Jet lag and a four year old

[Bexx]

My DD will be four and a half when we finally get to go to WDW. Does anybody have any experience of how jet lag affects children of this age?

 

[Sue & Co.]

We have found previously that the only problem outbound was that their body clock is still in England so they want to get up at 4am 'because it's really 9am at home' (quote from my oldest son, 9 at the time). We found far more problem coming home and every time it has taken 3 or 4 days for them to adjust and be able to funtion normally.

Sue

 

[Bexx]

We found far more problem coming home and every time it has taken 3 or 4 days for them to adjust and be able to funtion normally.

Yes, that is the part I'm concerned about. Has anyone any tips for making things a bit better?!

 

[RUSHBURY]

Hi Becky

Hopefully you'll be as lucky as I am with my 3 children. We've travelled in Oct for the last 5 years and have an overnight indirect flight via Newark to Glasgow and then a 2 hour - 2 and 1/2 hour car journey back home and then the children go to school the next day and we've never had a problem with them, they are now 16, 14 and 7 - can't say the same for DH and I though!!! glad I don't have school the next day!!!

Helen

 

[wendy_uk]

Our children adjusted very well 9 & 7 at the time, they were wide awake at 4am on the first nite tho, but were so tired the next day slept well and were ok for the rest of the time, coming home was ok for them to had an overnight flight, had a day off school then back to normal the next day. However I can't say so much for DH and myself it took a lot longer to adjust. This year however I have made a big mistake with work, and will be landing Hopefully at 06.55 to then have to face work supposedly at 09.00 but thinking more like 11.00. Feeling tired just thinking about that lol.

 

[Miffy2003]

Hi Becky

I have to say that our 3 & 7 year olds coped better with it than we did!! On the way out they had a nap on the plane for 1 hour which then equipped them for the very late night (UK time) in Orlando. I was dreading the jaglag on the return journey but as the flight left Orlando at about 9pm they both slept solidly virtually the whole way (unlike me LOL!) and were fresh as daisies (well nearly!) when we touched back on English soil. We just kept them up that day till "normal" UK bedtime and they were both fine the next day.

HTH

Karen

 

[Bexx]

Thanks for your replies - it all sounds pretty positive. I'm certain that, like the rest of you, my DD will cope much better than I ever do!!

 

[SNOWHITE7]

Hi Becky

My DS was four and a half the first time we went to WDW and our experience was similar to the other posters. He woke up about five the first morning, but after that he was fine. Coming home he slept most of the way and coped with the jet lag better than we did.

 

[leise]

Hello
Last time we went our two DS were 4 and 18 months, and we had more of a problem going out than coming back . It took the first 5 days before they would sleep past 4.30pm, and DS (4) would crawl into bed when we got back to the room at 5, and fall asleep!
In a way it worked out well, as we were on site, so we used to get up at 4.30, go for breakfast in the deserted ASmo food court when it opened at 6am, get the first Disney Bus at 7am to whichever park had Extra Magic Hour that day, and get on all the rides before most people were up.
Then when they were both asleep by 6pm, we would watch mad tele for a bit then go to bed ourselves. Having had no proper sleep for 4 years, it was the best thing in the world; they would both sleep through. LOL.
By the second week they had adjusted so we could go to the fireworks etc.
Coming back we had a 9pm Virgin flight. They both slept all the way; we didn't! They then slept all the way home in the car, and were back in the normal routine that night.