Healthy Kids

Traveling with Your Child

Traveling with children can be incredibly fun and incredibly hard work. Your child is finally getting somewhat self-sufficient. She walks, eats, sleeps, and plays all on her own. It is time for you to have some adventures! To travel successfully, try these tips:

Plan, plan, and plan some more. The more time you spend thinking through your trip and anticipating your child’s needs, the easier it will be.

• Make packing lists for each stage of your journey: If you are taking a long car trip to go camping, your list might include snacks, water, books on tape or movies, a book of songs to sing in the car and around the campfire or a book of travel games.
• List all of the clothing you will need: daytime, nighttime, cold, hot, and wet weather.
• Cross off the items as you pack them.

Give your child some responsibility. Help her write her own packing list of what she will need (books, crayons, snacks). Let her do her own packing and carry her own backpack on the plane or in the car.

Do not be surprised by the occasional meltdown. One way to prevent meltdowns is to stick to your usual routine as much as possible. Vacations are for loosening up and relaxing, but with kids, getting too loose leads to trouble. Have fun but:

• Try to stick with her usual sleep routines.
• Plan for quiet-time and breaks in your day.
• Do not stray far from her normal nutritious meals and snacks (A few treats are fine, but limit them.)
• Fill a backpack with water, apple slices, nuts, cheese sticks, and carrots to keep your child full and happy.

Enjoy your adventure at your child’s pace. Going too far, too fast, and doing too much will only lead to an exhausted cranky child. Better to have fun doing less.

Set clear expectations. Before you go, talk through what will happen. For example explain:

• Tomorrow we will get up very early and drive an hour to the airport.
• At the airport, we will wait in a line to check our bags and a line to go through security.
• It is important to be quiet and calm while we wait; I bet bringing your doll and book will help you be quiet.
• Then we will wait for the plane.
• Once we get on the plane, you will have a seat to sit in for the whole 5 hours.

Repeat this before each new part of the experience. Add in your expectations for her behavior whenever you can; she will usually live up to your expectations. If you expect her to be well-behaved and give her the tools to succeed, she will.

Also talk with her about how traveling is full of changes that are out of your control: cars break down and planes are late. Let her know if these things happen, you will work together to turn it into a fun and memorable experience.

Be clear about buying toys or souvenirs. You can avoid problems by deciding ahead of time whether you will buy your child anything. Then let her know the plan. Kids can adjust to any plan if they know in advance what it is. You might tell her that:

• You will buy her one thing at the end of the trip or at a special place, and tell her how much you will spend.
• The trip is her present and her souvenirs are the photos you will take and memories you will make.

Get your paperwork in order. If you are traveling out of the country (including Canada and Mexico), get your passport and necessary visas early. Remember, children’s passports expire every 5 years. Call the Kaiser Permanente call center to arrange an appointment with our travel nurses to review your family’s travel plans and get any necessary immunizations. You can check your child’s immunization record online at kp.org.

Sample checklists to keep your child busy when you travel

By air:

• Bring lots of books, games, and small toys to keep her entertained.
• Pack cereal, sandwiches, apples or oranges, cheese sticks, and other snacks.
• Carry 1-gallon plastic bags for dirty clothes.
• Bring sugarless gum to let her chew at take off and landing to help her ears adjust to the pressure change.
• Pack a light jacket even in summer, to use as a pillow or blanket onboard.
• Stash a special treat for an emergency bribe.
• Bring an empty water bottle through security and fill it at a drinking fountain before boarding the plane.
• Explain that it is not OK to kick or put her feet on the seat in front of her or open and close the tray table repeatedly.

By car:

• Put 1-gallon plastic bags in the glove box for carsick kids to use.
• Be ready for breakdowns and traffic jams: pack a deck of cards, snacks, water, and whatever might entertain you all if you get stuck.
• Bring a bouncy rubber ball to play four-square or soccer together at rest stops - the extra few minutes will be well worth it.
• Get a book of games from the library to play in the car.
• Give everyone his own water bottle and snacks within reach of where he is sitting.