Toddler and jet lag - any suggestions?

[kt09]

Hi,

We live in Hong Kong and have just got back from a two-week trip to Toronto to see the in-laws, the first time we've done this journey. My dd is two and it practically took the whole trip to get over the jet lag. It's a 12 hour time difference. We arrived home five nights ago and there is no sign she is getting over the jet lag. I have to work and am absolutely shattered. Does anyone know of any tried and tested strategy for getting her back in her normal routine?

She is going to bed at some point between 7 to 10pm, will sleep for 4 to 6 hours and then is awake for around 2 hours or the rest of the night. There's not much of a pattern. She's not even napping that long during the day. I have no idea where she is getting the energy from but she acts wired and hyper.

Should i keep putting her to bed at her normal time (7 to 8pm) or leave it later in the hope she'll go longer in the night? I just can't seem to come up with a strategy to get us over it.

Any suggestions gratefully received!

Yikes!

that sounds tough... am sorry about that situation, haven't been there done that yet, but I would systematically stick to the pre-hols routine.. maybe even sit with her in dark room if she wakes at 4am, and the out of bed at usual time...

We have a similar trip planned for x-mas..

how did the flight go?

good luck!

am sure this will normalise after a couple of weeks... am sorry to hear though.

We're going to Oz soon with a 2 and 1 year old. Last time eldest was only 2 months so no problem with jetlag
Will watch with interest

We do the UK to Oz trip at least twice a year.DS is 2.5. If he has struggled for more than 3 or 4 days, I give him Phenergen to help him get a good night's sleep. I have never needed to use it more than 2 nights.

I'm in a similar position and it's got so much worse as DS has got older. He's 20 months now and we're on day 6 of jet lag from UK to HK. It's brutal for all concerned and despite doing our normal day routine, night time is still really bad. I've been given two tips that I'm considering...

1. Medised. But I'm concerned about the age limit. A friend with similar age twins swears by it though...Assume age went from 2 to 6 for a reason and don't want to give paracetamol unnecessarily.

1. Melatonin. Most medical reports are for children with ADHD or Autism but seems effective. Not clear on dose though.

Obviously I'm talking about using it for a couple of days to reset the sleep pattern NOT long term use. Anyone with any experience of either? Am desperate!