Should Kids On Airplanes Be Sedated?

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At a recent workshop at UBC called “Travelling with Kids,” the subject of sedating children for long-haul flights came up. The workshop was hosted by Sallie Boschung, a Vancouver French immersion teacher who has flown extensively with her two children all around the world.

Boschung came with a list of tips for handling kids on the ground and in the air. How to spot a lost kid in the crowd? “Dress even teenagers in really bright clothing like fluorescent pink,” she told the group. For children younger than 11, tag their wrist with a hospital-type ID bracelet with an emergency number.

Boschung is against using any medication for the sole purpose of knocking a kid out on a flight, though she told Maclean’s, “I did mention that parents might consider using a decongestant for taking off and landing, in order to help unclog their child’s sinuses, thereby minimizing discomfort from changes in altitude—but first to consult with their family doctor.

One of the side effects of decongestants is they may make children drowsy and I joked that on a long flight this may have an unintentionally positive benefit.” Attending the lunch hour workshop in July was Sheila Thornton, a research scientist at UBC’s faculty of pharmaceutical sciences, because “I have a three-year-old son and my husband is Brazilian so we foresee a lot of travel in the future.” Also in attendance was her colleague, research scientist Dr. Kristina Sachs-Barrable, who has two young children.

Sachs-Barrable confessed that in June she gave Gravol to her two-year-old daughter on a return flight to Vancouver from Frankfurt. The drug did the opposite of what she’d hoped for, however, making her daughter unstoppably hyper. “I was scared,” Sachs-Barrable told Maclean’s.

“Sheila probably told you we both work in pharmaceutical sciences. We have a little bit of experience with drugs and pharmaceutical ingredients but you don’t know what the reactions are going to be under that particular circumstance.” She was hoping “she would get some rest and we’d both be rested by the time we got back home because daddy was waiting at the other end and I wanted her to be in a good mood.”

Sachs-Barrable gave Gravol in tablet form to her daughter shortly after boarding. Soon she realized, “ ‘Oh God, what have I done to my child?’ She was running up and down the aisle, hiding behind the seats, and making eye contact with everybody around her and playing peekaboo.”

“I think her child was already excited,” said Thornton. “Every child is different. Every drug response is different. With respect to Gravol, the product drug monograph states the following under the ‘adverse effects’ heading: symptoms of excitement (especially in children) have been reported.”

Yet some parents aren’t afraid to praise the benefits of inducing a child’s sleep. Canadian biologist Dr. Katherine Barrett has a blog called TwinUtero. At No. 6 in her “ten tips for international travel with kids” is “sedate the children.”

Two years ago, she and her developer husband relocated from Ottawa to South Africa. The journey with their three toddlers involved an overnight flight to London, a full-day layover in Heathrow and another overnight flight to Cape Town. The flight to Heathrow was “hellish.”

“Before the second flight, we decided to give them Gravol so we could get some rest. Parenting three young kids, especially during a transcontinental move, means we have to be functioning and responsive. We needed some sleep!” she told Maclean’s. “We gave Gravol to Alex and Thomas on the second flight. Just one shot—the recommended dose. I’m reluctant to give sedation my wholesale recommendation. But this time, for us, it worked.”

Barrett says, “When it comes to sedating a child for a flight, parents are less likely to admit it than, say, [saying they gave] a dose of Advil because the child seemed hot.” Using the term “sedating,” she says, “seems more selfish and less responsible.”

Sachs-Barrable now believes her daughter’s hyper reaction was caused by stress “she inherited from my nervousness. I was sad because I had to say goodbye to my parents. I think my daughter sensed something. And then the stressful environment of the airport, and the aircraft and the noise, and I think it went boom, completely the other way.” Never again will she give Gravol to her daughter on a flight, she says. “Absolutely not. On a plane, no way.”
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Should kids on planes be sedated? -  Travel - MSN CA

I don't have an opinion on this. What do you think?
 
I don't think so! The children need to stay awaken in case they need to protect themselves from being kidnapped or something bad happening to the planes they are in.
 
Why am I thinking of the film 'Flight Plan'?....

My answer = not unless it's absolutely necessary.
 
Why stop there? Diners should be allowed to use dart guns against unruly children in restaurants. (/sarcasm)

No, children should not be drugged except for necessary medical procedures.
 
This is something that is between a parent and his or her child's pediatrician. It's not for us to decide.
 
I can't imagine that a pediatrician would prescribe meds to sedate for an airplane ride. Maybe one of the drs on AD will inform us whether they would. :dunno2:
 
I don't think so unless it's medically advised. Some kids are naturally hyper, and a pain in the butt, on planes and off. We have to deal with all sorts of people, overweight, talkative, sick, being a nuence, many things.
 
May as well drug an overweight DeafBlind person like me and when the plane crashes in the water.. who is going to contend with me?

I'm already a liability in several ways.

-overweight
-DeafBlind
-cannot contribute equally during an emergency

Try to sedate me and you've got a whole can of worms to deal with.

Now try that with parents and children. Sedating children should never be an option at all. Naturally parents think of how others will think of their children. Children are not meant to be controlled.

Children cannot handle their emotions when they are exposed to different extremities and they need to have an outlet ie. creativity outlets. Older people can adjust themselves by ignoring the children.

To tell the children to "be quiet", "sit down", "go to sleep", only hinders the problem and adds more to the stress level. Adults can tell themselves "Ignore it", "Don't look at the child."
 
Silly thought of giving medicine to kids to be silent for the airplane purpose. either they don't go or go without having a medicine.

