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Study shows parents are drugging their kids for travel

If there’s anything that can strike fear deep into the hearts of parents, it’s the prospect of a long-haul flight toting a sleep-deprived child.

Add a jam-packed plane and the potential for rows of angry eyes to be glaring at you while your poor child cries, and stress levels can skyrocket.

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No surprises then that parents will do anything for a smooth journey, and a new survey has found that includes giving their little ones medication to help them sleep.

Over 1000 Aussie parents were surveyed by HotelsCombined, with 10 percent of parents with kids under the age of four admitting they had given their child cough syrup or natural sleep supplements to help bring on the zzz’s.

What every parent dreams about: a happily sleeping baby on a flight. Photo: Getty
What every parent dreams about: a happily sleeping baby on a flight. Photo: Getty

Travelling also saw 44 percent of parents resort to extra screen time, and 36 percent of them allowing their kids more fast food or sweets to help encourage good behaviour.

While a whopping 56 percent of Aussie parents use screen time, sedatives and sweet treats to keep their kids occupied, there’s definitely some mum and dad shame attached.

One in 10 parents admit to using sleep enhancers on their little ones. Photo: Getty
One in 10 parents admit to using sleep enhancers on their little ones. Photo: Getty

It sees 46 percent of them keeping quiet about their coping mechanisms - but some parents are refusing to keep quiet any longer.

“Flights with kids are a matter of survival, you do what you can to survive," Lynette Bolton, mother of Siarra, five, and two-year-old Piper tells HotelsCombined.

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