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Original poster

To drug or not to drug...

45 replies

Nathanmum · 02/07/2006 20:34

Hi, just wondering.. Those of you that have done a long haul (9 hour) flight, do you give anything to help them sleep? If so, what? And did it work?

OP posts:
poisson · 02/07/2006 20:37

oh fgs no

trinityrhino · 02/07/2006 20:39

how old are your kids?
when are they flying? (what time of day)
what made you start to think that you should??
are you a nervous flyer, are they????

Original poster
Nathanmum · 02/07/2006 20:40

He's 2 - we take off at four thirty local time, & land UK at 6am (1 am our time)....

OP posts:
Original poster
Nathanmum · 02/07/2006 20:40

Don't want to make that morning any worse than it's going to be already!

OP posts:
trinityrhino · 02/07/2006 20:41

do you think he won't sleep, to be honest, I don't think I would have even thought about giving them something to help them sleep

trinityrhino · 02/07/2006 20:42

having something may make him grumpy when he wakes up, is it worth it?
he may cope very well with the tme change, I always thought kids coped better than us with things like that

Original poster
Nathanmum · 02/07/2006 20:44

I know, it's other Mum's that have told me I should do it... Just wondered what you all thought being inherently more sensible mners!!!

OP posts:
foxinsocks · 02/07/2006 20:48

I would say don't plan to give him something but if it all goes horribly wrong, have some back up plan.

I thought our kids would be OK when we flew long haul (at the time 19 months and 3 years) but the 3 yr old was fine and the 19 month never stopped crying. I think (with hindsight) that it must have hurt his ears because he was very uncomfortable and could not manage being confined to such a small little seat (he didn't have his own seat).

So take some calpol sachets on board - some people take Phenergan with them but it doesn't necessarily work on every child (i.e. work to make them drowsy), with some it has the opposite effect so I would think carefully about taking something you have never used before.

WestCountryLass · 02/07/2006 22:09

I say no but take something with you just in case.

We fly fairly frequently to Spaina nd kids are fine. Went to Mexico and DD fine going out but hell of a day coming back and once on the plane she went nuts. I tried everything but after an hour and a half of her crying (on a night flight) I gave her some Calpol and she settled.

Original poster
Nathanmum · 03/07/2006 01:00

thanks! So, Calpol then?

OP posts:
Californifrau · 03/07/2006 01:23

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Californifrau · 03/07/2006 01:23

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Chandra · 03/07/2006 01:35

You don't need to drug them to have a calm flight, there are some other strategies that may help:

-Don't feed them anything sweet on the day (that also inclde apple/orange juice)

-No chocolates or sweets EVER during a flight.

  • A bag of little toys to keep them busy (pull one out at the time when you are at the end of your theter)

  • Go with the flow and give them something to chew during landing and take off to make pressure on their ears a bit more bearable.

-Dress them to look cute, most people will help to hold them while you have your dinner.

I once had to give DS medised during a flight as he developed a temp... it didn't made him sleepy at all, and I have seen other threads where people said that phenergan can make some children very active!.

FairyMum · 03/07/2006 01:43

I always ask to sit near the engines as the noise makes my kids sleepy.

threebob · 03/07/2006 07:24

Only if you have tried whatever first and are sure that it's okay.

Keep him hydrated and he will drop to sleep when the engine noise increases and oxygen levels drop. Ds falls asleep on even very short flights.

Original poster
Nathanmum · 03/07/2006 20:35

he doesn't sleep easily, & I know he's going to be VERY excited...

OP posts:
threebob · 04/07/2006 03:15

My ds's doesn't sleep easily when removed from his routine, except on planes.

If he walks a lot in the airport he will tired - airports are massive.

Original poster
Nathanmum · 04/07/2006 03:23

Unfortunately, we're flying from Nassau, a very small international airport... otherwise I'd agree!!

OP posts:
Alipiggie · 04/07/2006 03:31

Nope, never even considered it. Thought what will be will be. They were brilliant i hasten to had with relief. Go along with, bag of toys, books, crayons, cuddly no sweets or sugar. Although i gave my two a wine gum to chew on take off and landing. Keeps the ears popping. I'm sure he'll be fine. I flew london heathrow to Denver which is 9 1/2 hours.

arfishymeau · 04/07/2006 03:35

Well, I did a flight with then 2.5 DD on my own from the UK to Sydney.

No, sorry. I can't bring myself to talk about it.

Original poster
Nathanmum · 04/07/2006 12:45

See, now you're scaring me...

OP posts:
Chandra · 04/07/2006 22:08

Is not that bad, honest! (once you grow a thick skin...) No, just kidding, I have done longhaul trips on my own with DS since he was 11m and all the times I get surprised at how much he behaves better than what I expected and at how much other fellow passengers are willing to help.

I have to say that mine rarely sleeps during the flights but ALWAYS falls sleep during the landing!

bound4oz · 05/07/2006 11:17

hi there
its a subject that creats alot of opinions! we went on a flight with our two to oz from uk, DS then just three and DD 7 months, i absolutely dreaded the flights but they were both really good, however, i did use some medised mid way between flights on DS as he gets very upset and angry when tired, calpol is great for teething but its is ONLY paracetamol it doesnt make children sleep any more than paracetamol would make you sleep, my advice would be to not worry about it at all, children usually surprise you at times like this and if they are a nightmare take something in case and just think if they do play up on the flight the people around you will either understand because they have got/had their own or have not got their own in which they are in no position to judge!!
hope it all goes well
Beth.

m1m1rie · 05/07/2006 12:02

I feel well-qaulified to answer this thread as dd2 had racked up 22 flights by her 2nd birthday...! Agree totally with no sweets or other junky stuff - sugar rush at 35,000 feet not to be taken lightly. (Nor the vomit that is induced by a whole (large) bag of Milky Bar Buttons,fed in desparation). Books and toys definitely, drugging, definitely not. I once gave her Phenargen when travelling alone to Spain, and it made her excruciatingly tired and angry, but she fought sleep and it was the worst trip I ever took with her (even worse than the un-drugged flight alone to Miami last Oct...another thread)She did actually fall asleep..as the wheels touched the tarmac, and I had to try to carry her completely slouched body, changing bag, hand luggage etc into the terminal where I waited about half an hour for her buggy to come around the conveyer belt. The only way to do things is to give them plenty of attention to distract, and they should(!) fall asleep at some point during a flight that long and give you a bit of a break. Good luck!

arfishymeau · 05/07/2006 13:46

LOL, Sorry Nathanmum, I was joking (well, somewhat).

I've actually lost count of the number of flights I've done with DD up to the age of 3, it's 30+ anyway, including several long haul. To be honest they were never as bad as I imagined.

I've never used Pherergan - my GP advised that it can cause unpredictable reactions. A colleague of mine had the same advice and did a trial run with his DD before flying - she went to sleep like a lamb. However, at 20,000 feet she didn't react the same way and went hyper..

When DD was 2 I packed lots and lots of small toys wrapped in pretty paper and unwrapped them periodically. I packed lots of stickers, new books, snacks, bottles for take off and landing (at very early 2), pjs for night flights and car seats that recline.

When I did my flight to Oz with my 2.5 year old I bought a portable DVD player especially and it saved my life.

It really won't be as bad as you imagine, I think the novelty and the whole plane thing does tend to calm them down - just before I left for Oz DD was taking her clothes off every 15 minutes. I was in a blind panic about DD stripping and running starkers down the aisles - she didn't though.