Originally Posted by
Eclipsepearl
Please do NOT do any kind of tour of anything you can't "get out" of in a hurry. Try to see outside sights. Walk around Leicester Square or Covent Garden. Watch street performers and be around awake people. They wont appreciate any museum or tour. They'll just zombie-out or feel ill. Go see some of the amazing parks... Drink, walk, get out in the fresh air (if it's not raining!)
I'd try to get everyone up early on the day you leave (not painfully so, just don't sleep in), and perhaps forego the meal in flight to get more sleep. Ambien is my friend on these flights, and it really does help me get enough to get through the following day.
I find moving around outside in the sunlight is best way to adjust (I will try a round of golf in many locations to adjust to time differences). Don't put pressure on yourself to do anything other than stroll around and explore, get a feel for the pace and place of the new city. Take time to look at parks, plants, shops etc. that look interesting. Eat light; a little tea can be your friend when feeling droopy mid-day. If you insist on a tourist attraction, the Tower of London is good mix of being inside and outside, and for things that will interest many kids your age.