How To Get Children To Sleep Well When Traveling – Being Parents

Taking vacations when we have young children is often a huge challenge. The basic point is to know multiple ways to get children to sleep well when traveling.

First of all,  we have to take into account that we will be changing the environment and doing a lot of different activities. However, it is essential to try to ensure that it does not affect the necessary rest routine for the little ones, including the nap.

This is a very important factor to consider, because  children do not have the same mental perception of the change of environment as adults . Being in front of new objects and new places can over-excite them and make it difficult to fall asleep.

Tips for getting children to sleep well when traveling

Obviously, the routine of rest during the holidays must remain flexible. However,  this does not imply that this is to the detriment of children’s rest hours.

Indeed, so that they can play, learn and enjoy what they will see in their new environment, that is to say the beach, the mountain and the recreational places, their mind and their body must benefit from the quota. rest needed.

As a result, in order to be able to win the battle against distraction and be successful in getting kids to rest, there are a few tips that should be followed for getting kids to sleep well while traveling. What we will present to you below summarizes the most common and real situations experienced by hundreds of parents.

1. Bring the pillow, blanket or soft toy your child sleeps with when traveling.

Our most important recommendation when packing before you go is to add a part of the cot for the child. It can be the pillow, blanket or soft toy the little one sleeps with. You can choose any of these items, but, if possible, take them all.

This action will cause a familiar feeling in his mind. Likewise, he will understand that it is time to go to sleep by touching them and inhaling their scent.

2. How to fight jet lag to get children to sleep well when traveling

Once the trip begins and if the destination is far away, jet lag is the second enemy of children’s sleep. Jet lag is an imbalance in our body clock,  responsible for telling us when we are awake and asleep, which occurs when we travel by plane to other countries with different time zones.

In order to help children maintain a stable sleep cycle in preparation for a long plane trip, a week before they leave, parents will need to delay or advance the usual time to go to sleep and eat by one hour. This way, bedtime for the little ones will be closer to that of the destination country.

Once you arrive at your destination, it helps to do some outdoor activities or have the children observe the natural light or darkness of the city. In this way, the biological clock of the little ones can gradually adjust to the cycle of the day of the country in which they are found.

3. Keep the same rules for going to bed as for the house.

Indeed, children should not feel that the change of environment causes a worsening of the rules to go to sleep. As a result, you must remain firm but patient so that your child goes to bed when you ask him to.

This action is necessary because it takes  three days for children to develop a new sleep habit and one day to lose it. So the best way to maintain as much stability as possible while traveling and back home is to continue following the bedtime rules established so far.

In addition, it can also extend to the following aspects: the time of the nap, the toilet before going to bed, the time to turn off the television or the light and the door of the room open or closed.

Finally, we recommend, whenever possible,  not to share the child’s room if the child sleeps in his own room at home. Indeed, it can provoke in him a new attachment and, once back, he may not want to sleep alone.