6 hour time difference with a toddler

Maybe try relaxing his schedule before you go? I’ve found that new parents tend to control the schedule of their first born but by the time the second or more comes along, it gets much more relaxed. Certainly no harm in speeding up the process.

If your son can’t (or won’t) change the child’s schedule, then I would just try and let him sleep. Maybe rent a stroller for him to lay in while you’re walking? Or have a rotating schedule of caregivers who take turns staying with him why he sleeps.

But seriously I would opt for the change in schedule before you leave (if you have time - when is your trip?). Otherwise, the child will probably be out of sorts and make everyone miserable.

ETA: One other thing - regardless, keep in mind that time change lags are temporary and children are resilient. No matter what you do, the child will most probably adapt after a few days and get with the “new” schedule. :)

Admittedly it's been a few decades, but we traveled from the US to Europe when our son was an infant and a few years later as a toddler. I don't think we worried about "time" at all. He probably adjusted faster than we adults, probably because kids sleep longer anyway, and they are used to sleeping in stollers and other non-bed places.

My first thought was "What heaven to have a kid who sleeps for 12 hours!"

Second thought was "Don't you mean he'll want to sleep from 1 am to 1 pm?"

Third thought is that maybe, if the family circumstances allow it, he could do what we do and move gradually a few hours onto Europe time. Even two hours is helpful.

It also kind of depends on how naturally flexible he is. Our two sons would have been fine sleeping in weird places at weird times, but our two grandchildren took a few nights to adjust to the time difference when we took them to Italy at 5 months old and almost 4 years old. The first night was pretty hard on their parents.

We have just been in Spain for 60 days and there were grumpy toddlers everywhere. There were kids everywhere. Spain is a very family friendly country and children go everywhere their parents go at all times of the day and night. No one bats an eye at a screaming toddler or a sleeping toddler.

We always took our kids with us overseas with us and honestly, we never gave it a second thought as far as the time difference. We fly overnight, so the dark plane put them to sleep anyway.

Bring a stroller. Let him nap when he wants to nap. Be outdoors as much as possible during the daylight hours the first few days. He’ll most likely adjust pretty quickly. Be prepared for the group to split up and someone stay with him at the hotel/apartment. Have separate rooms so you can get some sleep!

The biggest challenge might be dinner. Many restaurants don’t even open for dinner until 8 pm. We struggled with this when traveling with our infant. His bedtime was 7:30. We’d take a break in the evening, get him bathed and into pjs, then take him to dinner. He often fell asleep and slept thru dinner. Restaurants (in Italy and France) were very accommodating.

Don’t you mean he’ll want to sleep 1:00 am to 1:00 pm? Implying that he sleeps 7 pm to 7 am at home (which is lovely!).

If this is the case, Spain is going to be a breeze! We travel with my son, who is older but special needs and has no clue about clock times. He is also a 12-hour sleeper for about the same times.

We just keep the same schedule when we go to Spain. Meaning, he gets to sleep in, we do things later, we eat later (9 or 10 pm), we go for a walk after dinner, he goes to bed around midnight. We fit right in with Spanish time/schedules and there are zero transition issues for him.

We find that after a couple of days, he wakes up on his own around 9 am Spanish time. We then go do some things, have a leisurely lunch (1 or 2 pm), then do a siesta where we relax and he sleeps for an hour or two. Then we roll right into the late afternoon/evening activities. He seems to thrive on this schedule.

And, as AussieNomad commented, Spain is very, very kid friendly. We absolutely love this. Families bring their babies and toddlers everywhere, at all hours; they are all welcome and no one bats an eye if a little one is talkative or disruptive.

So relax, go, enjoy — you are headed to the perfect vacation destination for a toddler! Just don’t overplan your days and build in some down time, but you are probably already doing that.

Have fun!