How to Stay Safe when Traveling With Kids
A family vacation is a time to change your everyday lifestyle, visit somewhere new, and bond with your children. It’s easy to focus on all the fun things you’re hoping to do, but when something goes wrong, it’s panic stations. That’s unless you have some forward planning. Make your vacation more relaxed by staying safe when traveling with kids.
Forward Planning
One of the best strategies you have to keep your kids safe when traveling is to plan the trip in advance and take any sensible measures to protect your family. If you’re traveling overseas, you might want to look into vaccines needed as well as crime rates in the area you are traveling to.
Even if you are planning a staycation this year, it’s still a sensible idea to look at the crime rates and choose the best location for your hotel. Also, consider the roads you are traveling to; some countries have different standards for road safety that could put your family at risk on vacation.
Correct Insurance
When you’re planning a family vacation, you tend to focus on all of the fun things you plan to do, but it’s equally important to think about all of the things that could go wrong. Medical insurance is often included in travel policies, but make sure you have the correct cover for everyone.
If you have family insurance in place, contact your provider and double-check if you have international cover; if so, find out what you are covered for and whether you need to take out additional cover for your trip. It’s also a good idea to check the hospitals in your travel area.
Driving Safety
Whether it’s a staycation or a road trip overseas, you need to make sure you and your family are safe on the roads. There are several things you can do to reduce the risks of a harmful accident. First, understand the roads you’re driving on and make sure you have the correct insurance.
After that, you can think about the best practices for vehicle safety. Of course, you want to make sure you have a reliable car with airbags and safety features. If you have small children, you also need to install a booster seat. In the event of an accident, contact a car accident lawyer.
Child Proofing
Children love to explore, especially when they are in a new hotel or area. Chances are you have your home child-proofed already, you have any water sources covered up and fenced off, and you have electrical outlets capped. Take these same measures in your overseas hotel rooms.
A child can easily put a finger in a socket and receive an electric shock or wander into an area of the hotel that is off-limits. Naturally, there are a hundred things to do when you arrive at your destination, but make child-proofing the hotel rooms one of the priorities to prevent accidents.
Track Them
Children love to explore their hotel rooms, but they also love to roam free when they get outside – especially in a new place. If a child wanders off and gets lost, it leads to panic and stress. Nowadays, there is a good way to know where your kids are at all times, use a tracking device.
Tracking devices are small electronic devices that can be placed discretely in the child’s pocket or rucksack. The trackers have one-day battery life and send a signal to your phone or watch telling your where they are at all times. If they get lost, simply look at your device and find them.
Occupy Them
We’ve all heard the old phrase about idle hands and mischief; while this applies to adults as much as children, it’s the little ones that are most likely to get bored and mischievous on long trips. The solution is simple, keep them occupied and prevent them from exploring the area.
Whether you are traveling on the road or set up in a hotel room, make sure your kids have plenty to keep them occupied. Depending on their ages, they can have toys, screens, or games to keep them entertained. Try to have different entertainment options for their different moods.
Medical Kits
No matter where you are going on vacation, make sure you have a medical kit packed to take care of any cuts and bruises along the way. The last thing you want is to have an unhappy child with a painful cut on the arms or legs; it’s much better to be able to comfort them and treat them.
A medical kit should include some bandages, plasters, sterile dressings, surgical gloves, safety pins, tweezers, and more. Medical kits are available in different sizes and have different content options. Choose one that supports the number of people in your family and the travel situation.
Information Cards
Information cards are a bit like tags for your kids; they contain all the information needed for someone to contact you in the event they become lost or stranded. A typical information card includes a picture, along with their name, age, address, and identifying features like eye color.
Hopefully, an information card is not required, especially if you have a tracker and you plan your trip carefully. However, information cards are a useful backup and help to reduce the panic you feel when you can’t find your little one. Information cards are simple to make and easy to use.
Safety Plans
Safety plans are plans you have for your child if something goes wrong. If your child gets lost, they should know how to find the nearest police station or responsible adult; this is something you can teach them before arriving at your location, and go over it with them.
Other plans to keep in mind are fire safety in the hotel. Tell your children what to do in the event of a fire and go over the protocol until they understand the conventions and can tell them to your easily. Having plans in place ensures that you have peace of mind and your family stay’s safe.
