just for kids

july 2001

As a mother of two sons and now a grandmother of a lively 6-year-old girl, I have survived many days of car travel and long hours of airplane travel with children, infancy through teen years, and know only too well the joys that come with traveling with children. Sure, there will be the occasional stressful moments, but with some careful pre-planning you can keep them to a minimum with everyone surviving the incidents with their sanity and dispositions intact. Check with your health insurance company to make sure you and your children will be covered wherever your travels take you. If not, look into a special insurance policy for your vacation. If you child has diabetes, you'll want to check with his/her physician before you leave, especially if the trip will be taking you out of the country. Ask about any adjustments to be made in their insulin/medication schedule. Make sure their inoculations are up to date and that they wear proper emergency medical identification. If motion sickness may be a problem, get recommendations and prescriptions for this condition. Be sure to check with the doctor about side effects-some can make the person uncontrollably sleepy. Always carry twice the amount of insulin/medications that your child would normally need for the time away. Carry extra strips for their glucose testing meter, extra batteries for the meter, and extra carb snacks. Be sure your child has comfortable shoes to wear-a good pair of walking shoes, sandals for the pool area, and swim shoes for the pool or walking in the ocean. Cruises with kids. With every passing season, more and more cruise companies are making it easier and more fun to cruise the high seas with youngsters, even babies and teenagers. Surf the Net for kid-friendly cruises. On some lines, kids can sail for free. When you do book, be sure to check cancellation fees and look into trip cancellation insurance. Should your child come down with a case of chicken pox at the last minute, that cancellation insurance may be worth the price. We suggest a short cruise the first time until you're sure that no one in the family is badly subject to motion sickness. Check out the kids' programs and babysitting for when you want an 'adult night out.' Pick the first seating for meals as second seating is usually at 8:30 p.m. Research what foods will be available throughout the day, i.e. pizza, hamburgers, hotdogs, popcorn, ice cream in addition to the regular meals. Discuss this with your child's dietitian so he/she and you are clear on what and how much they can have and how to fit this food in their meal plan. Car travel can be tiring, especially with children in tow. When you're packing the trunk of the car, put the kids' suitcases in last, as they're more likely to be in need of something out of their bags than you are. A worthwhile investment is a Little Tikes Travel desk (you can buy it online at several sites) that has two storage compartments and a clip to hold down papers. Will the desk with activity books, markers, stickers, puzzle books, and so forth. Also bring along a "grab bag" with inexpensive toys that are gift-wrapped for the child to open when boredom sets in. If you have more than one child, wrap each child's surprises in a different colored paper to make it easier for them to pick theirs out. Designate a navigator for the day and equip the child with maps and a highlighter so that they can plot out that day's route. Do some research on the Net before the trip so that a few minutes before you get to something that's of historical interest you can talk about the place with your children. Not only will you be teaching your child about geography, but you fueling them with bits of history that will be helpful in school. Our boys also liked to play license-plate bingo with a laminated map on which they would draw an X on a state when they saw a license plate from that state. Make it a hard-fast rule, that the car doesn't go until everyone's seat belt is fashioned. Frequent stops are a must when traveling with children. A good plan is to take a 15-minute break every 2 hours. Keep a ball or Frisbee in the trunk so the kids can burn off some energy and get some much-needed exercise during the break. Designate a "quiet" time during which time the children can listen to story/song tapes on a Walkman. If necessary, borrow an extra Walkman from a friend or relative so that each child has one. Stop backseat bickering by talking with your children before the trip as to how they think car quarrels should solved. Write down their solutions and when the bickering first starts (and assuredly it will), take out the list and read it back to them. You might also want to designate a seating plan, putting a child in the front seat and a parent in the back. Switch around, so they're not always sitting in the same position and with the same person. We found it best to avoid restaurants for the noon meal and instead, had a roadside picnic, even if the trip was during the winter. I can remember one such picnic after which the boys built a snowman. Be ready to play car games with your children. These can be wonderful opportunities for teaching your child concepts and helping them to explore their world. Don't forget to pack car snacks. This is especially important if your child has diabetes. Good choices include pretzels, crackers, string cheese, fruit, baby carrots, and so forth. Bring along a water bottle for each child. Don't forget to bring along some comforting things from home-a favorite stuffed animal, a pillow, and a small blanket (air conditioned cars can get cold). You'll also want to have a first-aid kit handy with a thermometer, adhesive bandages, antibiotic ointments, non-aspirin pain reliever, insect repellent, sunscreen, and if necessary anti-motion sickness medication that has been approved by your child's physician. Some other survival goods you may want to stash in the car are a roll of paper towels, and some wet