Authored by Leo of Safari Nomad
The holiday season is upon us once again and it’s time for your family vacation. You already have a picture in your mind of a stress free holiday, where the kids are happy, as are mum and dad.
One of the most important elements to ensuring a stress free vacation is knowing everyone is safe. That’s not to say that you should spend the whole trip overly paranoid about “what can go wrong”, but it definitely helps if you’ve put a couple of precautionary measures in place.
Armed with some good organization, and the following advice, you can enjoy your holiday in the knowledge that everyone is safe.
Safety Tips for Traveling with Small Kids
Get Travel Insurance
There shouldn’t be any need to emphasize how important it is to have travel insurance, not only for you but also for your kids.
Whether you travel outside your country or not, a travel insurance is a must for both health and safety.
Seat Safety
If you’ve planned a road trip and you have young children it’s probably obvious you will take a car seat for your kid. But if you travel by plane it’s an equally good idea to think about having an FAA-approved car seat with you.
This will ensure ensure your child’s in-flight safety and you will not need to take him/her on your lap for take off and landing, or during turbulence mid flight.
Travel Medical Kit
Never underestimate the importance of traveling with a solid first aid kit – in fact, this should be one of the very first things you pack.
According to a recent survey, a massive 80 per cent of us are not equipped to deal with minor medical emergencies in our own homes – let alone when we’re out on the travel trail.
This means we are making thousands of unnecessary emergency visits to hospitals and GP’s for relatively minor, simple to treat conditions such as grazes, blisters and splinters.
You generally don’t have to be a doctor to help your family in an emergency, though you do have to have the first aid skills and tools to administer the care required; you need to be traveling with a first aid kit.
WE RECOMMEND THESE TRAVEL FIRST AID KITS: CLICK PHOTO ↓
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Adventure Medical Kits Sportsman Series Whitetail First Aid Kit |
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Prevent Dehydration
If you’re traveling in warmer months, it’s incredibly important to ensure that your kids are constantly hydrated. Too much of the time during travel we hurry from one attraction to another, or find ourselves distracted by all the fun that we forget about drinking fluids.
Pay attention to your child and urge them to drink water immediately if they start to experience a headache, fatigue, weakness, dizziness – some of the warning signs of dehydration.
A water bottle is something which should be with you on every trip. And you should have one regardless of whether your vacation is to the city, or hiking into the mountains / foothills.
Not only does this ensure you’ll all stay hydrated throughout the day, it also drastically reduces the amount of plastic waste from buying bottled water and tossing the bottle.
If you’re traveling in a country where the water is not safe, make sure you boil your water or take water filters with you.
WE RECOMMEND THESE WATER SAFETY PRODUCTS: CLICK PHOTO ↓
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Getting Lost
It’s important to teach your kids to stay together, and to keep up with mum and dad as you all move through a crowded area. However it’s equally as important that they know what to do if they get lost.
While we always do our best to keep watch of our kids, this isn’t possible for every second of a trip, and whether that’s not being able to find you again at the beach, or having been swept away by a crowd at an airport, finding yourself separated can happen when you travel.
Make sure they know the address of the accommodation you are staying, your cell phone number, and any other information that may assist them in contacting you.
You can list this information on a card that is carried at all times. If you’re visiting a foreign country be sure to list a couple of phrases in the native language so that if they show it to someone they won’t have to engage in charades.
Childproof Your Accommodation
When it comes to hotel safety, it’s important to childproof your accommodation as soon as you check in.
This includes making sure the windows are secured or can’t be open easily. If there are any ladders, remove them to prevent kids from climbing up.
Check that electrical outlets are covered, with no exposed electrical wires. If you have self contained accommodation, make sure that knives or any other sharp objects from the kitchen are out of reach.
Make sure also that the door of your room is always locked to prevent escape. If you have a balcony, check that kids can’t easily climb up. You could also check the beds for bedbugs … just in case!
WE RECOMMEND THESE HOTEL SAFETY PRODUCTS: CLICK PHOTO ↓
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Avoid Travel Related Stress in Children
Change of routine while on holiday and a new environment can cause stress for many children. In order to prevent this, it’s a good idea to try and keep your daily routine on holiday as similar to home as you can.
For instance, do you have breakfast at 7am everyday usually? Keep this routine the same. Your children will have a far easier time adjusting to the culture shock.
It can also help to familiarize your children in advance with the destination you will travel to, ie culture, customs, language, food. For younger children, take a favorite toy to easily assimilate into a new environment.
Other Things You Can do to Keep Your Kid Safe
➡ Remind your child to regularly wash hands and disinfect areas when needed.
➡ Do not leave your child alone. Ever.
➡ Teach your child to not go near any wild animals.
➡ Watch your child constantly around swimming pools and by the sea, even if there are lifeguards.
➡ In summer, keep your child safe in the sun – apply sun cream, avoid the hottest times of days and remain in the shade.
➡ Take care where you buy food and drinks, and be aware of how it is prepared. Children can be more sensitive to contaminated food and water.
FOR KEEPING KIDS ENTERTAINED IN TRANSIT: CLICK PHOTO ↓
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2 Comments
Very useful guide for couples having kid!
Thanks Max, glad it was helpful :)