Avoiding Jet Lag In Children
Feb 26th, 2008 by Jimmy
Jet Lag leaves adults tired, cranky and many times, physically ill. For children the adjustment from one time zone to another is even more difficult. Young children, especially, are very sensitive to any changes in their schedules and react poorly to sudden time differences.
Avoiding jet lag for your children makes good sense for everyone.
If traveling by air, try to travel during your child’s normal sleep time in the new time zone. It is likely they will nap during part of the trip.
Push fluids. Keeping well hydrated will go a long way toward alleviating symptoms of jet lag. Water is best, sports drinks are good, but avoid carbonated sodas.
Avoid junk foods. Sugar and high fat carbs like cookies and chips will make blood sugar unstable and make your child more fussy. At the same time, try to keep the child’s diet as close to normal as possible.
Try to get your child prepared for the new time zone by adjusting their schedule gradually over a week or two before the trip. If this is not practical, have your child go to bed in line with the new time zone the day before the trip. When you arrive at your destination, let them nap, but keep them on the new time.
Physical activity will help your child’s body deal with the jet lag. Take them for a walk around the new city, a swim in your hotel pool or let them run through a park when you get to your destination. It will also help to let your child walk around on the plane often.
Parents should remember jet lag effects adults and children equally and that children are not as psychologically able to push past the physical effects. Children may need extra nap time for a few days upon arrival at the new destination.
one cool trick that i learned in my psychology studies is that a good way to reduce jet lag is to go outside and get some sun. sunlight is a great way to wake you up and help you adjust to the new timezone.
It seems that recently alot of travel blogs have been writing about traveling with children. Lots of great tips on the blogosphere have been given but that does not make traveling with children any easier. One tip I have is set up some kind of routine for the kids as children like structure and order. This can be done in many ways but I leave it up to an individual to tailor their routine to their kid.
Very good looking site you have here. And great posts too, especially this one will be helpful with the kids. Thanks!
Great point! There’s nothing worse than planning a big trip for the family and then everyone needs to recover for two days because of jet lag! I really like your point about adjusting their sleep cycle PRIOR to going on the trip, that way it’s not such a shock to the system when you do change time zones. Thanks again!
Keep your child hydrated. This is probably one of the key aspects of avoiding jet lag. Make the fluid water, if possible. If your child won’t drink straight water, try using water with just a splash of juice. Also choose foods that will hydrate, like fruits and vegetables.
The thing about jet lag is it is a stress related symptom, not some disease. Make the travelling fun with lots of rest and jetlag disappears. Think about it for a minute — if flying one way has you loose time and you supposedly get jetlag, what happens if you fly the other direction and gain time? Will that result in more energy — of course not! It’s all equally stressful. Next time you get a trip just relax more especially the night before departures set your clocks to the “new time.”