|
|
Extracts courtesy of The South African Child Friendly Directory, by Sharyn Spicer & Janine Nepgen
Travelling with children can be difficult but it will help immensely if you try to involve them in the planning of your holiday as much as possible. The greater the influence your children have over the upcoming family holiday, the less troublesome their behaviour is likely to be on the trip. Show your kids the areas you are going to visit in a book or a brochure or on the Internet – this will make the whole experience so much more exciting for them.
If you have very young children, it is probably best to arrange a holiday that doesn't involve too much touring and moving around. If you do need to move around, try to stay at each place for at least four days, so that young kids have time to adjust and become comfortable in each place before being moved on to the next one. Again, involving your child when you plan your holiday will definitely help to ease some of their fears and insecurities.
Travel Tips
Careful planning and organisation is essential if you want to travel safely with children. Before you pack up the house and head out on holiday, make sure that you plan your route well and that you have chosen a child-friendly destination. Some of the things to look out for include guesthouses, hotels and/or resorts that offer reduced rates for kids (some will let children stay free of charge while others only charge half price for kids staying in their parents' rooms). Try to select establishments that provide special “kiddies' menus and meals, baby-sitting services, crêches, kids' clubs and playgrounds, as well as other activities and services for children. If you have a baby, don't forget to check that the establishment has a cot and/or a high-chair for you to use.
Always make sure that children have had enough to eat and drink and that they have been to the toilet before you start your journey. Also make sure they have something to do whilst travelling, for example, a colouring-in-book and crayons, storybooks, dolls, toy cars or special travel-size magnetic games.
To avoid the stress of having to deal with irritable children, parents should try and stick as closely as possible to their regular home routine, particularly regarding meals and sleeping times. Wherever possible try to depart on journeys or plan to arrive at destinations at times that coincide with your kids' regular sleeping patterns.
Young babies are sometimes easier to travel with than toddlers are because they sleep most of the time. Ensure that you take boiled, cooled water and formula with you if you are not breast-feeding. If you are travelling during summer or on a very hot day, supplement your baby's fluid intake with diluted fruit juice between feeds.
What to Pack
Travelling with the kids in tow does not mean you have to take every single thing in the house along with you. Plan ahead and follow our travel and packing tips to help you eliminate all non-essentials from your list.
Regardless of your method of travel, always take plenty of snacks along. These could include things like bananas, raisins, crackers, pretzels, rice cakes, breadsticks, sandwiches, juice, dried fruit and small boxes of dry cereal. Always take fresh water along as well – children can become dehydrated very easily.
Tip: Make sure that your cellphone is charged and pre-programmed with the relevant emergency assistance numbers before you set off.
• Pack wet wipes, which are essential for minor spills. Also take along a bib to keep your child's clothes clean.
• Pack blankets and pillows for napping.
• Don't forget medicated cream for little cuts and scratches, sticking plasters, some after-sun cream for mild sunburn and if you have a baby, an electrolyte solution for runny tummies is always a good idea. In fact, taking along a mini first aid kit including these and other items is essential.
• Make sure you bring along toys, blankets, and other familiar items from home to make your baby/child feel as secure as possible. Create a "toy travel bag/box" stashed full with plenty of toys, snacks and drinks. Include a selection of their favourite toys, games and books, as well as some surprises. For babies, possibilities include bright, shiny new objects, baby-proof mirrors, rattles, musical toys, soft animals, pop-up toys, plastic keys and teething rings. For toddlers you can try puzzles, dolls, action figures, puppets, brightly coloured paper for drawing, colouring-in-books and non-toxic crayons, stickers for the car windows, story tapes, magnetic sketch pads (for all ages) and books. Older kids can enjoy books, a pack of cards, travel-size magnetic game boards and listening to music with a Walkman or an i-Pod.
• For babies, you will need to pack a special bag containing nappies (and nappy bags for soiled ones), bum cream, bottles that have formula already measured into them, a flask of boiled, cooled water, a baby bottle of water, spare dummies, clothes, a bottlebrush, sterilising liquid, nail scissors, a brush, cotton wool and a teething remedy.
• Take along old towels and sheets as furniture covers to prevent stains, artworks and other unwanted expressions of creativity finding their way onto your host's furniture!
Sun Safety Tips
The South African lifestyle and the harsh African sun mean that you have to be extra vigilant when it comes to protecting your children from the effects of UV exposure. On holiday, you should try to follow the tips below:
• Remember to pack hats and a beach umbrella if you're headed for the beach or anywhere your kids are going to be exposed to the hot sun.
