Question: We got our tickets for the end of the month and I can't wait! We'll be leaving from the west coast in the mid-afternoon. Does anyone have any tips for dealing with the time change?
This is one of the most common questions asked of OPN members. The following answers are Osan parents' actual responses to this question.
Answer 1: My son was born in this time zone but has flown to the states 3 times as well as the UK once (all before 22 months). I recommend looking at the time zone and only shifting bed times by a few hours. This is what I have always done when I go back to the states. When we arrive in Seattle I would generally work to get my child in bed between 11pm and 12am (about 3 hours earlier his time than normal). This worked well as he would generally sleep a bit on the plane. The next night I would work for 10 and 11 pm then the following night 9 and 10 pm. I would follow these up with letting him sleep no more than 12 to 13 hours in a row and then only for about 3 hours for nap. It has taken him only 3 days max each time we travel to adjust.
Answer 2: It took about a week before me and my daughter got totally adjusted to the time difference. I was actually quite surprised how quickly she adjusted! I think our plane left California in the afternoon, too, which put us in Seoul late afternoon/early evening. I remember letting Kami sleep some on the bus ride to Osan, but once we got to our apartment, we tried to stay up as late as we could. Then for about a week, both Kami and myself would wake up around 3am-ish for a couple of hours and then go back to sleep. But, like I said, it didn't last very long. The plane ride over wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, too. I was really nervous flying over with a one year old and myself, but I had lots of help from a Korean couple nearby!
Answer 3: I just made the trip myself from LAX to Seoul Sept 19th. My daughter is almost three. We boarded our LAX flight at noon. I got Alyssa up at 6:30 am(she usually sleeps until 8:30) so she would be tired by the time we got on the flight. It was great she napped for the first two and half hours. When she woke up we watched movies until they served dinner. We flew Korean Air. The seats had individual TV screen. It was great. They had kid moves and adult moves to chose from. I had brought my portable DVD player but I never used it. Alyssa was fine with the movies the airline had. Once dinner was over we watched another movie until she was ready to sleep again. I had to wake her up to get off the plane. I did not bring my stroller but I wish I had. I just had to many things to carry on the plane(car seat,back pack, and small suitcase). I let Alyssa walk the entire time once we got off the plane, went threw customs, and met Daddy. She was really loving the running around. Once you get to Seoul you have about a 1hour and 45 minute bus ride. Alyssa slept for the last 20 minutes. Once home I let her run around for an hour or so and then I put her to bed. I only let her nap for one hour the next day and put her to bed an hour earlier then normal. She was completely switched. From then on she was back on her schedule. I wish I could have. It took me a week. I know this is alot of personal info but this is what worked for us. They say it usually takes 1 day for each time zone you cross to get adjusted.
Answer 4: I agree with everyone that it is no big deal. I moved from Phoenix in July. I expected a really bad travel and adjustment experience, but it was not a problem at all. The planes are well equipped and I didn't need half the stuff I brought on the plane. (Be sure to ask for a bassinet for your little one.) It took about a week before we settled in time wise. We'd be tired late in the afternoon and then my son (4) woke up at 3 AM for the day, but that faded away. My 10-month (at the time) just fell in with everything else. I was told not to sleep on the trip, so I didn't, then crashed when I got here. That pretty much instantly put me in the right time zone. (While the time change is really 16-hours from the West coast, it really only feels like an 8-hour change. e.g 16+8=24 hours) The general rule for jet lag recovery is 1 hour a day.
Answer 5: For us, every time we have come West (several times back and forth to Okinawa and once here so far), we made sure we stayed awake the last few (1-3) hours of the flight. Then when we got here (it was around 5pm local), the trip from the airport and getting settled in our room. By that time it was 8-9pm and we were all exhausted and ready to go to sleep! We did wake up very early (5am) the next morning, but we just made sure we didn’t go to bed the next night before 9pm local and our 4 kids at 7pm. We let our 2 youngest take short naps (less than 2 hours) that first day, and it was tough to wake them up, but we just took them to the BX for ice cream or to the playground and they woke up pretty easily. By doing this, it only took us about 2 full days before we were completely on local time. The biggest thing is just don’t allow yourself to sleep more than 1 hour during the day (kids 2 hours), and don’t go to bed too early and it won’t be too bad. Otherwise I’ve known some people who took several weeks to get over the jet lag. My 4 month old daughter was the only exception. She got her days and nights mixed up again (she’d been sleeping through the night for about 2 months when we moved), so that was a bit difficult.
Answer 6: A neat idea my husband came up with (after we adjusted to the time) was to take a ball to the basketball court inside the gym and let the little ones play ball. It is inside, the gym is open 24 hours and not too many people will be using the court at 4am. Why didn't he come up with this great idea a little sooner?!!!! Hope this helps you guys out :-)
Answer 7: I've been back and forth from the states twice so far since I've been here, and each time, it takes me and my 2 year-old daughter about a week to fully recover. My best advice is to stay awake as long as you can, which is pretty easy, because most of the flights when you come arrive in the early afternoon to evening. I wouldn't stress too much about this. Just know it takes some time...longer for some, shorter for others. But....it will eventually happen!
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