Archive for April 1st, 2007

How to Travel With Your Infant in an Airplane

Sunday, April 1st, 2007

Advice for Traveling on an Airplane with Your Baby: How to Keep Your Baby Happy On Flight

 

 

Baby in Car Seat - Infant Traveling by Airplane

 

 

Baby in Car Seat - Infant Traveling by Airplane

The new airline regulations which keep getting more and more stringent as the years go on can be trying for even the more practiced and calm of travelers. They can be absolutely harrowing for new parents who are already overwhelmed with taking their infant on a plane. On top of worrying about how well your infant will do in the air, whether or not you’ve packed all that you need for your infant during the trip and what you are going to do if everyone starts glaring at you because your infant is the one crying throughout the flight, you now have to worry about what you can and can’t pack for your infant to have on the plane. Take a deep breath, get your mind settled and get ready to learn the latest news in airline travel with your infant.

Food for your infant

The number one concern for most new parents traveling by air with an infant is the consideration of bringing baby formula or breast milk on the plane. With the rules about bringing liquids on your flight getting tighter and tighter, you might be wondering if you’re going to be able to bring what your baby needs to drink on the plane. And if you’re like most new parents, you’ve thought ahead to concerns about delays and long layovers and you want to make sure that you’ve over-packed the formula, not under-packed it, in case something goes wrong and your infant needs to eat.

Don’t worry; the creators of airline regulations may be tough but nobody wants to hear your infant cry throughout a flight so they accept that baby formula is coming on board. Here are the rules you need to know:

  • Baby formula and breast milk can be packed in your carry-on luggage but only if you are traveling with your infant. If you are meeting your partner and infant en route, you will not be able to carry the milk on board.
  • You are allowed to bring any amount of milk or formula that your baby might need. As long as it fits in your allotted carry-on luggage, you’re good to over-pack the formula as much as you see fit.
  • Your packed breast milk may be checked by security. Packing formula or milk in amounts smaller than three ounces each makes the security check of them go much more smoothly.
Medical concerns

Food is the primary concern for most people traveling with an infant, but running a close second is the concern about the safety of taking an infant on a plane. The most common issue which affects infants on planes is the pain of pressure in the ears. Unfortunately, it happens and your infant might cry as a result, but the pain is not long-lasting and the baby’s ears will not be damaged. Pain of this kind can be reduced by making sure that the baby has a bottle to enjoy during the take-off and landing of the flight which are the times when the pressure will have the greatest effect on the ears.

The other medical concern which comes up for parents traveling with infants is that of already-sick kids. Can you travel with your infant on a plane if he or she is sick? Yes, but the flight itself is already going to be stressful so if you can change your plans until a time when your infant is healthy, you should do so. If you must travel with a sick infant, make sure that you check with security about the regulations of taking your infant’s medicine with you on the plane.

Secondary concerns

Food and medicine are the big issues to worry about when you travel with an infant. However, it is sometimes all of the other little things in life that can drive us craziest. Pack well in advance of your trip to be sure that you’ve covered all your bases and you’ll be better prepared to deal with these little concerns. Things to think about when packing include making sure that you have a blanket, any teeth items, changes of clothing, diapers and a toy or stuffed animal for your infant. If you travel frequently with your infant, you may consider having a baby bag packed at all times so you don’t have to worry about these things when it is actually time to do your travel.

Finally, you should remember that a calm parent makes for a happier baby. This is particularly true for when you are traveling with your infant. Don’t let the stress of travel get to you; accept that there will be ups and downs of traveling with your baby and just try to go with the flow. You will have a more relaxed flight and your baby will benefit from your patience.

Technorati Tags: , , , , ,

Posted in Airplane Travel with Kids, Travel with Baby, Travel with Kids, Travelling with Infants or Baby, air travel | No Comments »

How to Keep Your Kids Entertained During Car Travels

Sunday, April 1st, 2007

Tips for Keeping Your Children Happy and Entertained When Travelling in the Car

 

Lego Family - How to Keep Kids Happy and Entertained in the Car

 

If you’ve traveled in the car with your kids for any length of time, the following phrases probably sound painfully familiar:

“Are we there yet?”

“I have to go to the bathroom.”

“Mom, Billy’s hitting me.”

“I’m hungry!”

“Dad, I’m bored.”

“Are we there yet?”

 

Keeping your kids entertained in the car can be a feat even when you’re just making the ten-minute drive to school or to Grandma’s house. It can take wells of patience when you’re talking about going on an actual road trip with the kids. But it can be done. Believe it or not, road trips create some of the best memories your children will have of the family travel you did while they were growing up, so it’s worth investing a little bit of time and energy in making sure that they’re entertained. Besides, car travel is often the least expensive route and you want to take advantage of it without going crazy right?

 

Here’s how to keep your kids entertained during car travel so that you can all have a great time on your road trip:

· Pack wisely for the car but make sure that you pack plenty of different things for each of your kids to do to stay entertained on their own throughout much of the road trip. Each child in the car should have their own little backpack or bag of things they can enjoy by themselves throughout the ride. Depending on the age of the child, these bags might contain items such as:

o Books, magazines and other reading material; bring mini-flashlights if you’ll be driving at night but the kids will be awake.

o Video games

o Personal DVD players with favorite movies; headphones are a good choice so the whole family doesn’t have to hear the movie.

o Mp3 players with headphones.

o Multi-colored pen and drawing paper

o Stuffed animal

· Choose seating in the car wisely. You know your kids best so you know if they can sit next to each other in a car for a long time without bickering or not. It may be unconventional for one parent to ride in the backseat but putting a teenager up front while you spend some time in the back with the kids can make a world of difference in everyone getting along. Do what’s right for your family.

· Enjoy group activities. These will vary greatly from family to family. Some families like to play road trip games like the game where everyone tries to find the letters of the alphabet in order on the signs as they pass. Other families do sing-alongs. Others just talk. If you can get the whole family engaged with each other for awhile, the time will pass more quickly and the memories will be more lasting.

· Bring snacks. When kids get bored, kids get hungry. Obviously, you want to keep things as healthy as possible, but road trips are a time for a little bit of indulgence. Bring smart snacks - not something that will cause a sugar high in your kids while they have to remain strapped into their seat belts - but bring stuff your kids will consider a treat.

· Remember to take breaks. You may want to just drive straight through until you get there, but your kids need the trip broken up for them. Take regular breaks and make them fun ones. Instead of just stopping at a rest stop, figure out where en route is an interesting diversion and make the journey part of the trip itself. There are plenty of interesting things right off of every highway that your can do as a family without spending a lot of money. Explore them!

Try to think of traveling with your kids in the car as an adventure which can be enjoyed by the entire family. Having the right attitude about the trip will help convey the fun of the entire experience to your kids, so you’ll be a lot less likely to hear those tired old refrains of “I’m bored” and a lot more likely to create great trip memories for your kids to treasure over time.

 

All Traveling Kids Family Vacations is a resource for families who like traveling with their kids.

Technorati Tags: , , , , , ,

Posted in Car Travel, Car Travel with Kids, Entertaining Kids During Travel, Travel with Kids, Traveling with Kids | No Comments »