feedback for "Parental Advisory: Flying High"

1. This is indeed a polarizing issue, when I first mentioned doing this to my sister who was pregnant she had a complete coniption fit over it, now that she has a 2 yr old and a 1 yr old, she is suddenly all for it. I personally feel that not only is it a service to everyone else on the plane (nothing worse then listening to a screeching child the entire uncomfortable flight) but it does indeed make the trip more bearable for the children as well. I know if I can personally sleep the entire flight it makes it a better flight for me, lets face it flying stinks, and is even more misearable for children, I say give them the benedryl and make everyones life easier.

   posted by : csigel on 3/12/2008 at 4:37 PM Flag For Abuse

2. On the heels of a horrible flight with a near-two-year-old just a few days ago, I would have to say I totally understand why parents would choose to drug their kids. We actually brought Benedryl with us, but my partner and I couldn't agree on whether to use it. In the end, it wound up in our checked luggage, so we couldn't get to it when I was at wit's end--about two hours into our flight with our screaming son. Our son was incredibly tired but just wouldn't (or couldn't) go to sleep. Diversions did not work and there was nothing we could do to calm him down. We were equally as upset for him as we were for us and our fellow passengers. My advice would be to test the lowest dosage at home to make sure it works, bring it with you on the plane, and use it if you have to. Your child might be just fine, especially if he or she is used to being in a carseat. Our child could not handle being restrained and would not give in to his own exhaustion. Everyone would have been much happier if we'd had the option of using drugs when it got to a critical point.

   posted by : adfoodie on 3/12/2008 at 4:38 PM Flag For Abuse

3. I don't really have a big problem with this. I think it's one of those things that parents make the call.
   
   Of course, there will always be the parenting fundamentalists who rush to judgement.
   
   Parents who DO want to use Benadryl should try it out on their kids at least once before the flight to see if it has the desired impact.
   
   Although Benadryl usually causes drowsiness, it can rarely cause exciteability and nervousness.
   
   Pity the parent that discovers this at the beginning of a 10-hour red-eye... :)
   
   Also, I think that parents shouldn't feel any social pressure to drug their kids if they don't want to. We all need to be more understanding on airplanes -- it's hard for everyone.

   posted by : k1 on 3/12/2008 at 4:39 PM Flag For Abuse

4. My pediatrician told me that a dose of antihistamine/decongestant can help to calm my toddlers on the flight as well as help with the pressure in their little ears. I usually give them a dose of Dimetapp right after we board the plane.

   posted by : dimetappmom on 3/12/2008 at 5:00 PM Flag For Abuse

5. @dimetappmom
   
   decongestant? really? i personally wouldn't as most decontestants are stimulants. i can see why that might help with the ears thing, but i'd still be afraid to give anything stimulating to my little tornado... :)
   
   but if it works for you...

   posted by : k1 on 3/12/2008 at 6:01 PM Flag For Abuse

6. what about all of the recent findings about children's medications? Wouldn't benadryl and dimetapp fall into that category?

   posted by : twinmom on 3/12/2008 at 7:48 PM Flag For Abuse

7. I've had the horrible experience of using Benadryl on my child only to find out in-flight that it made her incredibly hyper. This discovery was reinforced after my daughter was stung 11 times by bees and given an extra-large dose of Benadryl in the ER and was wide awake and wound up for the next 10 hours. So I'd definitely recommend the pre-flight check mentioned in the article.

   posted by : montanamom on 3/12/2008 at 10:44 PM Flag For Abuse

8. Def try out your drugs in advance. if they work, BRING THEM! If you want to drug the daylights out of them (within reason of course) more power to you, I say. I just travelled 60 hurs --that's right, 60, from Africa to Wyoming alone with my 3-yr-old. Sadly none of the drugs worked but it felt good to think something might. Kept me holding on. (Should anyone wish to hear what 3 days in transit is like with a small kid, feel free to check out my blahhhhg post "frequent flyers" at cookiemag.com:
   http://www.cookiemag.com/magazine/blogs/crabmommy/2008/02/frequent-flyers.html
   
   I'm glad ceridwen and rebecca kept so open-minded here with their advice. Truly, anyone judging the drugging of children on flights should go be the mom in that situation. Or the kid, for that matter. Air travel is so appalling these days I think helping someone be "out of it" is doing them a favor. Even and especially the little ones.
   
   Good luck. 10 hours really isn't so bad though. just when you think you will kill yourself it will be over. I have done numerous flights from USA to Africa with 18 hours as the middle leg. We survived and so will you. Especially with a little Benadryl in your pocket. :) (if it works for your tot!) I also rec Calms Forte herbal pills. Who knows if they worked, but Crabtot loved chomping them!

   posted by : crabmommy on 3/12/2008 at 11:26 PM Flag For Abuse

9. We travelled from Canada to South Africa with twin toddlers and a preschooler (see twinutero.org). That's two overnight flights and a long layover. The first flight was drug-free and quite hellish. The second flight, although twice as long, was a breeze in comparison. We gave two of the three kids Gravol - the recommended dose. They slept almost the entire trip. We didn't have time to medicate our third child (the control group I guess!) as he fell asleep as soon as the plane took off and slept for nine hours straight. My conclusion: If they're really tired, they will sleep; if they aren't tired, the recommended dose of Gravol might help. I've given Benadryl once, for a cold, and it kept my oldest awake all night.

   posted by : Ali Collette on 3/13/2008 at 5:25 AM Flag For Abuse

10. My 2 year old has never been able to sleep on an airplane, except when he was sick (and barfing on the woman next to us...). I tried Gravol once when I had to fly alone with him, and discovered that he's a kid who doesn't get hyper off of it, but it suuure doesn't make him sleepy, either. He can go for HOURS after the recommended dose. I'm probably going to be flying in the next few months with him and a newborn, so I'd like to try to get him to sleep on the flight... I guess we'll be trying it out ahead of time, though!

    posted by : AllisonWonder on 3/13/2008 at 11:11 AM Flag For Abuse

11. Our pediatrician said with Benadryl that the parents' reactions to the drug could help you decide if your kid will go zonk or ape. I'd be in the ape category and decongestants do the same. Trial run of Benadryl proved the same on my son. Definitely do the pre-flight trial. We did saline spray to ward against flight congestion.
    
