty tricky.
What we’ve found works is letting our son nap on route to wherever we’re going or staying. So if it’s a 30 minute car or train ride, he gets a 30 minute nap.
We then unpack and spend no more than an hour at our accommodation before heading out again. It’s really important to try to get on the new time-zone schedule as soon as possible.
If you have a stroller, this is the ideal way for tired minds and bodies to still get rest, but be exposed to daylight at the same time. We go for a walk in the local area, maybe hit a playground, and do our grocery shopping (as we typically stay in self-catering units).
We try to kill as many hours as possible. I don’t book any unreasonable excursions or adventures the first day, it’s mostly very relaxed and easy going. We try super hard to keep everyone awake until at least 8 or 9pm.
Sometimes my son would nap in his stroller again in the afternoon, but we’d never really let him go longer than 1 hour.
If you go to bed at 9pm, I almost guarantee you’ll wake up at around 3 or 4am. For us, it’s like clock-work, it happens during every overseas trip!
When we wake up in the middle of the night, we’re HUNGRY! (This is where doing your grocery shopping the day before comes in handy.) We will sit quietly with all the lights off, still in our pajamas and have a small snack.
Most of the time we’ll have some fruit like a banana or a piece of toast. We typically stay up for around 30 minutes and then we all head back to bed.
Sometimes it takes a little while to fall asleep again, but we always do. Travelling can be so taxing!
The wake up time the next day is really important if you want to beat jet lag! Even if we don’t want to, we get out of bed between 7-9am. We have breakfast, get ready, and again go outside to expose ourselves to ALL of the sunlight. This is a KEY component in combating jet-lag.
Kids will still be pretty tired this day, and some parents too but this is the day I find it all starts to fall into place. Again, try to stay up as late as you can, but start putting your kids to bed at their regular bedtime.
Don’t forget to keep hydrated throughout the day. It’s the worst feeling to be super tired and dehydrated at the same time, I almost think it makes it worse!
We only really ever struggled with jet-leg once many years ago.
I have a fun story about crossing multiple time-zones on the way home from Europe one year..(our son is a great traveller and hardly ever complains just as a little background.)
We spent a week in England for my Grandma's 100th birthday, hopped over to Spain afterwards to spend a week there before heading back to Canada. We flew through Ireland on the way home and and spent one night before heading over to Iceland for 1 night.
It was in Iceland that the jet-lag finally hit my son.
He was around 7 years old that year. After spending 4 hours in the Blue Lagoon we all felt very relaxed, but super tired at the same time. We snuggled up in our Airbnb in Iceland and all fell asleep fairly quickly. That was until I woke up to a massive BANG at 11pm.
My son had been SO tired that he rolled right out of bed and onto the floor! The airbnb we were staying at also happened to be a house-share, so I'm sure the BANG woke a bunch of other guests as well! I felt so bad for my kiddo, but he didn't even register it.
We picked him up and put him back in his bed and we all fell back asleep once again. My son woke up with a big goose egg, unfortunately. He had never done this before, and has never done it again.
The lesson for us was to take our time when travelling and try not to squeeze too many things in!
Beating Jet-Lag for Parents
The list for beating jet-lag for parents isn’t as comprehensive as the ones for kids, but over my many years of travel to and from Europe, I’ve picked up some tricks of my own.
Firstly, you should know that I don’t sleep on airplanes. The position is just not conducive to sleep for me. I know lots of people that are able to sleep upright, no problem. I am not one of them!
Over the years, I have tried lots of different things, from neck pillows, to sleep-aids, alcohol, you name it! I’ve never had more than an hour or so of broken sleep on an airplane.
So, when I land… I feel excited at first about the new place or the holiday, but I get tired pretty quickly in the afternoon. Unfortunately sometimes I’m so jet-lagged that I feel physically ill. I have a couple of things I do to combat this feeling.
Hydrate
Firstly, I try to stay hydrated on the airplane. I don’t drink alcohol anymore because it makes me feel gross. It works for some people to have a snooze, but not me. So I bring a bottle of water and sip every half hour.
I also exercise my legs in my seat by doing heel raises and get up as often as I think is socially acceptable, haha! I also just bought a handy hammock for my feet based on the recommendation of a friend. It was a life saver! Get your Airplane Hammock here.
A study also has shown that sleeping pills dehydrate a person further, which is a health concern on long haul flights. You definitely don’t want to get blood clots in your legs!
Eye Mask/Neck Pillow
If you think you’ll be able to sleep, bringing an eye mask is really helpful. It puts the brain into a drowsy state and discourages peeking at things going on around you on the airplane. I like this one on Amazon.
This is definitely something I struggle with, there always seems to be something happening on the flight and I have FOMO.
Bringing a neck pillow can help your head from lolling side to side as you fall asleep and subsequently wake yourself up from it.
Melatonin
This is a controversial and complex treatment for jet lag involving the manipulation of a hormone in the body, starting in the days preceding travel. Research shows that if you miscalculate the right time to take it, melatonin will actually make jet lag worse!
I’ve never personally experimented with this because it makes me nervous after some bad experiences my family has had with sleep aids. If you’d like more information on taking melatonin, check out Healthline’s website on beating jet lag
Magic Tablets (My Secret Hack)
MY FAVORITE way to beat jet-lag is a little trick I picked up, and I’d love to share it with you! A few years ago I discovered a tablet at the health food store called “No Jet Lag”. It is FDA approved, and it’s only 5 ingredients that are all natural.
They include: “Arnica Montana (Leopard’s Bane), Bellis Perennis (Daisy), Chamomilla (Wild Chamomile), Ipecacuanha (Ipecac), Lycopodium (Clubmoss)”
I’ve had really great success with this tablet, I’ve taken it multiple times on long haul flights. You take a tablet at take-off, and then every 2 hours afterwards. Then, as you land you take the last dose.
It it suitable for ages 3 and up, and the company has some recommendations on dosing for children on their website. I have given it to my son multiple times. If I take this, I don’t get that ill feeling once the tiredness sets in at the destination. It also seemed to help my son feel brighter upon landing.
It used to be available to order online at amazon.ca, but it only available on amazon.com now, and at multiple retail destinations around the globe. It is very affordable, and the New Zealand company has done plenty of studies on airline pilots and flight attendants to confirm it’s veracity.
Freshen up
My last tip is to freshen up as soon as you get to your destination. I have freshened up on the plane in the past (complete make-up redo, changing clothes, etc), but now I might only brush my hair or what-not before deplaning.
My preference is to check into our accommodations (if possible) and either take a shower, or completely redo my make-up and change my clothes. This sets me up to feel a little more human for the next few hours while I wait for my new bedtime.
In conclusion, beating jet lag for kids and your family is not only possible but also essential for maximizing your travel enjoyment! By implementing these strategies tailored to both parents and kids, you can mitigate the effects of jet lag and make the most of your adventures & memories together.
Remember, preparation, flexibility, and patience are key. By prioritizing rest, hydration, and adjusting to local time zones gradually, you can ensure smoother transitions and more memorable experiences for the whole family.
So, pack your bags, embark on your journey, and let the adventures begin, knowing that with these tips, jet lag doesn’t stand a chance against your family’s zest for exploration. Safe travels!
If you have any tips, I’d love to hear what works for you and your family! Drop me a line below or shoot me an email and I can add it to the list!
Xoxo Tanya
Oh my gosh no sleeping! Lol I’m asleep before the plane takes offf lol. What are things you are doing for 8-10 hours to stay occupied?
I wish I was more like you! I alternate between reading, listening to music, movies and staring at the seat in front of me hahaha