TravelwithKids.com

Even when your itinerary indicates a meal service. Even if your Travel agent assures you. Even if you’ve taken that same flight before. A hungry child is a miserable child. Weather delays, mechanical delays, missed connections and late arrivals are all factors that can contribute to food not being available. Don’t plan to buy food during a connection as late arrival can give you 10 minutes or less to go jogging through an airport and on to another peanut flight. I always bring along a peanut butter and jam sandwich for each child( peanut butter doesn’t need to be kept cool so it’s a good choice) and many other nonperishable snacks. For myself I bring along a couple of those meal replacement bars. Airline meals should be seen as a bonus and not as a given.

I try to think of this as my second choice. If I get to the hotel where I have reservations and it’s a real dump. What else is close by? Bring the name and phone number of alternate accommodations. This of course is more likely to happen to families than business travelers as we tend to reserve cheaper hotels. Twice I’ve shown up at Hotels with swimming pools only to find them empty. Children don’t understand that the pool in being repaired . Always travel with the 800 numbers of all the major hotel chains. It makes it much easier to change plans along the way. This applies even on car trips of more than a couple of hours, you never know when you can break down at the side of the road. Cars are much more reliable than in the past but they are also a lot harder to repair when they do break down.

Submitted by Monica S.

I always carry at least one for each member of the family. They take no room at all when rolled and put in the bottom of a purse. In a pinch I have used them as rain ponchos. Laundry bags, park bench seat covers if damp or dirty, picnic blankets - cut them open, baby changing pad, for damp clothing in a suitcase, to put dad’s smelly shoes in, to lie on while trying to look under a broken car, to cover the windshield when there is freezing rain, as extra luggage when it all won’t fit on the way home. Of course once in a while we use them for garbage too. Wouldn’t the Glad man be proud of me?

Submitted by Monica S.

Even a 6-month-old baby should have a business card in their pocket with name, address and phone number and a few phone numbers of who should be contacted in case of emergency. By the time the child can walk, they should be taught to show this card to a police officer, cashier or if really scared and they can’t find someone of authority to find a mother with a baby carriage and say ” my name is…………. And I’m lost could you please help me?” Many young children and some not so young would have a hard time articulating this if really lost and scared. Include the name of your Hotel or the phone number of friends and relatives you are staying with. Don’t create fear in your children by using the word lost. Rather make a plan about where to meet if we should get separated. Children as young as three should be taught how to use a pay phone to call 911. Role-play with your children about what they would do in difficult situations. Example: If you get off an elevator and your child doesn’t what do you do? My children have always been told to meet me back at the lobby and when they were younger, told to push the down button, get in the elevator and push the L button. Fun family travel must be safe, educate your children and think about all the what-ifs.

Submitted by Monica S.

A travel tip I used last year… I bought a cheap picnic tablecloth (one side is soft and the other is vinyl) and used it for a long car trip. I laid it in the back seat and cut out small slits for the seatbelts only (we even had 2 carseats). I taped the top up high and it covered the entire back seat area, so they could spill drinks, food, or even small things like crayons that would not make their way into the cracks. It just wiped off! I even found some change waiting for me when I pulled it out to clean for our trip home!

Submitted by Wendy