How Do You Get Around the Naptime Thing?

Little ones sleep almost the entire trips when we are traveling. Even if they don't sleep normally in the car seat they will in the car for extended periods of travel. The rhythm of the road, going over the cracks and seams in the asphalt, the hum of the motor, the constant swishing by of the scenery, etc...it is very hypnotic and the just fall asleep.

The Benadryl thing someone mentioned isn't good. I've noticed that ads for Benadryl lately say things like "Use only for the symptoms listed" etc. because the makers know parents are using it to knock kids out and don't want it used that way. It can actually have the opposite effect! I gave it to my daughter once for allergies when she was a toddler, and she was totally wired by it and I know other parents who say it winds up their kids rather than making them sleepy. I wouldn't use any meds solely to make a child sleepy for my own convenience on a trip.

We travel every year with my daughter (who is now 10) overseas. You're right, the sleep timing is tough for small ones and even for bigger kids. Usually they will end up falling asleep on a train, plane or in a car out of sheer need, even if they are "picky sleepers" who wont' usually fall asleep just anywhere (my daughter was the same). But sometimes you just have to be ready for a first day of bad temper and tears until their bodies adjust. For a trip as short as two days, frankly, if it were an event I really wanted to/needed to attend like the wedding of someone close to me, I would go and my husband would have stayed home with the little one, or vice versa. That's too short a trip for a small kid to adjust and get on a schedule there, and when you returned home you'd have had a day or more of real crankiness and sleep disturbance. A longer trip is actually easier since they can adjust in between travel times.

The answer is, you deal with it & hope they sleep. Honestly, I don't think there's one kid of napping age that wouldn't prefer napping at home in their own bed & during their normal nap time. The routine will be out of whack, but if they're tired enough, they will eventually nap at some point, somewhere. I think you may have a "worst scenario" pictured in your head.

We have gone on vacations since DD was 1 (she is now 5) & she has always managed to nap if she was tired. Sometimes it was in the hotel, and I had to nap with her, sometimes it was in the car for 10 minutes. It's temporary & once they get used to their surroundings they will be fine. I am not a parent that will stop living life because I have a little kid, but that's just me. Kids are more flexible & resilient than you think they are.

My son doesn't just go to sleep anywhere either. But I have taken him on plenty of airplanes and he is only 11 months old. Your daughter will just probably sleep in your arms. She will sleep when she is tired. Her naps will probably be shorter but they will happen more frequently. Nothing would happen to her if you go. Schedules and routines are good, but it's also good to break them sometimes :)

Hi,
What has worked for me is traveling during my dd's naptime. You would be surprised how it works. The other thing is to travel at night which is how I would go to Vegas. With the time difference even if she woke up when you arrived for a bit the sleep could be made up because of the time difference. My dd does not sleep easily either but mostly because she thinks she might miss something!

We started traveling with our kids when they were 6 months. You just learn to go with it. I have found the earlier you start traveling the easier it is. We are living in London now and make the 8 hour flight to the states twice a year. The kids do great! They get on the plane and watch a movie, eat their meal and sleep for the remaining 4-5 hours. My kids are now 4 and almost 6. Another thing to keep in mind...the more stressed out and anxious you are the more your kid will pick up on it. If you stay calm, then they feed off you and will tend to relax and nap when needed.

I have this problem with both of my kids, a 4 year old and a 2 year old. Only we travel overseas to Ireland, which is an overnight flight! We do this once, maybe twice a year. Last time we went, my son fell asleep on the plane. My daughter couldn't get comfortable, so she cried almost the whole flight (should have been 7 hours, but due to the ash cloud, it turned into a 10 hour flight!). My daughter's crying woke up my son--he was wailing. It was awful and they were jetlagged for a couple days. Not to mention my MIL pumps them full of chocolate and candy. It's all a recipe for disaster, which is what ensues. Every time we go, one or both kids get sick--fever, whole nine yards. Yet people continue to tell me how "lucky" I am that I get to go to Ireland. Sorry, this was a total rant. I don't blame you for not wanting to schlep your daughter to Vegas--be glad it's an optional trip and that you made the right decision.

many Drs recommend giving kids benydryl or Dramamine for long over seas flights. It will usually knock them out.
We usually travel by car so this is not from my experience but from a friend.

My daughter doesn't sleep just anyplace either and until recently was a bad napper (she just turned 2 in May). When I took her across country in February she was wired and cranky on the way out, finally passing out from exhaustion just before landing. I had tried to make her nap, and it failed miserably (ask any other passenger!) She was restless and wanted to move around.
On the way back there was a free seat beside me and she could move about. I let her do what she wanted, as in not trying to make her sleep, and she dozed off on her own and slept pretty well for an hour or so.
All to say relax, hope for the best and don't sweat it if she misses a nap. She'll be fine.

When we travel the normal naptime usually goes out the window for our toddler. She is excited to be on the airplanes and is in a good mood at least. At some point in the day I start telling her it is almost naptime before a flight. Finally she gets so tired that she usually falls asleep during take-off on one of the flights. I think the later nap time along with some milk and the vibrations of the plane put her right out, even though normally she would not fall asleep in a new place. And while in a new place (once we are at our travel destination) it is hard for her to fall asleep so my husband and I plan a little drive around naptime. We give her some milk and tell her it's time for nap and she falls asleep in the car seat. Then one of us has to carry her to the bed OR sit with her in the car (if it is cool enough). It all always works out fine when traveling...it's just not exactly what happens at home.