wipes such as 'Shower to Shower' wipes that will cool you down. Don't forget some rain gear for everyone. If you don't already have a cell phone, you may want to consider leasing one for your trip. Hopefully your children won't get car-sick, but it's best to be prepared. Car-sickness basically results from a conflict between the eye and the ear. The inner ear detects that the car is in motion, but the eyes - focused within the car - do not. The brain gets conflicting signals and nausea sets in. Here are some measures to reduce carsickness. Encourage the child to focus outside of the car. Sometimes a game of "I Spy" will help them to do this and the nausea will lessen. Don't allow a child who's nauseous to read or play a hand-held game. Sometimes putting the child into the front seat helps. So does opening a window so the child gets some fresh air. Often munching on a dry cracker will help. Some say sucking on a sugar-free lemon drop or sugar-free butterscotch candy will sooth a queasy stomach. An empty stomach is not best. Stop before the child actually gets sick. If may mean that you'll have to call ahead and switch your hotel/motel reservation to someplace closer, but a truly sick child can make everyone miserable. Plan to stop for the night early enough in the day so that there's time for a swim or other physical activity before supper time. Make sure to stop for the night at places that are kid friendly. Some hotel/motel chains offer free lodging for children. Surf the net to see which ones go the extra mile when children are concerned, and don't start off the next day without a reservation for that night firmly in place. When you check in, make sure to teach each child how to operate the security locks. Make it a rule that no one opens the door to strangers. Immediately put all toiletries out of the reach of children in the bathroom. If your children are small, bring some childproofing supplies from home such as doorknob covers, plastic power outlet cover inserts, and something to tie up drapery or electrical cords so they are out of reach. When choosing a restaurant for the evening meal, ask if the children can order half portions from the adult menu to avoid the high-fat menu items on most children's menus such as grilled cheese sandwiches, French fries, etc. Or order "family style" where you all share the main courses rather than ordering each child a separate meal. You may be charged for an extra plate or two, but that's better than stuffing your child with the wrong foods. After supper, take a family walk, followed by a board game back in the room instead of just sticking the kids in front of a TV set. Make sure everyone gets a good night's sleep. Tired children (and adults) are more irritable and can ruin the car trip the next day really quickly. I've found that children do very well traveling on airplanes. Let them work off some energy before boarding. Usually one of us would "sit" the carry-ons while the other walked with the children. Don't expect them to quietly sit while waiting to board the plane. Nowadays many airports have children's play areas. Be sure to set time limits for these, though, as they might not wish to stop their play when your flight is called. Countdown the last minutes. If your children are under five, most airlines will invite you to pre-board. This allows you to get everyone settled and your carry-ons stowed. Children under two can fly for free if they are held on your lap. This works well for a child who likes to be held, but if your child is more mobile or likes to sit alone, it may be worth it to buy the extra ticket. Whenever possible, book a direct flight at off-peak hours. This avoids connection problems, and off-peak hour flights tend to be less crowded. If you're traveling out of the country, book a nighttime flight as the children will sleep a good portion of the time. Be sure to arrange for each child to have a pillow and blanket as airplanes can be chilly at high altitudes. Pack some finger food for snacks during the flight. Pretzels, baby carrots, dry cereal are good choices and will help them adjust to changes in cabin pressure during take-off and landing. For younger children, bring along a bottle or "sippy" cup to help ease inner ear pressure. For older children, sugar-free gum will help. Be sure to order a children's meal 48 hours before the flight and ask a flight attendant when you get on to make sure it's been put onboard. Make absolutely sure that your child's medication/insulin and test supplies are in a carry-on, not in the checked luggage. Pack a bag of surprises for your children - there are all kinds of really fun travel toys these days: a travel-sized Etch-A-Sketch, travel Magna-Doodle, stick-on play sets, pictures to thread with yarn, small magnetic puzzles, finger puppets, miniature chess, and so forth. Don't forget to pack some coloring books, crayons or colored pencils, a pad of blank paper for playing X's & O's or Hangman. During a recent 8-hour flight, my granddaughter spent several hours playing imaginary games on her tray table with the contents of a zippered purse full of some small plastic replicas of her favorite Disney characters - the Princesses, Aladdin, Prince Erik, and so forth. She also enjoyed special CDs that her dad gave her, using a battery-operated CD player and headphones - some stories and some her favorite music. The adults took turns sitting next to her so she could have some uninterrupted attention from each of us. Teach your children good flight manners - no kicking the back of the seat in front of them, no loud voices, no running up and down the aisles, keeping their seat belt fastened when the seat belt sign is on, etc. No matter if you're cruising, driving, or flying with children, don't forget to take along your sense of humor. It's essential for everyone's survival. This is supposed to be a fun time together. Relax, have fun, and try to get the most out of this special time with your children. FTG