Advice: Kids and late flight?

[Anonymous]

I usually like to shower after flying because I feel gross but at midnight? H3ll no. Just go to bed.

[Anonymous]

I'm confused why you think everyone will be "famished" at midnight.
You'll be having dinner at 6 pm, which is a pretty standard dinner time.
Do they typically wake up at midnight for a snack?
I mean sure, bring a few snacks, but I don't think this is as complicated as you're making it. Just accept that vacations run on different schedules than home life; eating, sleeping, baths--all will be a little different than the typical day at home.

[Anonymous]

You're way overthinking this OP. Sure, they may be tired and cranky, but it's one night. When we had a connection with a late arrival I had my kids put their pjs on during the layover and they went straight to bed when we landed. Skipped teeth brushing too (gasp!). Its one night!

[Anonymous]

Wash hands, brush teeth, fall into bed. You do not need to “wash the travel crud.”

The only things you need to do are 1) advise your hotel that you will be arriving very late — and possibly after midnight/on the next calendar day — so they don’t give your room away as a no-show and 2) advise your kids that it will be a long day and everyone might feel grumpy, but things will be better the next day when they wake up again.

[Anonymous]

Use the washcloth to wipe down their faces and hands. Do bring snacks or a small meal with you so there is the option of food if they are awake and hungry. If not, they night wake up hungrier and having a slower morning in the room will be easier with a little food.

Try to just get everyone in bed as quick as possible and prepare for a tired day after.

[Anonymous]

You sound nuts OP. Put the kids in jammies or comfy clothes for the flight. Feed them dinner before boarding. Pack snacks in case they are hungry beyond the airline meal service. Arrive. Brush teeth and Stick them in bed. Shower in the morning.

I have flown at all hours with my kids.. arrivals at midnight… departing hotels at 3 am to catch trains at 5:30… kids are adaptable and can roll with things really easily.

Seriously, Just chill out.

[Anonymous]

OP this is easy. They’ll be going to bed what, 3-4 hours late? This is ok. They’ll be fine. Yeah they’ll be tired but , it’s not a big deal. Not sure why you’d need to feed them at midnight when they had dinner at a normal time. Just wash hands , go to sleep when you get to the hotel room. If you think a quick rinse , teeth brushing etc will sort of prime their brains for bedtime and it can be done in 5min then sure. Otherwise skip it. Agree with PP that was picturing three year old septuplets. Your kids will be totally fine.

[Anonymous]

We had a late flight last week that was supposed to land at 11pm. I was traveling solo with 2 kids. Then our flight had a mechanical issue and we had to deplane after we had boarded (after both kids had fallen asleep already!) and our new flight didn't take off until midnight and we got home at 3am.

That was crazy. Especially because my younger one was so exhausted and I had to keep waking her up to move off the plane, move gates, move back onto the plane, then off the plane into the car. I couldn't carry her because we had three carry ons that needed hands. But we made it!

Anyway! Just sharing my experience. Kids probably will be very tired and falling asleep on their feet, but it'll be fine. You'll just have to wake them up if you need to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm confused why you think everyone will be "famished" at midnight.
You'll be having dinner at 6 pm, which is a pretty standard dinner time.
Do they typically wake up at midnight for a snack?
I mean sure, bring a few snacks, but I don't think this is as complicated as you're making it. Just accept that vacations run on different schedules than home life; eating, sleeping, baths--all will be a little different than the typical day at home.

Eating at 6pm (for the kids) assumes they will be in bed by say, 9pm. Your sleep cycle dials down your hunger cues. If kept awake from 9pm-12am, your hunger cues may be activated again because you are not resting, you are awake.

Adults can probably handle this much better than children. But mine would be hungry 6 hours after dinner if they were not asleep.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We had a late flight last week that was supposed to land at 11pm. I was traveling solo with 2 kids. Then our flight had a mechanical issue and we had to deplane after we had boarded (after both kids had fallen asleep already!) and our new flight didn't take off until midnight and we got home at 3am.

That was crazy. Especially because my younger one was so exhausted and I had to keep waking her up to move off the plane, move gates, move back onto the plane, then off the plane into the car. I couldn't carry her because we had three carry ons that needed hands. But we made it!

Anyway! Just sharing my experience. Kids probably will be very tired and falling asleep on their feet, but it'll be fine. You'll just have to wake them up if you need to.

I doubt the OP will deal well with any sort of delay. When traveling, you just need to go with the flow. There is absolutely no guarantee you will get there on time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm confused why you think everyone will be "famished" at midnight.
You'll be having dinner at 6 pm, which is a pretty standard dinner time.
Do they typically wake up at midnight for a snack?
I mean sure, bring a few snacks, but I don't think this is as complicated as you're making it. Just accept that vacations run on different schedules than home life; eating, sleeping, baths--all will be a little different than the typical day at home.

Eating at 6pm (for the kids) assumes they will be in bed by say, 9pm. Your sleep cycle dials down your hunger cues. If kept awake from 9pm-12am, your hunger cues may be activated again because you are not resting, you are awake.

Adults can probably handle this much better than children. But mine would be hungry 6 hours after dinner if they were not asleep.

So the solution would be to feed them a second dinner at midnight? No! If they even claim to be hungry, just give them a hug and put them to bed. Theyll be asleep in 3 minutes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm confused why you think everyone will be "famished" at midnight.
You'll be having dinner at 6 pm, which is a pretty standard dinner time.
Do they typically wake up at midnight for a snack?
I mean sure, bring a few snacks, but I don't think this is as complicated as you're making it. Just accept that vacations run on different schedules than home life; eating, sleeping, baths--all will be a little different than the typical day at home.

Eating at 6pm (for the kids) assumes they will be in bed by say, 9pm. Your sleep cycle dials down your hunger cues. If kept awake from 9pm-12am, your hunger cues may be activated again because you are not resting, you are awake.

Adults can probably handle this much better than children. But mine would be hungry 6 hours after dinner if they were not asleep.

So the solution would be to feed them a second dinner at midnight? No! If they even claim to be hungry, just give them a hug and put them to bed. Theyll be asleep in 3 minutes.

And not to forget the snacks on the plane. No one will be "famished".

[Anonymous]

How long is this flight? Sounds like just a few hours. I've flown around the world with my 4 kids, and the only time we ever felt the need to find food late at night after a flight was landing in Asia after long flights when the kids rejected most of the plane food and had been living off snacks for nearly 20 hours.