Time Travel

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Thursday, April 08, 2010
by Jeannie Fleming-Gifford

I hope this blog finds you somewhere new, doing something fun this spring. Perhaps it is in your neighborhood, or trekking across the United States with family. As you know by now, my family and I ventured across the U.S. (5,000 miles roundtrip) to be with family and have some fun.

Two years ago when we did this trip, my little girl was an infant. I thought she was so "portable." We were traveling across three time zones and I had thought nothing of it. I figured she would eat, sleep and play just as she did at home.  On her schedule. Oy vay, was I wrong. Sleeping was the thing that got us in trouble. If you have one of these little people in your life, you know the value and importance of sleep. Not only do infants and toddlers need sleep for optimal development (How much? www.sleepfoundation.org/article/sleep-topics/children-and-sleep), they need it for our sanity.

With the above in mind, I thought I would share a few tips I've learned that helped us navigate the most recent travel across time zones with success:

*Don't go the red-eye flight, if possible. Again, I thought my infant could sleep anywhere. She often slept in the car.  How different could a plane be? Um...a great deal different...the sound, the people, the lights. With little sleep on the flight, the kiddo was now out of wick-whack for the next few days. Traveling during the day may seem less efficient, but chances are, it will provide a better opportunity to keep with your child's normal routines.

*Do make some tweaks to your child's schedule in the days leading up to your trip. For instance, if you are traveling from the west coast to the east coast (3 hour time difference), you may try slightly (i.e. 15 minutes per day) adjusting your infant or toddler's eating and sleeping times as well.

*Do have the essentials with you. This will include their favorite blanket and/or toy(s), snacks (Cheerios are one of the best foods ever invented!) and perhaps some kid-friendly tunes if your trip includes time in the car.

*Finally, when traveling across time zones, keep in mind where you and your child came from. If they don't seem hungry at dinner time or sleepy at bedime, keep in mind the time difference.

It's spring, take the time to enjoy it wherever you are or wherever you and your family are headed!

Enjoy the ride.

Cheers-

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