    Our dynamo boy is a light sleeper too, so keeping him asleep on a plane if he's not really tired is impossible. My advice, if your kid is walking or older, run them in the airport then tank them up on heavy carb snacks (think oatmeal or scones) either right before or right when you get on the plane.

    posted by : gonzomama on 3/14/2008 at 11:48 AM Flag For Abuse

12. OK, I'm going to be the one that isn't with the crowd. I hate giving my child ANY drugs. I only give medication if it is medically necessary and I can't agree with drugging a child for a long flight. Yes, I know it could get ugly, difficult and embarrassing, but I think that that's what we sign up for when we become parents. We can't expect kids to act like adults so that adults can be comfortable. Where's the tolerance? We were all kids once too. And then giving drugs to perfectly healthy kids? Really? What about all of the reports saying that these medicines can be dangerous? Children's bodies are so delicate, should we really be OK with introducing unnecessary drugs to their systems so we can feel better? I don't know. This doesn't sit well with me at all.

    posted by : black violet on 3/15/2008 at 11:49 PM Flag For Abuse

13. Black violet, I have to ask you how long your longest flight has been. Have you been on a 19-hr flight sandwiched between five other flights totalling over 2 full days of travel?
    
    Aside from the fact that drugging a kid can actually help him/her settle down and get through a flight (instead of suffer the whole way), "ugly, difficult, and embarrassing" is not something I think other passengers sign up for on flights. 'm going to be devil's advcate here and say it's not only our children we need to thnk of on flights. Why should we only think of ourselves and our spawn? this is a new parenting trend and I think it's lame. I'm not advocating putting one's child at risk on behalf of others but really--if you have a 3-yr-old who can settle down with a spot of Benadryl, or else spend hours upon hours making hers and others' lives a misery on board a crappy flight, I think it's ridiculous not to do it. I'm sorry, but I'm against the purist approach in this regard. Drugging is not always wrong and children are not the only people we need to consider. Each experience is different and really, a spot of antihistamine is not always equal to being a bad mother. Nor are you putting your child in danger if you give her the recommended dose at the recommended age.

    posted by : crabmommy on 3/19/2008 at 1:22 PM Flag For Abuse

14. I have two children under the age of 5 and have traveled throughout the United States and overseas. While there may be times that parents may need to use medication, I wanted to share that there may be alternative solutions in other situations. On March 19th, I read a posting on Droolicious about a site called Little Jet Set (www.littlejetset.com), an online store selling kids travel products. So, of course, I rushed to checked out their site. I have to say that I have found so many fun and innovative solutions for family travel. On our recent trip this past weekend, we had to catch a 6 a.m. flight and needless to say my kids were not in the best of moods. After we boarded, the kids did not want to eat or sleep and were not interested in putting on a seat belt. We pulled out their toddler backpacks that we packed for the trip. Inside the backpacks, there was an assortment of games and activities - sticker play scenes, lacing cards, art folios, puzzles. The best part was seeing how happy they were to open their own bag of vacation "stuff." They quickly calmed down and went to "work" for about 45 minutes. Fatigue finally set in and I wrapped them each in an extremely soft and cozy travel blanket and pillow and they dozed off. Amazingly, all of these things were found at Little Jet Set. Little Jet Set is a great one-stop shop in helping families traveling with kids. The product selection is large and everything is thoughtfully chosen.

    posted by : Terri on 3/28/2008 at 1:10 PM Flag For Abuse

15. another preventative that traveling parents might want to bear in mind is getting their kids used to sleeping in unusual places. Those that have always napped in their cots with blackout curtains at 2:15pm precisely are obviously going to find it difficult when the routine is broken. I fly regularly and manage ok, with a bit of crying and embarrassment just before he goes to sleep, but no drugs. I partially attribute this to the fact that since he was a small baby, my son napped in a sling, in a stroller, in his cot, or wherever we were at that time. So a plane seat is not a big problem.
    
    I agree with the posters above that there shouldn't be a feeling of obligation to drug your child to please other passengers - as a society we should be more aware of the behavior of kids. However obviously, if someone occasionally gives their kid some anti-histamine, it's no biggie. There are more important things to get worked up about - eg children in poverty. Instead of ranting, why not write a letter to your government about health care or give some money to a parent who can't afford to feed their kid.

    posted by : livinginsing on 7/28/2008 at 8:27 AM Flag For Abuse

16. Crabmommy, you rock. As a person who is expecting a child any day but doesn't yet have one, I've had the flights from hell where a parent could not get their child to settle. Just because you choose to have kids DOES NOT give you the right to inflict their issues on everyone else. Please think of it this way: If an adult chooses to get belligerently drunk and act out on a flight, he or she can be ejected and barred from further flying. Though the adult makes the choice about inebriation, it's still bad behavior. If a parent refuses to offer assistance to his or her child to settle and be calm during a flight, this rule should most definitely apply as well.
    
    Terri, great suggestion about the Web site. It's definitely going to be on our radar after the kid comes, and we start to re-embrace the idea of long-distance traveling!
    

    posted by : MissSea on 7/18/2009 at 9:15 AM Flag For Abuse