My family is planning a trip to Hawaii with 2 toddlers and I'm concerned about jet lag, napping etc. Has anyone used melatonin or any other solutions to help get their kids back on track and less uncomfortable will falling asleep/staying awake in a different time zone? Please no judging...I just want my kids (and us) to be able to enjoy the trip as much as possible.
Thanks!
I like melatonin. Be careful not to take too much, otherwise you'll have some wacky dreams and a mean hangover.
The day before you go, stay up until your normal bed time in the new time zone. Then set your alarm in the time to get up in your new time zone. When you leave the old time zone and arrive the new time zone stay awake until the time to go to bed in the new time zone. By the time you awaken in your new time zone you should be acclimated. I've been to 6 continents, 47 countries and all 50 states and the above method has always worked for me.
My wife and I have done this multiple times over the years and it works great. My dad was career military and we did this when we went to a new duty station. I've been doing this since I was a small child.
I have used melatonin several times over the years and it works great as long as you don't take too much or take it for too long.
I hope you have a wonderful time. Good luck to you and yours.
Melatonin is completely natural. Your doctor would recommend it! I've used it for both myself and my kids.
I love Melatonin. It works wonderfully for us. My dr reccomended it and I think I should send him a bottle of scotch to say thank you!
yep, done it, takes about 30ish to "kick in" and make sure once given that all TV's, radio, computers etc are off and that the environment is CALM and QUIET it is not a drug to knock em out, just helps soothe them into sleep.
We took our 2.5 yr old to Asia on vacation and the first day was a bit rough (she woke up super early in the morning) and needed an early nap, but after that she was fine...well, we were all tired but no more than usual on a vacation. When we got home, she would be exhausted about 3 hours before bedtime every night so we had to use every tactic to keep her up longer. You will be fine with just hanging in there....no meds needed.
Start before you go in case of the dreams. My kids NEVER had any issues. :) Use the child's type available at GNC type health stores. It's 1mg, cherry chewable. It always helped them. No stress, no judgement. It was doctor reccomended. Good luck!
My son (6) recently started using melatonin regularly. He has ALWAYS had a difficult time with sleep wake cycles but especially as it gets into summer, he struggles with the longer daylight hours. (he is borderline ASD, so that's part of it).
Anyway, he takes a low dose (1mg) of melatonin about 30 minutes before bedtime and it helps regulate him. He falls asleep easily, sleeps all night, and wakes up refreshed in the morning.
Go to a health food store and talk to someone about appropriate doses for your little ones. I wouldn't try to give it for naps, it's not really a sleep aid, it just helps reset the body clock for sleep. Unfortunately, you're moving EARLIER on the world clock, so you'll have to struggle to keep them UP very likely, but a little melatonin at bedtime could help reset.
Unfortunately, it can take a few tries to get a dose that works the way you want it to (too little doesn't work, too much can make crazy dreams) so if you don't know what that dose is, it might not help with vacation but I'd say it's worth a try.
HTH
T.
We use Ozzzz's sleep aid. It has been great for my daughter. Getting her off schedule can still at 5 cause her to be out of sorts. www.ozzzz's.com
I'll be honest, I have no idea what melatonin is, but I have done Hawaii (from Chicago) 3 times with small children and never found the need for any kind of drug (if that's what that is). We went once when my oldest was 2, once when she was 4 and her sister was 10 months old, and once when they were 5 and 2 respectively. So we have pretty much covered all the age groups for toddlers and traveling!
Kids are super resilient. They will handle the time changes and jet lag much better than you will! That being said, you can make it easier for them by doing just a few things. First, incorporate nap time into the flight. This is not as hard as it sounds. Kids are small and can easily curl up in their seat. Let them rest their head in your lap if needed. Once you arrive and get to your hotel, it will probably be bedtime according to their body clocks, but will only be afternoon according to local time. Give them another nap before dinner. Just a couple hours is all they need and they'll be ready for dinner. This should be enough to get them through the evening until bed, which will come early for all since you will be tired from all the travel. Even with that nap in the mix, trust me, the kiddos will be ready for bed! And they should sleep all night. Everyone will be up early the next day, so embrace it and get going, even if it is 5am (which it probably will be!). Continue to incorporate naps as needed (you'll probably want one too!) and in another day or two, everyone - even the kids - will be on island time.
The biggest key is to follow your kids' lead and schedule nap times into your day. If we didn't feel like napping too, we would put the kids down and then sit on our balcony with a glass of wine or a Mai tai, reading a book and talking. It became a highlight of each day - uninterrupted adult time!
Hope this helps! If I can offer any other tips, feel free to private message me. I am happy to help as you plan!
Melatonin has worked really well for us. We started giving it to our son when he was about 3. I don't specifically remember the brand we used or the milligrams, but I know we got it at Costco (white bottle, red cap). Personally, I was concerned that the dosage was too high for a toddler so I split the pill in half, crushed it and mixed it in with a little warm milk with cinnamon so it didn't taste bad.
I would maybe try it out a couple times before your trip just to be sure there aren't any adverse reactions. One thing I've noticed (and this may just be my body acting strange) is that if I don't go to bed within about 30 minutes after I take it, I end up having a terrible night of very restless sleep.
Good luck and have a great vacation!
Melatonin is hit or miss. It works great for some kids. Some however, have bad side effects. My niece got horrible nightmares from it. But I have heard of others that used it and it worked well.
