Dawn2002 Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 Hello, We are flying out to our new life in Australia next month. I have read all the tips on keeping the children amused on the plane, but haven't seen anything about coping with the jet lag for the children. I think I can cope with the flights, even though we have made the mistake of not booking a seat for my son. But I am dreading the after effects. We fly with Singapore Airlines from Heathrow at 10.35 to Singapore arriving around 6pm Singapore time and staying for 4 nights. The idea is that they get over the jet lag in Singapore as there will be loads to keep them amused. The flight to Brissy leaves at midnight and gets in around 10 am. Am I going to have a difficult few nights in Singapore ? Any tips on getting the pair of them over it greatly received. Little girl is 3 1/2 and my son will be 20 months, he only started sleeping through the night in June this year, so I expect him to be the worst. The thought of running around the hotel at 2am with them fills me with dread. Thank you so much. dawn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rink Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 Hi we flew to Oz with my little 2 in February. My daughter watched telly nearly for the full trip! And my son (we didn't have a seat for him as he still wasn't 2) sat on our knee. I must add my wife i I had about 2 hours sleep in 24 hours We took loads of books, toys, pens/pencils and we brought the ipad. Lots of sweets (i know this isn't good for them!) Anyway on both trips people stopped us to tell us how good our children were on the flights, and couldn't get over that they had never flown before. We were so proud of them ) Once we arrived in Oz (about 7pm oz time). We stayed up till about 11pm. And then in the morning they woke up at 6am! which we thought was brilliant ! After a full day on the beach and tea when we got home, my daughter asked to go to bed at 8pm. The next day my son woke around 5am. But after that we had no problems what so ever. Coming back to UK was different , it took them about 3 days to get back to normal. That's when the movie channels come in handy. Good luck with you flight, i'm sure everything will be OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oz bound pom Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 Despite all the horror stories you may hear, kids probably more readily adapt than adults. Our 2 1/2 year old suffered more with the sudden heat/humidity than jet lag, just try and get them onto local time even if means a day or so of grumpy kids (and grumpier adults) but we honestly found things to be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 Biggest problem I had was with DS2 flying west at 12 weeks - he took a long time - over a week to get back into the swing of his routine but, there, its hard to rationalize with a 12 weeker! He was much better flying back east at 5 months. Flown with both granddaughters around 2 and they didnt really have too much of a problem in either direction but DGD2 didnt like the bassinette so her dad had to wear her (ergobaby carrier - fabulous!) on the way back and she slept like a log in the carrier, her dad (said DS2 of jetlag fame when a baby) didnt, of course but I reckon that was Karma biting him on the backside! Everybody's routines get thrown out but you survive and it's often far less of an issue than your worst imaginings! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maruska Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 6 pm is a brilliant arrival time! You will take some time to go through customs etc so you might get to the hotel maybe around 7.30? You could go for a dinner, quick swim and chances are they might be as tired as you are after the long flight and go to bed. With luck they won`t wake up at 3 am, but if they do, just go with it ( you`ve got no choice anyway lol). Next day, get up in the morning and go do some activities the kids will enjoy, it should keep them awake and busy. Around 12 or 1 it`s time for a nap ( they might want to sleep longer than usual but wake them up in an hour or hour and 1/2. Once awake, they`ll be cranky most likely so find some more fun activities to do:biggrin:. Don`t let them sleep again until 8 PM or so. The next day you should be fine:biggrin: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn2002 Posted August 21, 2013 Author Share Posted August 21, 2013 Thanks so much for these replies, looks like they'll be better off than me, lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Ropey HOFF Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 My kids have been to Oz and back twice and they slept plenty and never suffered from jet lag at all after getting there and after returning and neither did me and the wife, but we went to America twice and we all suffered it really bad for some reason. I wouldn't worry too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn2002 Posted October 25, 2013 Author Share Posted October 25, 2013 Hello, After actually doing the journey I thought I'd share my experience for those who are flicking through looking for this sort of info. Our first flight left LHR at 10.30 pm, unfortunately our son (22 months) did not have the planned sleep on the way to the airport in the car, hence by the time we got on the plane, and when it took off he fell asleep. This was great, we got him in the bassinet, he was v cramped up, had our meal and settled down for a snooze. Unfortunately my daughter (3 1/2) decided it was it not time to go to sleep until they turned all the lights out on the plane, but when they did she went out like a light. All good, my son woke after about 6 hrs, basically when he would have in the uk, then had to run around the plane with him, a big airbus 380' so not to bad as lots of running could be done, stewards were all good with him going up and down. He wasnt to interested in all the presents we had wrapped for him. My daughter did like them and when she woke, they kept her amused. Neither of them ate any of the food on the plane except for the drink, so glad we packed snacks. All in all not to bad. Arrived at Singapore and got to the hotel and in the room about 7 pm, both up late but eventually slept, to be fair we were there for4 nights and they both woke up at about 3 am for most of the nights for varying amounts of time, but we only had to go walking around the hotel with my son once. The flight to Brisbane was at midnight Singapore time, we thought we'll go to the zoo and wear the out, and as we had the room booked for that night too, take them back, give them a bath and a little sleep before we left, it may help. My daughter fell asleep, almost as soon as the plane took off, my son took a little longer, unfortunately he woke just as the lights were turned off and refused to sleep in the bassinet and I had to cuddle him the entire rest of the way ! Again wouldn't eat the food. Got to Brisbane then down to the Gold coast for about midday in the end I think, both kids slept in the car. As did I ! As we were staying with relatives the kids were all excited about seeing them, and took ages to settle at bedtime, my son was hugely overtired and screamed his head off for about an hour even when being cuddled before he finally fell asleep. However apart from the obvious waking early fora bit I think it only took a few days forthem to sleep through the night till a reasonable time. All in all I am not sure we should have stayed so long in Singapore, but once in Oz they settled quite quickly. So there it is, hope this helps anyone wondering about this sort of thing. Dawn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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