hillrider

No different for kids than adults (the usual adjust to destination time zone ASAP, plenty of bright light, etc, etc.); the only difference is that kids adjust much faster!

salut0

We will be traveling with an 8 month old baby on a transatlantic day flight (leaves around 10am from JFK and arrives in LHR around 10pm). We booked this daytime flight going east because in my experience as an adult it's easier to go to sleep after a full night's sleep in one's own bed followed by a long flight and then arrive tired at the destination, rather than having had a mediocre night's sleep during a too-short overnight flight.

Any suggestions for making the transition easiest for the baby?

In addition: two days later after we arrive in London we will be going on to Israel, leaving around 9.30am and arriving there at around 4pm local time.

The baby at the moment usually takes a nap in the morning and one in the afternoon. What's the best way to adjust him to the new schedule?

levilevi

Having just done non-stop JFK-TLV-JFK (7 hours "forward" change) both legs "overnight" with an 8month old in February and got back from DCA-PHX-DCA (3 hours "back" change) with a now 9 month old, we found in both "directions" to ease the transitions over a couple days. Basically maintian your nap/sleep/feeding spacings, and push them slightly... but watch your baby for clues.

All babies are different - but i'd say for that london stop over - TRY - if your schedule allows - to just shift forward to Israel time... and here's the maxim we have used, given to us by another family... "sleep begets sleep" - so the more naps the better, assuming your little one will nap, which is a big assumption..

be prepared for a night or 2 of playing at 2am

gobluetwo

My kids are a little older (9 and 11) and we'll be traveling to Korea next week from US central time zone. What are your experiences with melatonin for kids that age? I generally haven't used melatonin either, but am thinking of giving it a shot this time around.

travelmom4

I have used a very low dose of melatonin (.5 mg) with my kids of that age. No negative side effects and they adjusted quickly to the new time zone. I can't say that the melatonin was beneficial but it certainly didn't hurt anything. I take it myself on the plane to get some rest. I also adjust my schedule a bit to the new time zone before we depart. In my experience, sunlight is the most important factor in quickly adjusting.

hfly

I travel long haul, intercontinental a lot (Definition: Probably 2 intercontinental RT's a month, every month for the last 25 years or so, average flight maybe 10 hours, I know lots of people who travel a lot. No one takes Melatonin. Some played with it maybe 15 years ago, and most "experts" think its a placebo effect at best. Some people who travel a bit of long haul (lets say 2-3 long hauls a year, but more significantly fly a lot of short trips) seem to really think that it does something.

I would not give it to an adult or a kid.

gobluetwo

Thanks for sharing your experiences. This is helpful. Fortunately, the plan is to be walking around once we get there, so we expect to get PLENTY of sunshine!

erik123

I stick to low dose melatonin (0.5 mg) and a sleep aid (simply sleep) which works well. I used to do monthly ultra long haul (10-12 hrs time difference) so have tried different approaches. Now I fly a bit less but still about 6 times a year.

This also works well for the kids (half dose = one pill simply sleep) who typically take 2 to 3 long hauls a year.

fredandgingermad

We've recently returned from a trip to Hong Kong, we're UK based and flew CX from LHR, this was my 10 month olds first long haul trip and he didn't deal with the time difference very well, the first night was the hardest as he wanted to play at 3am! He did however for the most part travel well, he slept well last night though if a little over active on the flight (we made a slight error of taking a day time flight to allow flying direct)
I'm flying to Canada with him in just under a month, this time it'll just be me compared to with dh and dd on trip just gone, be interesting to see how he copes this time around

TravelingNomads

We took ours on an overnight recently (ages 12 & 13 currently) and it did not go well. My husband and son slept, but neither my daughter or I could at all. Me mainly because I was trying to comfort her (she was crying and overtired). Thankfully, she was great after getting a bunch of sleep at the hotel and adapted quickly. I would highly suggest researching a hotel that will let you check in early. Ours let us check in at 9am which was extremely beneficial. We did let them sleep in a couple of times initially and just brought them breakfast back to the room which they seemed to appreciate. We've got another overnight planned soon and have been testing out different neck pillows. So far, none seem to have enough support, but we did set her up to have a window seat so that she could also lean against the wall. I'd suggest considering this even if the adults have to sit next to a stranger in the middle seat.

For those with little ones, I thought I read somewhere that you could purchase those inflatable squares to turn the seat into a bed for a small child. Also, on British Airways we noticed that they have seats without an armrest that appear to be intended for parents and a toddler. Otherwise, I had some success when my kids were little with infant carriers where they sleep on your chest.

vicarious_MR'er

I find that there isn't a lot you can do, and nature has to take its course. It's no fun to be sure, but I find I'm usually up too anyway, so I just go with it and try to sneak bedtime back a little each night toward normal, knowing that normal won't be today.

GUWonder

Same here.

It's also normal for me and those in my family to also do a lot of long-haul international flights. Whether as adults or kids, we've never done the melatonin thing. Soon enough, people adjust to the destination time zone in a way that makes sense. Between sleeping when feeling like it (and it making sense) and going with letting the sun and bodies interact, soon enough all adjust. We tend to just accept that the arrival day at the substantially different time zone is going to end up being an abbreviated day in one way or another; then it works out fine.

Big4Flyer

This is what we do as well. I find the biggest help, as simple as it sounds, is just adjusting your expectations. Whenever we fly to Australia/New Zealand we just plan on waking up at 2-3 am for the first couple days, and sometimes we'll actually make plans so we're not just sitting there frustrated that the kids aren't sleeping. I find our kids adjust about 1.5 hours per day, so we just plan accordingly.

gobluetwo

closing the loop, we ended up not using melatonin (okay, I forgot to bring it).

We ended up landing around 4am. That first day was pretty rough and there were a few naps here and there on buses and trains. We mostly kept the kids up that first day, so they were largely on the right schedule after the first night. I was the one who took longest to get on track, waking up several times the first few nights.

tunu2

noticed your trip is over, we will add our 2 cents of experience with children anyway. we keep plenty of water, juices, drinks, fresh fruit and food in our room- middle of the night picnics are common and for early morning hunger. we try to pick our room near the executive lounge if one is available and often opening
early.