Sleep Tips For Holiday Travel Days With Kids

By: Naré Panossian, PA-C & Certified Pediatric Sleep Consultant

I hope you and your little ones have been staying healthy during this busy month, especially staying away from what seems like a new virus popping up for kids every week! Although I love the holiday season and all the joy it brings, I know all too well how stressful things can get.

Every year since we had our oldest daughter, we have traveled during this time to see family. I remember vividly how stressed I would be about how sleep would be affected on the actual travel day! So, here are some tips to help out.

Traveling by car:

-Schedule the trip to overlap with your baby’s nap. Although not ideal since they aren’t as restorative, compared to having a baby skip a nap, car naps are definitely the lesser of two evil by far!

-If you have the time and/or the mental capacity, it is also a good idea to stop when baby wakes from the nap. This allows for fresh air, taking in some sunshine (hopefully) and stimulation for your baby. This will make the next nap go even smoother!

-Don’t worry if the timing of the nap is off, or if it is shorter than usual. You can get back on schedule once at your destination.

Traveling by plane:

-This will likely be the only time you will hear me say this, but anything goes when it comes to sleep on the plane! If your child doesn’t want to sleep, they likely will not. I suggest letting them do whatever they want to get through the flight for everyone’s sanity. This might mean snacks galore, unlimited screen time or anything! If you follow this advice, I promise, it will be less stressful for you and your fellow passengers will likely be thankful too!

-If you do need to take the red-eye (although I don’t recommend it), make sure to dress your child the way they would for bed to encourage sleep.

Once at your destination, try to maintain your normal routine and schedule as much as possible (key word here is try!). When visiting a new place, it’s common for children to protest bedtime more, have more night wakings, wake up earlier in the mornings and be cranky overall (especially if overtired). Make it easy on yourself and expect some of this to happen. It’s totally fine to keep your child late for one evening. Just make sure to prioritize naps the following they so they can catch up on sleep. But, more than one night in a row can really spiral out of control really quickly, which is something you definitely want to avoid if you also plan on enjoying yourself on your trip.

Otherwise, enjoy this time making memories with loved ones! Once back home, everything regarding sleep should go back to normal in a couple of days if you bounce back into your normal routine right away.

Hope this helps and wishing everyone a restful and healthy New Year!!

Is your child having sleep difficulties? What better gift to yourself and your family this holiday season than sleep?! Schedule your FREE 15 minute sleep evaluation today: https://calendly.com/ecsleep

Sweet Dreams,

Naré