Traveling with Young Ones
Planning ahead is essential when traveling with your young ones. You need to take into consideration whether the destination you are traveling to is suitable for your child. Depending on distance, it is also necessary to be prepared for any emergency or any delay that may occur while traveling.
General advice to ensure a smooth journey:
Take books or toys to distract your child during your journey. Ensure that the toys you are taking with are age appropriate.
It is advisable to change the scenery from time to time, for example, walk around on a plane, on the train, or when traveling by car plan for extra time to take breaks and walk around. Exploring after all is part of the traveling adventure.
Take a first-aid kit that has all the essentials for example medication for pain and fever, antihistamine syrup and creams, teething gel, anti-colic and anti-diarrhea medication, cough mixture, nasal spray, rehydrate mixture, sunscreen, chronic medication.
Make sure that your little ones stay hydrated and encourage them to drink water regularly throughout the trip. Avoid sugary drinks and caffeine, which can lead to dehydration.
Take extra food and fluid for unplanned delays.
Take familiar things for example the special toy or blanket to help your young one to adapt to a new environment.
Dress the children in comfortable clothing and take blankets and pillows for naps and rest time.
Pack your child’s things in separate bags to get easy access.
Pack a separate nappy bag with bottles, pacifiers, milk, food, changing mat, diapers, baby wipes, bum cream, and hand sanitizer. Keep this bag always with you.
Don’t allow yelling, hitting, biting, or making loud noises.
Don’t allow them to touch the door handle, set the kiddie's lock where possible.
It is a good practice to use the child safety lock.
It is advisable to use window shades at the rear windows when traveling by car.
It is also advisable to use extra mirrors which will enable you to see your little ones in the back seats, especially little ones in rear-facing car seats.
Ensure that your child is safely strapped in. Safety is a priority on the road.
Safety must always be on your mind when taking your child out of the vehicle, teach them a routine that needs to be followed when out of the car, for example, keep a hand on the car while you as a parent are still taking something out or putting stuff in the vehicle, for instance.
The back seat is always the safest place for a child to ride (please also see the part on car seats), ensure that they are strapped in at all times.
Stop at least every two hours so that the child can stretch, take the baby out of the seat and massage the baby.
Change the nappy or let the older children use the bathroom during these breaks.
Everybody can snack or eat and drink something during these rest periods.
Never leave your child unattended in the vehicle even for a short period of time.
For your child’s safety dress your child in bright colours so that your child can be spotted easily in a crowd.
Place a card with your child’s name and surname, the parent's names and surnames, contact details and address, and your travel information in your child’s pocket.
Always keep a recent photo of your child with you.
Flying:
Give your little one something to drink or let them suck on a pacifier during take-off or landing to avoid earaches due to the effect of pressure difference.
Ask the flight attendant for assistance if needed.
Please follow the safety instructions of the aircraft, at all times, for example, all children under two need to be strapped in on a parent's lap. Ask your flight attendant what the regulations are if it is your first time flying with your little one or if you are unsure.
Find out from your travel agent or airline agent about their rules for traveling with a child, especially about taking baby food and extra milk feeds and fluids on board.
It is recommended, where possible, to choose a direct flight and to keep traveling time to a minimum.
Also, consider flying during your child’s nap time.
Make arrangements in advance when traveling with more than one child.
Allow extra time to move through the security points.
Car sense:
Including car seats, booster seats, and airbags
Remember, car seat safety is important for protecting your child in the event of a crash. The following information will keep you and your children safe:
Rear-facing car seats:
Rear-facing car seats provide the best protection for a baby’s head, neck, and spine in event of a crash.
Infants up to the age of 2 years old or until they exceed the maximum weight or height limit of their rear-facing car seat should be placed in a rear-facing position. It is advisable to keep your child rear-facing as long as your chosen car seat allows, ensure to read the chosen car seat’s instructions.
Forward-facing car seats:
Once a child outgrows the rear-facing seats, they can move over to a front-facing car seat and this seat can be used up to the age of 5 years or when they outgrew the maximum weight and height of the seat in use. Forward-facing car seats also provide protection for a child’s head, neck, and spine, but not as much as rear-facing car seats. It is also advisable here to keep your child in a car seat for as long as the car seat allows. Please ensure to read the chosen car seat’s instructions.
Booster seats:
Once a child outgrows their forward-facing car seat, they can move on to a booster seat. A booster seat should be used until the child is at least 1.49 m tall or until they pass the seat belt fit test. Booster seats help position the seat belt correctly on a child’s body to provide proper protection.
Seat belts:
Once a child outgrows their booster seat, they can use a seat belt. Children should always use a seat belt in the backseat of a car until they are at least 13 years old.
General information:
Never use a rear-facing car seat on the front seat with an airbag.
Ensure to read the instruction manual carefully when installing your car seat.
Properly secure your child in car seats, booster seats, and shoulder/lap belts.
Seatbelts must be worn correctly by all passengers at all times.
Airbags:
When purchasing a car, look for one with an airbag at the front passenger seat for the safety of your family.
All passengers in the front seat should be positioned as far back as possible from the front airbag on the passenger side.
Side airbags improve the safety for adults in side impact crashes but when children ride next to a side airbag you need to ensure that they are restrained in the right position by following the guidance in your vehicle’s manual on placing the car seat next to an airbag.
Familiarize yourself if your car does have an on/off switch for the airbag. The on/off switch may only be used when your child doesn't have special needs and no other adult is available to ride in the backseat with your child.
If no other arrangement can be made and your child must travel in the front seat, the seat needs to be moved as far back as possible.
Car Seats:
Guidelines for choosing a car seat
Car seat safety is an important consideration for small kids. The following information will be helpful.
The American Academy of Pediatrics published each year a list of car seats that are available.
(See the references for the links to the web pages)
The best car seat is the one that fits your child’s age, size, and weight and can be installed correctly in your car and used correctly.
Extra caution needs to be taken with premature or very small babies to ensure that their body fits correctly. Discuss the possibility that the reclining position of the baby in the car seat may lower the heart rate, lower oxygen levels, or cause breathing difficulties with the medical staff.
It is recommended to discuss with the pediatrician or other medical personnel different ways to restrain your child when you do have a child with special health needs.
Car seat manufacturers recommend not using a car seat that is older than 10 years and only using a specific chair not longer than 6 years.
Always make sure that you know the full history of a car seat. The recommendation is that when the car seat was involved in a moderate or severe car crash the car seat must not be used any longer even if it looks fine due to the fact that it might have been weakened.
Do not use a car seat without a label because on the label is the following information: date of manufacture, seat name, and model number. This information is needed to follow up on the warranty and instructions on use.
Reference:
American Academy of Pediatrics (2021). Car safety seats: A guide for families
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (2021). Car seat Safety
Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (2021) Child passenger safety
Safe Kids Worldwide (2021) Car seat safety
Steven P. Shelov, M.S.,F.A.A.P., editor-in-chief; Tanya Remer Altmann, M.D., F.A.A.P., associatr medical derictor; The complete and authoritative guide CARING FOR YOUR BABY AND YOUNG CHILD
Miranda Levy; The rough guide to babies