• Use sunscreen with a high protection factor (at least SPF 30) and preferably one that has been formulated especially for babies and toddlers.
• Make sure your kids have access to plenty to drink if they are spending time in the sun.
• Apply sunscreen to the ears, lips, neck, face and scalp as well as to the backs of the knees and hands, and keep re-applying often - even on cloudy, overcast days.
• Avoid being in the sun between 10h00 and 16h00 when the sun's rays are at their strongest.
• Make sure your child wears good quality, protective eyewear.
Did You Know? Kids under the age of 6 months should not be exposed to direct sun at all and the use of sunscreen should be avoided as it may trigger an allergic reaction.
First Aid Kit
Warning: Always ensure that all medication is packed in childproof containers!
• Plasters, plain gauze, crepe bandages, Vaseline-gauze for burns
• antiseptic ointment, insect repellant
• cough, cold and headache medication suitable for both adults and children,
• anti-diarrhoea and anti-nausea medication as well as oral rehydration sachets
• for pain and/or a high temperature, take along some paracetamol syrup (ask your pharmacist)
• sunblock and after-sun lotion
• antihistamine pills (for hayfever and other allergies)
On the Road
Self-drive is always a good option for a holiday and on the whole, our local roads are in a fairly good condition. This option allows you to travel at your own stress-free pace and we have some tips to make things even easier.
Road Travel Tips
• Get your vehicle thoroughly checked and serviced, make sure your AA membership has been renewed and remember to charge your cellphone before embarking on any long trip.
• Breaking down is something you want to avoid on a road trip, and you can do some basic safety checks yourself like checking seatbelts (adult and baby), making sure lights and indicators are working as well as checking fluid levels, brakes, shock absorbers, steering, exhaust, tyres and windscreen wipers.
• If you are hiring a car, use a child-friendly car rental company and if possible, ask to hire a child-friendly vehicle. You can also book a car seat for your child at an extra fee.
• Break up your journey by stopping the car regularly i.e. every two hours or 200 kilometres so that you can stay focused and your child has a chance to stretch, run around and go to the toilet. If you have to travel at night, just remember to allow sleeping children plenty of wake-up time before you're going to stop the car, otherwise they will be disorientated and miserable.
• Change the kids' seating arrangements to minimise conflict and allow them to change positions so they don't become bored and irritable.
• Children often spill drinks in a moving car and crumbs and sticky fingers seem to end up everywhere. Try putting a blanket (or another cover) over the back seat to save the upholstery of your car.
• Take along lots and lots of (healthy) snacks, treats, and amusements.
• Find out in advance about suitable places en route to stop over at, and do what you can to turn the trip into a mini adventure for the kids.
• Use window shades to keep the sun off your child or hang a towel across the window. Bear in mind that on a warm day, the temperature in a parked car can become dangerously high in minutes, even with the windows partially open.
• WARNING: Never leave a child (or a pet) in the car - just a few minutes can be fatal.
• To prevent boredom, plan a few games to play in the car and on long trips. Also take along CDs with stories or songs that you can sing along to. Car games like "I Spy" and spotting specific coloured cars or number plates are a great way to pass the time. Teach your kids that each province has its own number plate configuration and which one is from where etc. Older kids can help navigate and mark off your route on a map.
• If you are going on a long journey, get some maps from the AA and/or let your child draw their own map. Encourage your child to study the map and observe whether there are any towns, major roads or rivers, mountains or other physical landscape features en route. Ask them to calculate the time needed to complete your trip if you travel at about 80km per hour. Let them work out the distances between stops as well. By doing this you improve their numerical skills as well as their geographical knowledge. It will also assist them to help with the navigation by responding to the destination road signs along the way.
• Bring a Frisbee or a ball from home for the kids to throw around when you stop.
• Stop at a fast-food place that has an indoor playground. Let the kids play around a bit and take their leftover meals back to the car so that they can eat later.
• Most adults carry some sort of identifying material with them so that in the event of an accident, the emergency services can easily determine who they are. Do the same for your children. Consider taping ID photos of your kids with information like their names, ages and any emergency medical information, to a prominent place in your car or leave their 'identification' in the same place as your own.
• Place some resealable plastic bags in your car boot or carrying bag. They are great for holding messy items like bibs, nappies, wet bathing suits, sea shells and half-eaten bits of food.
