Has anyone used benadryl (or similar) to help toddler nap on a daytime flight?

[Anonymous]

And if so, were you glad you did? We are traveling from east to west coast during the day. I want 2yo DC to sleep, but I don't know whether it's a good idea during a non-red eye. Recommendations?

[Anonymous]

Not a good idea to drug your child for your convince. Benadryl made my kid hyper at that age.

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately, it made mine more hyper too. 12 hours of an international flight with a 2 year old that just wanted to run up and down the aisle. Sheer misery.

[Anonymous]

Yes. I have done it. Try it before you fly though bc it makes some children hyper, as a PP mentioned.

Are you planning on taking the child's carseat on the plane? I find that helps for sleeping the most. You want them in a familiar environment. If you aren't doing carseat, you should at least do the CARES harness to keep child contained and in the seat. That helps tremendously on the flights where we don't take the carseat with us.

[Anonymous]

Experimented beforehand, toddler went to bed an hour early and stayed asleep all night. Never worked on flights themselves, very sadly

[Anonymous]

I wouldn’t. Just be flexible. If the nap happens, great. If not, just go with it. Being anxious ahead of time, or angry about it on the flight will do anyone any good.

[Anonymous]

My kids are now teens, but you bet we did it when they were younger, based in a suggestion from our pediatrician. Just double check by using a week ahead of time to see if it makes them hyper or knocks them out...

[Anonymous]

absolutely not

[Anonymous]

No on benadryl. With my two year old I just load an IPad with her favorite movies and games plus a headphone! She loves to color so we bring that stuff too and a goody bag. If she gets restless we walk up and down the aisle when there are no service carts as she likes to say hi to people. We've done a bunch of three hour flights and she's pretty good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No on benadryl. With my two year old I just load an IPad with her favorite movies and games plus a headphone! She loves to color so we bring that stuff too and a goody bag. If she gets restless we walk up and down the aisle when there are no service carts as she likes to say hi to people. We've done a bunch of three hour flights and she's pretty good.

I agree with this. I just took my (older) 2-yr-old on a flight and she was fine with a movie and headphones. She slept on her own when she got tired. No medication needed. I have also heard it makes some kids hyper.

[Anonymous]

How long is the flight?

I would only do it on a redeye or overnight.

It stays in the system and is not worth it for a daytime nap, IMO.

If for some reason you are tempted to do this, test it beforehand if your child hasn't taken it before. It doesn't work for some kids, and in other even causes a hyper reaction.

[Anonymous]

I tried it once. Flight was at naptime. Kid still didn't sleep on the flight. Fell asleep in car when we got to our destination. Try it out first if you are going to do it. It makes some kids hyper.

[Anonymous]

Tried it once and deeply regretted it. Benadryl made my toddler hyper and she did not sleep. My pediatrician warned me of this possibility and I should have listened.

[Anonymous]

You need to test it beforehand. My 2 year old went bat sh*t crazy in the car. Turns out she doesn't sleep anywhere but her bed. Just plan to have to entertain child on the plane.

[Anonymous]

I'm pretty anti-medication (never use cold meds, for instance), but I actually think this is NBD.

My pediatrician recommended benadryl for sea sickness, so I gave it to my kids a couple times on boat trips. I regretted it, because it knocked them out and they missed all the beautiful stuff we had taken them to see.

The safety of children's benadryl (at recommended doses) is pretty well established. My sister who is a scientist who studies stuff dealing with medicine and children has used it occasionally to help kids sleep on long flights.

Agree I wouldn't do it for "my convenience" but if the child is going to be miserable because he misses sleep due to an airline trip, I think that's not "my convenience" but rather helping the child to maintain usual sleep patterns. (Like taking melatonin yourself before a red-eye flight.) And you do need to test it, because something liek 10-20% of kids get hyper, not tired, with benadryl.