Back in the early days of this blog, I wrote about what to pack when you bring your newly adopted child home from Russia. The fifth item on that list was infant's Benadryl.

Diphenhydramine hydrochloride has a role in your travel kit because it is an antihistamine. As I learned about 10 days ago when my little guy was stung by a bee, it can be a key help in calming an allergic reaction. I've got a bottle of dye-free Benadryl in my purse at all times now. And just like me in the emergency room, you may or may not have adequate information on the allergy history of the child you adopt from Russia.

But parents who have to take children on a plane--and not just prospective adoptive parents in Russia--are often tempted to pack Benadryl for another of its purported attributes: as a sedative. A story in the science section of yesterday's New York Times, however, makes it clear that this is not a good idea.

Under the headline "These Drugs Are for Colds, Not Fidgets", reporter Leslie Berger looks at what can happen when Benadryl, and similar drugs, are given for purposes other than fighting an allergy attack. They can make kids hyper-active, which is the last thing you want on a flight that is going to be a minimum of nine hours to American soil. They can cause constipation, which can lead to other problems, like encopresis, which I wrote about last week. The Times story quoted McNeil Consumer Healthcare, the maker of Benadryl, as being flatly against any usage of the medicine not recommended on the label.

So what do you do to keep your child content on a plane? Here are my top five tips: 1) Get a good children's book on what to expect on a plane ride, and read it to your child (with or without help from your agency's translator); 2) Pack a toy airplane and use it to practice take-offs and landings; 3) Carry a coloring book and crayons; 4) Stuff your pockets with small toys; 5) Select several other picture-heavy books and read them over and over again, in English. Note I didn’t put a single electronic device on this list. Most have a battery life of only two hours, which makes them completely impractical for a flight home from Russia.

What did you do to keep the plane ride happy? I hope you'll share.