Traveling with Children, Has Anyone Used Melatonin in Thier Kids???

Hi there,

I would not suggest melatonin - it has not been tested on kids. We looked into that as we use it. Both sets of our parents live outside of the US, hence we have taken many plane trips. I would say that with the big time change your daughter will WANT and CRAVE sleep. We just make sure that they do sleep some on the plane, and when you get to where you are going, unless it is night, do not let her sleep until it is sleep time.
Good luck, sounds sorta fun!!!

M. -

we travel to Europe at least once a year with our two daughters. I only gave them Benedryl (on recomendation from our Doc) once when my older one was 3 and the little one under a year. The older one slept, but the little one was wired. Since then I have not given them anything.

Going to Europe they usually adjust w/i a couple of days, and coming home it usually takes a week.

Hope this helps and happy travels.

M.,
We flew to Germany with our then three-year-old without having to use anything. We were nervous because at home she is allergic to sleep but found the white noise on the plane she slept like crazy. It took a full day to get her sleeping at the right time and the rest was a breeze. Good luck and have fun!

We have done a lot of traveling with our children (now 5,7, and 9) and even with time changes have not had a lot of difficulties. They seem to adjust fairly well and sleep when they need to. Just like adults, they may have jet lag a few days in and need some extra sleep on that day. I do not know anything about using Melatonin, but I have used a homeopathic with my kids called "calm's forte" by HYLAND. This might be useful in getting her to relax on the plane if you are concerned about that. It is a natural and very gentle product. I have actually used it when my children have been fed something with red dye or an artificial sweetener and cannot get to sleep at night, just to get them to the point of relaxation so they can settle down for the night. You can find it at any health food store and most Fred Meyer's.

Try "No-Jet-Lag" -- it's homeopathic and works great, at least on adults! You'd have to check and see if it's OK for little kids. You can check it out at www.nojetlag.com. (The AAA store in Vancouver used to carry it. I don't know if they still do.)