blog post

Tips for Cruise and Air Travel with Kids

Family travel is great fun and can be even better with the right preparation.  I’ve included some tips here that I’ve picked up from various sources that may help to lessen the stress of family travel:

• Bring a travel kit with snacks, card games (Uno, Go Fish, etc.), coloring books and other travel sized games.   This will be a life saver on flights and downtime in the hotel or cruise cabin.   Try to stay away from games with small pieces that can easily get dropped and lost.  Many travel sized games are revisions of bigger board games with fixed pieces.  Family Travel Gear has a nice selection of travel games as well as other essential products to make your vacation go smoothly.  http://familytravelgear.com.   It works great to give each child their own small backpack so they are not “Mom can have this” and “Mom can I have that” ing all the time.
• Head sets, movies and music help to entertain kids on long flights, especially if the airline movies offered aren’t appealing to them.  If you aren’t bringing a laptop, look into purchasing a DVD player.  You can find most any place that sells electronics.  A 7” screen can be picked up for as little as $58.   A Y-splitter lets you hook up two headphones to one jack, thus enabling two children to watch and listen to the same movie.
• A travel journal is a great way for your child to have a way to record his or her travel experiences.  It needn't be fancy—just a simple notebook where, each day of the trip, a paragraph is recorded on the highlight of his day or three things he learned. If your child can't write yet, he can draw a picture of something he liked that day. Leave space in the journal for trip photos that can add be added to later.
• For a creative and yet fairly easy journal option, purchase postcards from your destinations, and let your children write on the back about their thoughts and experiences. Punch a hole in the top corner and assemble them onto an expandable ring. You will have an enjoyable time reflecting back on past vacations experienced during childhood years.  They can even turn this into a school report.
• Make a sleeping bag-style roll of each of your children’s daily vacation outfits with the socks, shirt, etc., secured with a rubber band. You won’t believe how much easier it is for them to find their outfit each morning. They pull out their rubber-banded outfit with all the garments together. Even the little ones can get it out of the suitcase and put their clothes on unattended.

Babies and Toddlers

• An innovative product called “Sit ‘n Stroll” is a combination car seat and stroller.  This is a great invention and from the reviews I have read is a wonderful alternative to lugging around strollers AND car seats when you travel.   It is FAA approved and works for infants through toddlers.  It even fits in most airline seats.   At around $249 it is not cheap but may be well worth the alternative!  Find it at http://www.csnstores.com.

• Bring along a pack of 'Bibsters' (disposable bibs for mealtimes, available at grocery stores, Target, etc). They keep baby's clothes cleaner and stain free and you don’t have to worry about washing and re-using the bib.
• Bring a 24-hour supply of food for infants and toddlers in case of major delays

• Bring a balloon to tape to your cruise stateroom door to make it easier for the kids to find..
• Instead of listening to lots of “buy me this, buy me that” routines when you travel, tell kids how much you will give them for souvenirs at each destination, and then they get to decide how to spend their money.   
• When flying with small children, carry on a plastic drink cup with a lid and a straw. This is an effective way to avoid spills.   A sippy-cup is a must for toddlers.

Health and Safety

• When traveling always carry a current photo of each child. This will prove invaluable if you accidentally get separated.
• If you’re in a crowded place or attraction, arrange for a meeting place in case you get separated.  This applies on board ship as well.
• Make sure older children know the address and phone number where you’re staying, and all other emergency information. Give younger children a card with the same information (put it in a pocket or safety pin somewhere.  Advise children that if they get lost, look for a “Mommy” to ask for help.
• With older children, walkie-talkies can be invaluable for keeping track of everyone in busy tourist areas and on board ship. Look for the ones with the widest range.
• Don’t rely completely on walkie-talkies as a noisy area can muffle your call.   Arrange to meet at a certain time and place if you are separated accidentally or on purpose.
• Parents taking children on extended trips should see their pediatrician well in advance to be sure their children get a pre-travel check-up and are up to date with all childhood vaccinations.
• Bring disinfectant wipes (for hands, airline tray tables and arm rests and anything else you come across with likely thousands of little germs accumulated on it).  Also great for hand sanitizing before eating when there is no water around.
• Children often experience ear aches as a result of changes in air pressure especially during take-off and landing.  Bring chewing gum and lollypops to encourage chewing and sucking which helps unplug the ears.  Children flying with even a mild cold should take children’s decongestant prior to take-off and landing.  Babies are affected the most and should always suck (bottle or pacifier) during take-off and landing.  It can be quite painful for them otherwise.
• Pack all important medications and those that might be needed during flight in a carry-on bag.  An essential little first aid kit would include band-aids (for blisters or cuts), anti-biotic ointment, Tylenol, Pepto Bismol chewable tablets, travel-sized sunscreen, motion sickness remedies, etc.   It’s important to have these things at your fingertips as you may be far from a store when the need arises.
• Children’s motion sickness remedies might include Sea bands, Bonine Chewable Tablets for Kids, ginger candy, ginger snaps, Motion Eaze drops, etc.  SeeSea Sickness Remedies for additional information.
• In hot climates make sure children wear hats and other protective clothing, drink plenty of fluids and regularly apply sunscreen with at least SPF30.
• There are special preparations of insect repellents made specifically for children. Apply the sunscreen first and the insect repellent next, since the vapors from the insect repellent are necessary for them to work.