#  >  > Living And Legal Affairs In Thailand >  >  > Living In Thailand Forum >  >  > The Family Room >  >  Flying THAI :- Should parents give children drugs to help sleep on long-haul flights?

## David48atTD

^  This dream, or this reality below ...



The thought of travelling with small children on long-haul flights can fill even the most laid-back parents with dread.

Will my child sleep? 
Will they run up and down the aisle or kick the seat in front of them? 

And  then there's the other passengers. 
Will I get knowing smiles or  terrified sideways glances by childless, carefree young couples?


This  journey into the unknown will have parents asking another question: Is  it OK to give my kid a little something to help them sleep during the  flight?
It's a polarising topic and a quick search of parenting blogs and forums will surface posts like: _"I'm seriously considering Phenergan for our next flight. I mean,  I'd be doing it for the good of the other passengers. It's like a  community service. Does that make me a bad mother?"_
Or this: _"I personally wouldn't drug my kids to fly. I've got two active  boys and have flown many times solo and it's manageable without the  medication."_ Some parents swear by antihistamines for inducing  children to sleep. 

Antihistamines are drugs used to treat allergies and  some cause drowsiness. 
But Dr Joanne Ging, paediatrician at the  Children's Hospital at Westmead in Sydney, warns against this practice. 

"Unfortunately  [children under two] are the ones you'd most likely want to give it to  because they are the ones you can't reason with, 
but the risk of  complications is too high," she says.
 If you have kids, it's a good article to read here

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## AntRobertson

My kids have always been good on planes. Give them an iPad/movie/games and they're good for hours.

One trick I have found useful on long haul flights though is to fly at night where possible. That way they can stay up until they crash out, wake up and almost already be there.

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## Pragmatic

> That way they can stay up until they crash out,


Bad choice of words?

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## AntRobertson

:smiley laughing: 

On reflection, yep!

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## nidhogg

Most babies are no real problem.  They cry for a while then sleep.  Rinse and repeat.

The real problem is the effing parents.  They are either grievously underprepared (no entertainment for the kids) or simply do not give a shit.  

One of the worst long hauls I had, had a kid (six or seven maybe) who cried for 14 hours straight.  Not the "I am hurt" cry, but the "I am not getting what I want" grizzle for 14 f*cking hours.  Parents just made no effort.  Left him to it.

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## aging one

> One trick I have found useful on long haul flights though is to fly at night where possible. That way they can stay up until they crash out, wake up and almost already be there.


For some flights yes, but going west from BKK to the west coast of America it can be a bitch with young kids. We left here at 6pm via HKG, its about a 17 hour flight with the stopover, and a 14  hour time change.  My kids got a full 8 hours on the long leg of the flight. Got them up an hour before landing in SFO 7:30pm. They were then on USA time. Up all night and slept all day for 3 days until we could even start the change.  Their  Circadian Rhythms were all messed up.  Funny looking back at it now.  "Daddy how come America does not have a daytime." :Smile:

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## chassamui

Children should be seen and not heard. Place picture of them on the plane seat next to you and send them by boat.

I walked out of a sports bar a few weeks ago when it filled up with kids just before the 2nd NZ v Lions test kick off.

The pub is somewhere you should be able to go without having to deal with other peoples fucking brats.

Idle parenting to blame in every case.

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## baldrick

children should not be flying until an age where they will do as they are told - safety issue

though why the fcuk do people want to take their kids to " exotic " destinations where they can be exposed to " exotic " diseases

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## AntRobertson

Our kids first flew at 18 months I think.

That was a complete fucking nightmare but not because of them, the airline completely fucked things up.  :Mad:

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## Geezy

> children should not be flying until an age where they will do as they are told - safety issue
> 
> though why the fcuk do people want to take their kids to " exotic " destinations where they can be exposed to " exotic " diseases


Agreed.

Quality noise cancelling earphones/headphones are a must for flights, regardless of kids aboard or not. There'll always be noisy passengers, regardless.

I think I enjoyed my first flight, back in '96. The next few hundred I've hated.

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## yortyiam

The real problem is the effing parents. They are either grievously under-prepared (no entertainment for the kids) or simply do not give a shit. 
Yep.
children should not be flying until an age where they will do as they are told - safety issue

though why the fcuk do people want to take their kids to " exotic " destinations where they can be exposed to " exotic " diseases

Have to agree with both Chas and Baldrick. A long-haul flight where (in my case) was a newborn who wailed like hell for the entire flight made for a restless journey for all on-board. Some things can't be helped and then you do get adults that don't give a shit for anyone else too.

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## kmart

Emirates is great if you have to take young kids. They supply toys, colouring books, kid's reading books, well-trained stewardesses, etc; and the people traveling with young snotty brats are all grouped together, sharing the joy. 
Just take some Valium, and all the free booze possible to arrive refreshed, relaxed, and every _other_ cnut with dangerously high blood pressure.

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## thaimeme

A better life by way of pharmaceuticals.

And we cave to it. 

Ain't life grand.
Slumber on.

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## Slick

To the OP - yes. 

And I'll take some as well.

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## MeMock

My take on it back in 2011.

Flying with an infant | Family life in rural Thailand & Australia

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## Dillinger

I wouldnt waste my drugs on the kids :Smile: 

These grumpy fucks get to me. If you dont like kids dont go to PUBLIC  places where  they are allowed. We were all kids once. Go and charter your own plane you miserable old fock and do everyone a favour instead of fuelling the fire and making matters worse.

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## thaimeme

> I wouldnt waste my drugs on the kids
> 
> These grumpy fucks get to me. If you dont like kids dont go to PUBLIC  places where  they are allowed. We were all kids once. Go and charter your own plane you miserable old fock and do everyone a favour instead of fuelling the fire and making matters worse.


Indeed.
Old grouches.
Pharmaceuticals help.

Though, I might question your intent of defining a voluntary public place as associated with a cramped airline flight.

I'm hoping your next long-haul flight seat neighbor is a chronic Chinese [silent] farter - PUBLIC SPACE.

 ::chitown::

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## Geezy

> I'm hoping your next long-haul flight seat neighbor is a chronic Chinese [silent] farter


TBH, most mainland Chinese passengers are a nuisance, more so than kids. Kids you can drown out with headphones. Chinese not, they'll have conversations at maximum decibel range with their buddy at the very back/front of the plane, and are clueless or don't give a flying fuck about those around them. Unfortunately they are hard to avoid if you're flying anywhere in Asia - they're the human equivalent of locusts.

Any day of the week I'd rather have a kid seated next to/behind/in front of me than a mainlander.

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