Sutterwitz

My wonderful daughter, age 5, is accompanying my Mother and I on a tour to China this October. She is a seasoned foreign traveller but we've never gone as far as Asia. I'm concerned about jet lag.
Is there something I can do beforehand to prepare her for jet lag? (I can't just pop her an Ambien at 3 in the afternoon when we board the flight!!) We're JFK to PEK...
What do people pack for 5 year olds on flights these days? DVDs? Gameboys? Is there an issue with getting DVDs into into China?
And any ideas for packing clothes for her? The weather seems to be 63-70ish...Does that sounds correct? I figured we'd share a small suitcase going over and then populate another case with souvenirs on the way home. I am going to be carrying everything so packing light is critical.
Also, can I bring an unopened jar of peanut butter and an unopened jar of jelly and a loaf of packaged bread in my luggage? Is that a customs issue? I'd like to lug along PBJ but I really don't want ANY issues.
We'll be there 10/7 through 10/18. It is a whilrwind tour! While we won't have very much discretionary time to explore by ourselves, we are thrilled to be going.
Thanks in advance for any insight you can lend!!!
Regards,
Evie

Kathie

Use as many natural means as you can to help with jetlag... plenty of water, dark and encourage sleep during China nightime on the plane, get her up and outdooes and into the sunlight as early as possible the first morning (and each morning thereafter) once you get there. Some people use a child's dose of benedryl to help a child sleep either on the plane or the first night in-country.

I've certainly seen quiet children with gameboys or similar on the plane. Some airliens have excellent child cartoons and movies on the entertainment system.

No problem taking dvds to China.

I would expect the PBJ would be no problem in your suitcase, but it won't be allowed in your carry-on.

Shanghainese

Unless your DD needs a certain brand of PB & J, and bread, large grocery stores in Beijing and Shanghai all carry them, I have tasted chinese-made Skippy PB, Smuckers strawberry jam and many kinds of bread, and they are not much different than in the US.

If she doesn't like milk, there is soy milk which originated from China.

Sutterwitz

Kathie & Shanghainese: Thank you so much for the information!
We will be trying the chinese made skippy!
Best regards,
Evie

zix

We're also flying to China with a 5 yr old this November (and a 9 and 14 yr old too). The last time we went to China our younger dd was 6 and we brought a portable dvd player, along with books and little toys like Polly Pocket. The airline we flew had the individual screens so there were also some kids cartoons to watch.
But yes, the best thing is to try and get on the local time as soon as possible. We were exhausted when we arrived in Beijing in the afternoon (EWR-PEK)but I kept everyone up until after dinner so we could at least get close to the normal bedtime before we all crashed. Some people recommend melatonin but I don't know if I would use that for a small child.

keuka

Hi Evie,

I live in Beijing with an almost 2 year old and 4 year old. We just arrived back from the states from our summer vacation. I brought back 2 suitcases full of food. China doesn't have the agricultural/food restrictions the US has. You just can't have a fever! You'll pass through geothermal sensors that read body temperatures.

As far as the plane goes, my 4 year old watched his DVD player. I also brought card games. The jet lag will be rough. It takes my kids a good 3 nights before they are sleeping through the night and not waking up at 2 AM!

September and October are the best 2 months to visit and the weather will be very nice. You should expect mid to high 70's. I don't remember how cold it gets at night.

Good luck and enjoy your trip!