Time change and Jet lag for 10 year old

[BAYSIDE MOM]

All set for tommorrow, planning to book Germany. Real quick question for those who have traveled to Europe with children. How did your kids handle the time difference and jet lag. This is my daughters (10 years old) first long airplane ride, I'm wondering if it might be a good idea to add an extra day before we actually start our adventure. Give her some time to rest, and for me too (it ain't as easy to bounce back when you are in your 40s). Thanks for any advice you can give me!

 

[ga9497]

My kids have been on long plane rides a few times and they handle really well. The first time my son was 4 and my daughter was 6 and we went to Italy. I was a little hesitant but they were troopers. They are now 11 and 13 and still do very well on long flights.


My best advice is to take the latest possible flight, if it is a non stop, so that by the time they settle in it will be their bed time and they will sleep for most of it. This has always worked for my kids

I also take hand held games, gameboys, etc, now they have ipods so I take those. Books to read, deck of cards or anything that will hold their interest. My kids school has a summer reading program that they have do complete before the following school year begins and I purchase their books and they take those to read on the plane, while in the room getting ready, etc

I always handled jet lag pretty good until I had kids but I think that has to do with worrying that they are going to be ok and I can't rest. The best advise I can give you is to try and sleep on the plane and don't go to sleep when you arrive but instead at your normal bedtime or close to it. If you cannot sleep on the plane, take a small nap but make sure you set an alarm because if you sleep too long it will totally throw off your internal clock

Avoid drinking caffeinated drinks or alcholic drinks on the plane this prolongs your jet lag.

Have a great time

 

[abdmom]

My kids handle time changes better than me! I'm in my 40's and took dd9 and ds12 to China in June. I was still jet lagged after about 4 days. We arrived 1 day early, but the tour started less than 24 hours later. I would recommend arriving AT LEAST a day early. We missed one of the activities on day 3 of the trip because we had the afternoon off, I lay down and fell into a deep sleep. The kids were wide awake while I slept. Of course, our time change will be 12 hours, so it was a little more rough than usual.

 

[abbyjt]

We did the Germany trip this year and you will love it. Our kids have been on 3 abd trips to Europe now. We have arrived 1 day early each time. The best thing to do is take a late flight and try to have everyone sleep on the flight. When you get there, do not nap or sleep. Stay up until a reasonable bed time. Try for at least 9PM. Sleep late the next morning, but not too late. We got up at 9:30 am and just made it to breakfast before it closed. Then you are on schedule and no more problems. I find it harder coming home. Have a great time.

 

[SCFamily4]

I traveled with my son (9 yrs old) to France in April (not an ABD trip). Like the other posts, I think the kids handle jet lag much better than the grownups! We booked a direct, late afternoon flight, arriving mid-morning in Paris. He watched some movies and slept on the plane - at least he was comfy in the airline coach seats! He was also thrilled with all the food on the plane.

Based on feedback from friends who travel a lot internationally, we hit the ground running and got to bed early that night. It seemed to work pretty well.

The trip home was more difficult for sure. We planned on two days of nothing once we returned to help us re-acclimate.

 

[kristilew]

When we travel overseas with our dd10, we try to book the three seats in the center of the plane. That way, each adult has an aisle seat, and dd can stretch out with her head in my lap and feet in dh's. (This doesn't work in the first row, which has the trays in the armrests, so they don't lift out of the way.) She gets good sleep this way. We also bring eye covers and ear plugs, as they are only provided in first class. And we let her have the rare treat of a coca cola on the first day, to wake her up!

 

[BAYSIDE MOM]

Thanks everyone for all the great advice! I think we will book the pre day, its really not that expensive and since I don't know how well we are going to handle the jet lag, I'd rather be safe then sorry!