:dunno:
 
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When my kids were young, I prepared very carefully for plane trips. We would fly Frontier because they had the TVs on the back of the seats. Swipe a credit card and you've got cartoons for the flight. I would take travel toys, ring pops (they can't scream with one in their mouth), magnetic toys, etc. My eldest used to get in the seat and ask, "Mommy, what did you bring me that's fun to do?" It worked most of the time. No kid is perfect.

Now, the security and the flight delays make traveling with children more challenging. The airlines keep passengers on the tarmac forever. Adults can't cope with being stuck on in the plane so long, let alone kids.
 
I don't think the children should be sedated for flying on the airplane. It just only adds up the tension. Yes, it may be tempting and makes it easier for the children to zonk out just so that way the parents and others have the comfort of not dealing w/ the hassle of tending after a child on a flight.

But, If the children were to be explained beforehand that they are going on an airplane; The parents should have to set a plan or a foundation in order to make the child understand what is allowed to do or what is not allowed to do on the airplane. That would be a lot better than just sedating the child with no explanation at all.
 
Should Kids On Airplanes Be Sedated? I hope people are joking!!!
This could put a child at great risk! What if the child got air sick and did not wake up they could choke to death! And like someone else said a child could get molested while they're knockout! There so so many reasons why this is an insane idea!
 
You all make it sound like kids are not even supervised on a plane. If they are with their parents... and they suffer from anxiety or some other medical reason that they may need to be sedated then I can understand.

I do like the Idea of the braclet. I went to a couple of large events in the Tampa Bay area. Most of them require a form to be filled out.. That form has a code on it.. If the child gets lost or something happens. The security can punch in the code number on the child's bracelet.. and the emergency contact numbers are drawn up for them to contact family members.


As for me.. I have to be sedated to be on a plane.. Dramamine, is also very sedative to prevent motion sickness.

It really depends on the circumstances.
 
sallylou said:
When my kids were young, I prepared very carefully for plane trips. We would fly Frontier because they had the TVs on the back of the seats. Swipe a credit card and you've got cartoons for the flight. I would take travel toys, ring pops (they can't scream with one in their mouth), magnetic toys, etc. My eldest used to get in the seat and ask, "Mommy, what did you bring me that's fun to do?" It worked most of the time. No kid is perfect.

Now, the security and the flight delays make traveling with children more challenging. The airlines keep passengers on the tarmac forever. Adults can't cope with being stuck on in the plane so long, let alone kids.
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So in essence, the airlines are asking for more problems and quick fixes to solving them.
 
I usually try to keep my kids awake or as active for hours before boarding a plane so they would be tired and more calm. It usually works. One time, I kept my son up until past midnight for a 5 AM flight to AZ. He slept alll the way from MD to AZ. It was hard to keep him up that late because we usually have a strict sleeping schedule for him. I dont think sedating the kids is the answer but that's not for me to decide for others because I dont know what their circumstances are.
 
I have to give myself, and my Daughter Dramamine before we go on a fishing trip... They make you drowsy...

So does that make me an awful parent to do so.. Since my daughter enjoys fishing? Knowing that Dramamine makes you drowsy?
 
Pbllt. Most kids should be sedated until they are 21. sigh....

Lol (just kidding.. uh... yeah...kidding..)
 
I will flat out seriously say NO! :mad2:
Parents should be responsible for maintaining order of their kids and keeping them occupied or preoccupied during the flight so they don't get bored, cranky or whatever... what the hell is the matter with that kind of thinking that kids should be sedated?
Doesn't any one realize just how tricky and DANGEROUS it is to sedate a kid? Metabolic rates vary widely from child to child and it's nearly IMPOSSIBLE to ascertain the correct amount of dosage to a child.
If the child has confirmed ADD or HDD or other medical condition are they going to do a Michael Jackson on them?
:crazy:Stupid idea conceived by lazy impatient uncaring people! :mad::mad:
 
DeafCaver said:
I will flat out seriously say NO! :mad2:
Parents should be responsible for maintaining order of their kids and keeping them occupied or preoccupied during the flight so they don't get bored, cranky or whatever... what the hell is the matter with that kind of thinking that kids should be sedated?
Doesn't any one realize just how tricky and DANGEROUS it is to sedate a kid? Metabolic rates vary widely from child to child and it's nearly IMPOSSIBLE to ascertain the correct amount of dosage to a child.
If the child has confirmed ADD or HDD or other medical condition are they going to do a Michael Jackson on them?
:crazy:Stupid idea conceived by lazy impatient uncaring people! :mad::mad:
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What if the child has a fear of flying... or get motion sickness?

Or if that child has a disorder that will produce a major scene on an airplane that the parent knows that the child will be disruptive.

People always complain of disruptive kids in restaurants.. Those parents can always leave with their child.. But once you are on a plane... some trips are very, very long!!!

Something to ponder.... I would say... it depends on the situation.
 
Babyblue said:
What if the child has a fear of flying... or get motion sickness?

Or if that child has a disorder that will produce a major scene on an airplane that the parent knows that the child will be disruptive.

People always complain of disruptive kids in restaurants.. Those parents can always leave with their child.. But once you are on a plane... some trips are very, very long!!!

Something to ponder.... I would say... it depends on the situation.
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Well there is that of course but that is special case ... yet still parents still have the RESPONSIBILITY to know this about their child in advance and find a way to help the child cope with it or find an alternate way to travel.
Motion sickness can be taken care of with out a sedative... they have pills for that.
 
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