The travel season is upon us and as we prepare for travel over the upcoming holidays, we wanted to provide the following tips for your family. Traveling with kids can be an adventure, but the following suggestions may help make your travels easier this season.
Don’t forget, Baby Safe Homes has many great safety items in our store, including the only FAA approved CARES Child Aviation Restraint Harness and the KidCo PeaPod to make your travels even easier!
Air Travel
- Allow yourself and your family extra time to get through security – especially with the new TSA screening rules and when traveling with younger children.
- Talk to your children before coming to the airport about the security screening process. Let them know that their bags (backpack, dolls, etc.) will be put in the X-ray machine and will come out the other end and be returned to them.
- Discuss the fact that it’s against the law to make threats such as; “I have a bomb in my bag.” Threats made jokingly (even by a child) can result in the entire family being delayed and could result in fines.
- Similar to travel in motor vehicles, a child is best protected on an airplane when properly restrained in a car safety seat appropriate for the age, weight and height of the child, meeting standards for aircraft until the child weighs more than 40 lbs. and can use the aircraft seat belt. You can also consider using a restraint made only for use on airplanes and approved by the FAA. Belt-positioning booster seats cannot be used on airplanes, but they can be checked as luggage so you have them for use in rental cars and taxis.
- Although the FAA allows children under age 2 to be held on an adult’s lap, the AAP recommends that families explore options to ensure that each child has his own seat. Discounted fares may be available. If it is not feasible for you to purchase a ticket for a small child, try to select a flight that is likely to have empty seats.
- Pack a bag of toys and snacks to keep your child occupied during the flight.
- In order to decrease ear pain during descent, encourage your infant to nurse or suck on a bottle. Older children can try chewing gum, filling up a glass of water and blowing bubbles through a straw (4 years of age or older), or blowing up balloons (8 years of age or older).
- Consult your pediatrician before flying with a newborn or infant who has chronic heart or lung problems or with upper or lower respiratory symptoms.
- Consult your pediatrician if flying within 2 weeks of an episode of an ear infection or ear surgery.
Visit the TSA Site for more air travel information: TSA
Travel by Car
- Always use a car safety seat for infants and children under 40 pounds. A rear-facing car seat should be used until your child has reached one year of age AND weighs at least 20 pounds. Once your child is at least one year of age and at least 20 pounds, he can ride in a forward-facing car seat, but it is better to keep him rear-facing to the highest weight and/or height allowed by his car safety seat.
- A child who has outgrown her car safety seat with a harness (she has reached the top weight or height allowed for her seat, her shoulders are above the top harness slots, or her ears have reached the top of the seat) should ride in a belt-positioning booster seat until the vehicle’s seat belt fits properly (usually when the child reaches about 4′ 9″ in height and is between 8 to 12 years of age).
- All children under 13 years of age should ride in the rear seat of vehicles.
- Never place a child in a rear-facing car safety seat in the front seat of a vehicle that has an airbag.
- Set a good example by always wearing a seat belt.
- Children can easily become restless or irritable when on a long road trip. Try to keep them occupied by pointing out interesting sights along the way and by bringing soft, lightweight toys and favorite CDs for a sing-along.
- Plan to stop driving and give yourself and your child a break about every two hours.
- Never leave your child alone in a car, even for a minute. Temperatures inside the car can reach deadly levels in minutes, and the child can die of heat stroke.
- In addition to a travelers’ health kit, parents should carry safe water and snacks, child-safe hand wipes, diaper rash ointment, and a water- and insect-proof ground sheet for safe play outside.
Making Travel Easier
CARES Child Aviation Restraint
Check out the award winning CARES Child Aviation Restraint System. CARES is an FAA-approved 1 lb. harness-type safety device that fits into a 6-inch stuff sack, adjusts to fit virtually all airplane seats, and takes one minute to install. It is designed for children 22-44 lbs. (1-4 years old) who are in their own plane seats, and is certified for all phases of flight – taxiing, take off, turbulence and landing.
The pocket-or-purse-sized CARES has wowed judges nationally and internationally including winning the Good Housekeeping Magazine 2008 Good Buy Award– one of 8 winners picked from the 2000 evaluated. It has also won the Dr. Toy 100 Best Children’s Products and 10 Most Socially Responsible Products of 2008; NAPPA Gold for Parenting Resources, the Crystal Cabin Award which recognizes innovative airplane cabin concepts; an iParenting Media Award for Excellent Products; a National Parenting Center Seal of Approval; an Editor’s Choice Award from the Family Review Center; the Toy Man of Seal of Approval, Award of Excellence and eChoice Award; and the Mr. Dad Seal of Approval.
In addition to award recognition, CARES is now approved by Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and a number of airlines in Europe.
The CARES harnes system is available with FREE shipping at Baby Safe Homes.
KidCo PeaPod Travel Bed
LEAVE THE PACK n PLAY AT HOME! KidCo’s PeaPod™ travel bed does it all for the on-the-go parent!
The inflatable air mattress helps protect kids from cold, damp floors while providing a comforting place to sleep. Great for outdoors because of its UV protection and wind screens. Zippered panels allow parents quick and easy access to children from virtually any angle. The slick, easy to fold design makes it ideal for storage and use anytime.
“We brought one of KidCo’s PeaPod™ travel beds along with us on our last trip for our three year old and it was great! He pretended like he was camping in his ver own tent. We zipped him in and felt comfortable that he would not escape. The tent easily folded back up in the morniing and fit easily into our suitcase. This is a Baby Safe Homes ‘Best Buy’.”
The KidCo Pea Pod is available with FREE shipping at Baby Safe Homes.
Baby Safe Homes would like to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season. Please enjoy this time with your family and friends. We wish those traveling a safe refurn home.
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