Tips for Motion Sickness
If your kids suffer from travel or motion sickness, take preventative measures to minimise the effect. Don't let them eat or drink too much before heading out or during the journey and avoid rich, fatty foods where possible. The least motion occurs between the wings of a plane and in the middle of the back seat of a car so try to get them to look forwards, out of the windscreen, rather than out of a side window. If your child is in a backward-facing car seat, encourage them to face directly backwards. If your child is big enough, sitting in the front seat will help the symptoms. Lying down with closed eyes can also help ease queasiness. Play games to take their minds off things, but don't let them read. Fresh air really helps, so if possible keep the windows open to ensure the car is well ventilated. If the symptoms are really bad, you can purchase over the counter medication and tablets that are suitable for children, or you can use the homeopathic remedy Cocculus 30C, ginger and/or peppermint herbal tea to help calm an unsettled stomach.
Road Safety Tips
Safety is a major concern when you take children along as they are exposed to great risks when travelling in motor cars.
• Don't leave your child unattended in a car for any length of time and never do so if the engine is still running. In the same way that pets die of overheating if left in a hot car, so too can children. Even in the shade, temperatures will still rise incredibly quickly in a car on a hot day. Unsupervised children who are strapped into their car seats or find themselves unable to open a child-locked door, cannot respond in an emergency like the car catching fire! Your car could also be stolen - with your child inside!
• On long trips, you might want to consider sleeping over so you can make a fresh start in the morning. This is a safer option and also enables you to enjoy your holiday more.
• If you are travelling by car, make sure your baby's car seat is properly installed and always strap children into their seats as is required by law. If your child weighs less than 36kg, you must use an SABS approved child restraint or booster seat.
• Children should travel in approved, rear-facing safety seats fastened onto the back seat until they are a year old and weigh a minimum of 9kg. Those older than a year or weighing 9-18 kg, should be contained in a forward-facing child safety seat attached to the back seat.
• Never put your seatbelt around both yourself and your baby - in the event of a crash your baby could be crushed to death.
Did You Know? The safest place for a child is in the back seat of a car, with children 12 years and younger properly restrained. Despite improvements in airbags and car safety features, the back seat remains the safest place for children to sit when travelling in a car.
Tip: Never travel with a young child unrestrained as they can be thrown against the dashboard, into other passengers or through the windscreen in an accident. You should also not allow children to stand on car seats whilst driving.
Did You Know? The vast majority (more than 85%) of children that have been involved in a car accident and treated in hospital, were found not to have been restrained.
Did You Know? You have to upgrade a child's car seat according to their age and weight and using the wrong car seat can do more harm than good if an accident occurs. For more information on child car restraints, see www.childsafe.org.za or contact CAPFSA on Tel: 021 685 5208 or 011 792 4332.
Useful Numbers
• The Automobile Association (AA) – 083 THE AA
• National 24-Hour Emergency – 084 124
• Netcare Travel Clinic - 011 883 3801
• Police - 10111
• Rescue 10177
• Weather - www.weathersa.co.za
Air Travel
Although many people believe that small children should not be taken into populated areas or confined spaces like airplanes, the reality is that parents deserve a break too, and sometimes travelling with a small child is unavoidable. However, even the most confident parents with the most well-behaved children fear in-flight tantrums, so to prevent a potentially trying experience, follow our useful tips for travelling by air with little ones.
These days, many airlines are experienced in catering to families with young children and provide special services and entertainment options to make flights more enjoyable. There are usually suitable movies, children's video channels, toys, games and sometimes even special "goodie bags" available to entertain young children during flights.
Air Travel Tips
• Visit the airline's website and see what they offer and if they seem helpful. For instance, you could check if your airline allows you to pre-book a sky cot before the day of travel as not all of them will do this.
• A golden rule when travelling with children is to always plan and prepare things well in advance for the trip. Always allow plenty of time at the airport for check-in, and for any connecting flights. Never forget what it takes to achieve something with the kids in tow!
• Be flexible and keep your itinerary simple. Book direct flights and wherever possible, try to book your flights to travel at night so that your children can (hopefully) sleep through the journey.
• If you are travelling with another adult, consider booking seats apart from one another so that you can take turns resting while the other entertains the children.
• Book your child a window seat - not only will it keep them confined, it will also keep them entertained.
• Pre-book special children's meals. These are served first so you can eat in peace later on.
Did You Know? Cheap tickets sometimes have hidden restrictions like cabin baggage weight limits so check yours carefully before you start to pack.
