Time Zone Tips for Family Travel

Are you planning to travel to a different country soon? What about simply across the country? I'm sure the thought of your child adjusting to a new time zone is daunting, to say the least. Here are some tips to help you navigate this process as smoothly as possible, allowing you to enjoy your travels! 

Here’s the overarching theme you're about to read: Keep your expectations low and be flexible.

I've spoken with many parents who prepare days in advance by adjusting bedtimes, nap times, and packing everything under the sun to help their children sleep well while away. They adjust their entire vacation schedule based on assumptions about how their children will sleep while away.

And then... their child does something completely different or travel plans change (as we know can easily happen!). Something unexpected occurs, and all their preparation makes them feel like they failed, believing their child failed because the expectations were too high.

My goal in this article is to help you:

1. Have the best time on your trip.
2. Feel positive about how things went overall!

So, let’s jump right in with my tips:

Don’t adjust naps and bedtime in advance.

There's no real successful way to do this. It will only cause more difficulty leading up to your travels, and it won’t make much of a difference! You wouldn’t adjust your bedtime before your trip, right? Let’s plan the same for your kids!

On travel day, just do your best.

Travel days are hard, with or without kids. So, do your best with naps on the go or skipping naps altogether and planning for an early bedtime when you arrive. The noise of the airplane engine and motion while flying is often soothing for kids, so use that to your advantage and get a short nap in if you can! Be sure to bring any comfort objects (pacifier, lovey, etc.) that your child uses during sleep on the plane as well if you are hoping they’ll snooze! I am often asked when the best time to fly with your babies or young children is. And truthfully, my answer is there isn’t a best time. BUT I do think that there is a worst time. Try to arrive at your destination with ample time to set up your kid’s sleep space before bedtime. The last thing you want to deal with is rushing to your Airbnb or hotel with an overtired and cranky child and still must locate all of their sleep-related items, set up their pack and play, etc. to then most likely have an unpleasant bedtime resulting from this chaos. Trust me, I have learned this the hard way!

When you arrive at your destination, adapt to your new time zone as quickly as possible.

I know this is easier said than done. You are traveling with a little one who is super sensitive to wake times. My tip: distraction, distraction, distraction. This will help you in stretching their wake time. Remember I mentioned flexibility? This is where it comes in really handy. Your schedules will likely be off the first couple of days of your trip, and that’s OK! Kids are resilient. Focus more on what they’ll be experiencing by being with you on this trip rather than the minor and temporary issues they are possibly facing with sleep!

Keep things as consistent as possible with how you approach sleep at home. This means:

Bringing familiar objects from home (sound machine, sleep sack, lovey, moisturizer, favorite bedtime book, etc.) to help your little one ease into this new sleep space.

Keep up your typical bedtime routine. While the environment may be different, the actions leading up to and during bedtime should remain the same.

Once you’ve arrived, prioritize your trip and why you are there.

Listen, I am a sleep consultant, so yes, I am often planning my days and nights around my kids’ sleep needs. But when we are traveling, I am more mindful of the reason we are on a trip and focusing on making memories as a family while still, of course, being cognizant of my kid’s sleep needs. This is similar to how we operate on weekends at home. There are more naps on the go. Shorter naps (or even missed naps on occasion) are more common and acceptable. And maybe a slightly crankier bedtime is our reality. But as I always say, a sleep-trained baby or child is always able to fall back on their healthy and strong sleep habits.

Okay, now for some specifics — because what does this mean for you, your little one, and your specific sleep schedules?
 
Babies on 2+ Naps

Babies’ wake windows are super sensitive, so getting them to adjust to a different time zone requires some more flexibility (and math!). Let’s keep it simple though. If you are traveling West (and bedtime will ultimately need to be later than your baby is used to), add in a cat nap so that they can make it to a reasonable bedtime. Baby very well may wake up earlier than you’d like the next morning. Just do your best to keep the environment a sleep environment until your typical wake time. Baby may need some extra comfort to fall back asleep, and that’s OK, too.

If you are going East and are losing some hours, go for an earlier bedtime! The next morning, baby will likely need to be woken up. You can let them sleep in a bit, but I do not recommend going longer than an hour past your typical wake time.

Toddlers on 1 Nap

Toddlers on one nap have a schedule based on the clock, rather than wake windows. Their awake time is way less sensitive at this age, so you can reasonably push them beyond what their typical days look like. If possible, get a nap in somewhere during the day, even if that is a 30-minute contact nap while you are driving or flying. It takes off the sleep pressure, and you can still get your kiddo down for an earlier bedtime to start the next day off right.

Toddlers/Young Children with No Naps

Kids who don’t nap at all are obviously easier because they can handle long periods of being awake! Some basics to follow:

East to West: Lots of distraction to get to a later bedtime!

West to East: Tire out that little one so they are more tired than usual earlier on in the evening, and an earlier bedtime attempt feels realistic.

To wrap this all up, enjoy your trip! Adjust your schedules to your new time zones as quickly as possible when you arrive. Be flexible, be patient, and go into this with low expectations. If you do, I think your kids will surprise you.