Taking my kids on their first overnight plane right recently, I admit I was a little nervous about how to get them to sleep. I’m not one to shy away from the Benadryl (8 hour flight? Bring it on.) but hey, I know some moms prefer more natural options. As do I, given the choice.

Just in the nick of time, I found one, and–hooray!–it totally works.

I fell in love with Zarbee’s Natural Cough Syrup earlier this year, and I’m so happy to see Pediatrician Zak Zarbock has another product: an all-natural sleep drink that relies on a teeny bit of melatonin plus ingredients like buckwheat honey, zinc and Vitamin C to help kids feel better and get some shut eye.

It put my four year-old to sleep in about ten minutes, which is easily the world’s record. The best part is, she slept the entire flight–and then claimed she was never sleeping.

If that’s the kind of “not sleeping” she does on a plane, fine by us.

It’s also a smart option for the night before a big test day, bad colds, or any other time your kids can use a little sleep help that warm milk isn’t delivering. I will caution though that you need to make sure it’s well-dissolved in warm water so that your kids really get the benefit of the packet. If you’re using it on a plane, grab a hot water from the flight attendant as soon as you get on board.

Believe me, they’re more than happy to help knowing there will be one more sleeping kid on the flight. –Liz

[UPDATE 2/14: the product has now been reformulated as Zarbee’s Natural Children’s Sleep with pure Melatonin, safe for children 3+]