• If you are not travelling during peak season, it is worth finding out if your flight is full when you check in. If the flight is not full, some airline staff will block out the seat next to you or offer you the option of seating next to a vacant seat - a bonus if travelling with a toddler under two, who only has your lap for a seat!
• Some parents prefer to board last as they feel that the less time actually spent in the close confines of the plane, the less chance there is of the children becoming restless during the flight. Others prefer to rather take advantage of the "priority boarding procedures" that some airlines offer for parents with children, and get themselves settled before any of the other passengers board. If you do choose to get on first and off last, you have a far better chance of being assisted by the cabin crew.
• Make sure babies and young children swallow on take-off and again on landing to relieve ear pressure. Babies can drink a bottle and toddlers can suck on dummies or chew on jelly sweets. Take some sucking sweets along for the older ones in case the airline doesn't provide any.
• Remember to ask for baby bottles and any kids' meals that you bring along to be warmed up well in advance of when you need them. There is no microwave on the plane and the cabin crew has to heat things using hot water in the galley, which takes time.
• Although most airlines keep a stash of baby supplies on board, it is best to pack your own. Pack a small bag with just one nappy, a few wipes, some bum cream, a nappy sack, face cloth & changing mat or small towel, and place it in the seat pocket in front of you. Take only these essential items into the (small) bathroom for each nappy change. Some airplane washrooms do have baby-changing stations and it is advisable to make full use of these.
Did You Know? Don't forget that your child needs a passport. Since October 1998, separate passports are now required for all children.
How to Avoid Losing your Child
Far too many children are lost every year, especially during the holiday season. In a busy, crowded and unfamiliar area like an airport, it is easy to become briefly separated from your child and in such a situation, it doesn't take long for them to become completely lost. The following advice may help to prevent this.
• Point out airline or hotel employees to your kids. They will generally be wearing a distinctive uniform and you should tell your children to go to one of them, if they become lost.
• Put small children on a leash. This can be particularly helpful when negotiating busy public spaces like airports and railway stations.
• Dress your child in bright clothes so that s/he is easy to spot. Take a photo of your child in that outfit and carry it with you on the day. You can then show it around to people if your child gets lost.
• Place a whistle in your child's pocket or around his/her neck to use in an emergency.
• If your kids are a bit older, you should arrange an obvious meeting place that you will both return to if you become separated.
Impress upon your children that they won't be in trouble for getting lost. Tell them not to panic if they do become lost and that if they follow the steps that you have advised, they will soon be reunited with you.
Arriving at a Child-friendly Destination
Your hosts may not always childproof the room/s for you, so it is advisable to bring along your own basic “child-proofing kit” to use when you arrive at your destination. You may have to cover plug points yourself so don't forget to take some strong tape along for this purpose.
• Check out the surrounding area and your room or cottage for anything that may pose a danger to children, such as uncovered swimming-pools or other masses of water, hot coals, insect nests, wild animals, steep steps and high balconies or railings that kids can climb through. If your room has a balcony, keep the doors and windows locked when you aren't on "full alert".
• Take your child on a mini tour of the establishment and help them to memorise the route back to your room. Explain any rules the establishment may have pertaining to children.
• Make a point of introducing your kids to the staff and the hosts in case they need help at some point.
• If you have to go somewhere without your child (like a business meeting for example) and your hotel does not have a suitable baby-sitting service, you may wish to let your children stay in your room (assuming they are old and responsible enough). If you decide to do this, make sure you teach them some basic rules and safety procedures beforehand, and notify your hosts of your intentions.
• Teach your child to lock the door after you leave and leave it locked all the time whilst you are away. S/he must not open the door to anyone who knocks and should contact the hosts to confirm who the person is. Your child must be told never to let anyone know that they are alone and they should rather say that you are in the loo or bath or on the phone.
• Don't forget to leave your cellphone number with both your child and the management – just in case of an emergency!
Tip: Plan just one major activity a day, so as not to exhaust the options and yourselves!
Tip : Although the beach is a very attractive option for young children, you must ensure that they are aware of the dangers of water.
Tip: If there is no cot provided, put a mattress on the floor to ensure that your baby or child will be safe and comfortable.
Warning! These days many child-friendly guesthouses and even some restaurants have trampolines for kids to play on and although this is great outdoor fun, care must be taken as serious injuries can occur. To prevent accidents, never leave children totally unsupervised on a trampoline and don't let little ones (under six) jump at all. Kids must jump in the middle of the trampoline and should take turns so that only one child at a time jumps.
For more info on the book see www.childrenwelcome.co.za.
