Surviving the Jet Lag Nightmare

One
of the best parts of going on vacations with your kids is the ability
to experience new environments, events, and cultures. But one
unfortunate byproduct to traveling afar can be the jet lag. Jet lag for
adults are a pain in the ass. But with kids, it messes up more than a
routine. It screws with their world. After all, you and your wife may
have spent months getting your kids on a consistent sleep schedule only
for it to be screwed by a 6 hour flight across 3 time zones.

Last friday, my wife and I flew from Boston, Massachusetts to Oakland,
California, with our 2 kids. The flight was 6 and a half hours long and
it wasn't too bad considering my son is at the Curious George
stage. My wife and I thought we had it made: at most, a half hour of
screaming from my son on the plane. Not too shabby. But nothing could
prepare us for the pure hell we would endure friday night.

See, we landed in sunny California around 11:30 in the morning. But, to
our kids' bodies, it was 2:30 in the afternoon: well past their nap
time. So while, my wife and I were jones-ing for lunch, our kids were
growing devil horns and spitting venom. But  the real fun began
around dinner time when it was midnight EST. They transformed into 6
foot tall monsters like on Altered Beast.{mosnooad}

At
1:30AM Pacific Time, both kids were up, screaming and totally unhappy.
It took 3 nights before they were back to a somewhat bearable sleep
schedule. So how do you alleviate the pain when flying across time
zones? Here are a few things to remember:

Quit Your Home Time Zone Cold Turkey
It is really important to not try to ease your kids into a new time
zone. In the end, the total amount of pain will be the same. So you
might as well get it all over with the first couple of nights. Instead
of stretching it out for the entire trip. If you aren't careful, it
will be time to go home by the time your kids adapt. This means that if
you fly westbound, keep your kids up. Flying eastbound you should hit
the sack early.

It's Not Their Fault
Your kids might make your life a living hell but it isn't their fault.
Their precious routine got turned upside down like "The Rotor" at Dutch Wonderland
and their bodies simply cannot sustain that type of change. So when
they are up for the fifth time that first night, remember to just grin
and bear it and not take it out on them.

Expect Irregular Meals
Sleep is a problem but jet lag also screws up eating routines. The best
advice I can give is to feed them when they say they are hungry and
give them liquids when they say they are thirsty. They may not eat full
meals for a day or too. Your kids will eat when they are hungry and
they will come around. Just stick with the meals and be prepared to
supplement with snacks for a while.

With a little bit of patience and some dedication to snap them into a
new routine, you and your kids will do fine. Good luck noodads.