I'm beginning to obsess about details for my June trip to France en famille. I've read all the jet lag threads and they're all great for adults, but do all the same rules apply for kids? Should we give them a dose of Dramamine and call it a night? Or heavy doses of Sleepytime tea? Does anyone have experience surviving jet lag with kids? I'm so afraid they won't want to miss an airplane meal or movie and will stay up all night! What kind of earplugs work best? Just how many sleep aids do the airlines provide? We do have our own inflatable neck pillows.

<BR>Hi <BR>Dramamine is meant for motion sickness, not for fighting jet lag, unless someone has figured out something new.Discuss this issue with your pediatrician, some would not object to <BR>your giving your kids one appropriate dose of kids'benadryl or some such drowsy-maker, but you'll need to work harder to make sure they stay hydrated on the flight. <BR>On the other hand, depending on their age and temperament, you can either eat before the flight or bring your own dinner on (as I often do for myself) so that you can eat earlier than everyone else, read a book or two, and with luck everyone in your party will get sleepy enough eventually to get some real sleep for several hours. <BR>When you arrive, if you arrive in the early am as many flights do, your hotel room may not be ready when you check in. <BR>If you all have the stamina, go out for breakfast and walk around the neighborhood for a few hours, come back to the hotel, and have everyone nap for at least a little while which may perhaps help the kids last until a relatively early dinner and early bedtime. I am usually an advocate of grown-ups' trying to stay awake on the first day and just going to bed early, <BR>but that may be too much to expect of your kids that day. <BR>For me, going from the east coast of the US to Europe is less a matter of jet lag due to time differences, and more a matter of plain old sleep <BR>deprivation.

We typically give our kids a doze of cough syrup and this knocks them out, but doesn't cause drowsiness when we arrive.

I forgot to add, if you will be traveling in economy class, few airlines will offer aids like sleep masks and earplugs, so bring your own unless you are in business or first class.

Nano, this is a great question because, while many of us have travelled as adults and have found ways to beat the drain of overnight travel, we don't know how to anticipate what our kids will need. Having done the big flight from Denver to DC to Paris with 2 teenagers, I'll tell you what I learned: <BR> <BR>1. talk, talk, talk with your kids before hand about the flight and the need to sleep restfully and be alert (somewhat by morning) to engage in a day of experiencing a new world. This is of course if your kids are old enough to think that way. <BR> <BR>2. IF they are, make the plan for what will happen around when dinner is served on the flight, as that may be the time when you all agree to be counting sheep. I feel very strongly about this, even to the point of mentioning it to the flight attendant that you want a "do not disturb sign" kind of mentality around your space. <BR> <BR>3. If your kids need any sleep aids, go the sleepy time tea route because, I mean, gee, they're not sick or nothin' and you as a parent know well all sorts of sleep inducing stories, songs, etc. <BR> <BR>4. Create an expectation of the first flight day and travel day exploring your destination. Create fun ways to awaken them to their new environment. <BR> <BR>5. Finally, be aware of your own limits, your own needs and make sure they are accounted for. Go slow and be sure to absorb all the fantastic nuances <BR>of traveling with your children, whatever age. See the novelty through their eyes as well and voila... a great trip, not necessarily stress free, but at least conscious and awake. <BR> <BR>Bon Voyage, <BR>Anne

For a morning overseas flight we'd have everyone asleep at about 9-10 the night before. We'd be up by 4 a.m. and everyone is awake until the plane takes off. All of the excitement keeps them awake for the first leg of the trip. Then they zonk out. They won't mind missing a meal (they don't always find something to eat so bring along crackers or whatever they like).Once you arrive, you have to give them time (if they're under 10)and on the second day then just keep them awake all evening so they'll be tired enough to sleep the night. I've never given them anything to dose them off on the plane. It's part of the trip.

The age of your child is the most important fact we need to know. I have traveled lots of time with my child but she is now only 8. <BR> <BR>What I have normally done is wake her up too early the morning of the flight. She is excited and stays up 1st leg, runs around airport like wild thing, then gets on transatlantic flight very tired. She eats alot then reads and falls asleep on her seat and 1/2 way across me. No need for pills or any sleepy products. <BR> <BR>It is good for the kids to sleep on the plane but, the next morning my daughter is still very tired (remember they still only get 6 or 7 hours sleep. So when we land, we push her in a stroller and she continues sleeping. I think this was the last year we will get away with that. Bring the stroller. Throw it away in Europe if you don't want it the next day. But it is so helpful that first day landing. <BR> <BR>My daughter normally NEEDS 4 hours of sleep after landing. This has happened to us everytime on 6 over-seas flights since she was 4. So if your kids are between 4 and 8 this is what you might expect to happen to you too. <BR> <BR>Don't try to keep them up after you land and go touring. You will all just be miserable. Last year in Spain, after landing we went straight to the Thyssen museum with my daghter in the stroller and pushed her through for three hours. We loved the museum, she slept, everyone was happy. Other times we have gone to cafes and laid her across two chairs while we enjoyed coffee and pastries. We have even let her sleep in hotel for two hours while we unpacked, showered, and arranged day-trips, tickets, etc. <BR> <BR>If they get enought sleep in the beginning your whole trip will be much smoother. <BR> <BR>Another tip, planes have kids meals order it 24 hours before your flight. From USA it is great, but from Europe it is not very good. Ask if you can get a one-way kids meal. <BR> <BR>Don't forget about kids ears popping. I have found that sticky candies work the best. We use sugarfree jelly beans now since my daughter is diabetic. But Tootsie rolls, laughie taffy and fruit roll-ups work better. Gum does work at all for me or my daughter. <BR> <BR>Pull up strings on bringing kids to Europe, lots of good info hidden between the "I hate kids" email. <BR> <BR>Have fun

For what it's worth, here's my exp. with a toddler. We let him sleep when he needed to (car or stroller), and he adjusted at the rate of 1 hr. per day, so by the 6th day he was over the jetlag. We headed home on the 9th day, so we went through it again for awhile. We give Dramamine to prevent nausea, but it does have a slight drowsiness bonus.

Also, for what it is worth, my daughter did quite well with jet lag. She was too excited to sleep on her first trip to Paris at age 8. ( I hesitated to drug her because I was afraid I couldn't carry her off the plane if she wouldn't awaken.) We had several delays due to bad weather and did not arrive at CDG until 1 p.m. I took her out in the sunshine that afternoon for a good, long walk, fed her a decent meal at 5 p.m. (her usual supper time) and she fell asleep at 7:30 p.m. She slept until 6 a.m. and was adjusted to the time change. I think the key was the physical activity and eating at the right time.

Wow, such great suggestions. Which one(s) to choose? For the record, we will be leaving Boston around 8:00 PM and arriving in Bordeaux around 9:30 AM. I should have mentioned our kids' ages in my first post, but I've posted questions about our trip so many times that I thought it might get a little old. Our kids are, or rather will be, 12, 10 and 6. They are all real troopers and can handle most new situations quite well. After we arrive in Bordeaux, we plan to drive to St. Emilion and spend one night at Hostellerie de Plaisance (thanks to previous comments on this site), THEN leave the next day for a weeklong stay in Domme. Knowing that we only have one night and a partial day in St. Emilion, I really want to make the best of it. It's not that I want to paint the town red, but I'd like to get out and about a bit instead of sleeping the day away. I'll print out all of the previous suggestions and see which ones work best. Thanks.