Getting kids back into a routine after traveling

May 27, 2008 · Posted in About Us, Kids

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It’s not quite 10am, and my 2-year-old son is down for a nap (he usually sleeps in the early afternoon). He has a gym class at 10:30am, but won’t be going. The one part of traveling that I don’t like is trying to get the kid back into a routine.

I follow 3 rules to help get my little one back on track:

1. Let them sleep: Most kids need to catch up on sleep after traveling, whether they like to admit it or not. Between 8 and 9 am this morning, my son had a serious case of the yawns. Factor in the 5 trips to time-out, and it’s not hard to figure out that he needs some more sleep.

2. Don’t force them to do their normal activities right away: Although we’ve already paid for the class, I just don’t see the benefit of making my son go to a class he isn’t going to enjoy. There is no reason to make small kids attend their normal activities when tired.

3. Change the eating/snack schedule to the times when your kids are hungry: Breakfast this morning was 1/2 piece of toast. Instead of pushing the issue, I just fixed him another slice when he was hungry again. If I know my son, today will be filled with 5-6 snack times but no real meals. It just takes him some time to adjust. I do make sure that there aren’t a lot of special treats - his snacks are just like meals, only the portions are smaller.

Although there is some temptation to immediately return to the normal routine, there is usually 1-2 days where we just “go with the flow”. Sleeping, eating, and activity schedules are not normal, but allowing for a period of adjustment makes life easier for everyone.

What do you like to do to help ease the transition?