Traveling with Young Children

Vacation Time

It is supposed to be a vacation, but traveling with your children can be more like torture!

Discard your pre-parent style of travel, plan ahead, look forward to sudden agenda changes and then you will be mentally prepared to travel with your kids.

Except when sleeping, most kids are happiest when they are on the go, so being confined to an automobile or plane for an extended period probably feels like torture to them, and they let you know it!

You can take advantage of their sleep schedule by planning to travel during the night or during naptime.  (This always has the potential of backfiring, if the child is too stimulated to sleep in a novel environment).

For long car trips, plan to stop every two hours to stretch and poke around.  Get off the interstate, wander around a small town, visit a park; the kids will love it.

Many fast food restaurants have playgrounds as well (beware the germ factor, wash hands on leaving!).  Make "Getting there is half the fun" your traveling motto.  Pack car friendly snacks to nibble on.  When age appropriate, lollipops can keep those restless souls busy for a little while.  Don't forget to bring water to drink and some fresh fruits and veggies to crunch on.

Many parents have discovered the luxury of the traveling VCR.  For a really long trip, they can help distract a child from the monotony of the interstate, but so could a jaunt down an alternate highway where you can play "I Spy", the "Alphabet Game" or count the cows, stoplights, bulldozers.

Pack drawing equipment (magna doodle or wipable markers and board), traveling games and favorite music (as long as you can tolerate it too).  Your kids will love it if you decide to stop at a park or tourist attraction at the last minute!

For the child who gets motion sickness, encourage them to look ahead. Discourage reading or looking down.  Keep fresh, cool air circulating their way.  Dairy products may contribute to nausea, so discourage the milk shakes.  Encourage sips of ice water.  Ginger and peppermint can be settling to the stomach.  Consider packing some cold gingerale, gingersnaps or peppermints.

Dramamine is OK.  If you are not sure of the dose, contact your pediatrician.  Many parents ask about using Benadryl for traveling.  Benadryl (diphenhydramine) is an antihitamine.  It is used for control of allergy symptoms.  It is a good idea to have it with you for management of insect sting reactions and possible hives.  It has sedation as a side effect.  I do not recommend using it in that way.  Always pack ibuprofen and any medicine your child usually takes.

We will be traveling by plane.  What do you recommend for seating?

The FAA strongly recommends the use of safety seats for children under 40 lb.  However, the seats in some planes may not accommodate some wider safety seats.  Generally, a seat of 16 inches would fit all coach seats.  The position of the seat is the same as in a car: rear facing for infants less than I year and 20 lbs.
 

The FAA recommends asking about a discounted fare for a child under 2 who will be traveling with a car seat.  That would be the only way to guarantee you will be able to use your safety seat in flight.  The child seat should be placed in a window seat to allow ready access to the aisle by all passengers in that row.

When traveling abroad, what do you do when your child gets sick?

Most pediatricians welcome phone calls from their patients to offer advice on illness management.  However, unless one has a license to practice medicine in your travel destination, they cannot direct medical care nor call in prescriptions.

Diarrhea, the result of food poisoning is the most common illness to affect travelers.  Read on the diet recommendations and need for additional vaccinations well before your departure time (some vaccines may require boosters up to six months apart for full coverage).

Learn in advance what kind of paperwork you will need to prove your child's U.S. citizenship.  Take current pictures of your children with you for identification purposes.