Extras for air travel

We are a baby equipment rental company here at Little Traveller. We rent car seats, cribs and highchairs (among other things)... but we also consider ourselves specialists in flying with kids. We've got a long list of items that we rent and sell to make life easier for parents flying with their little ones. Here are some of the specialist products we recommend:

- CARES airplane harness for children 22-44 lbs travelling in their own seat. As safe as a car seat but compact enough to fit in your purse. Available to rent for $25 or to buy for $85.
- Baby B'Air flight vest for lap-held infants. Protects against mid-flight turbulence and gives mum or dad some hands-free time. Available to rent for $25 or to buy for $45.
- EarPlanes ear plugs are designed to combat ear pain during take-off and descent. Two sizes for adults and children. Available for sale for $8 for a pair.
- Safe.2.Go harness to keep tabs on adventurous toddlers in the airport and ensure that everyone makes it to the gate on time! Available for rent in ladybug or frog designs from $3 a day.
- Angel Alert child electronic tracking device helps keep tabs on errant toddlers in busy locations such as airports and car parks. Available for rent from $3 per day.

If you're travelling to the Calgary area, visit our website at www.LittleTraveller.ca for more compact, portable baby friendly products available for rent.

The Carry-on Conundrum

...or what to pack when flying with kids. These tried and tested tips should help you avoid many of the usual carry-on pitfalls. The key is to travel as light as possible. Borrow or rent key baby items (check out www.baby-equipment-rental.com) at your destination.

• Before you travel outside of Canada, check the expiry date of your family's passports: some countries require that your passport is valid for at least six months beyond the date of your expected return. If you're travelling to the US there's no such requirement. Just make sure that your passports do not expire before you're due to return!
• Baby food, formula, milk, water and juice in reasonable amounts for your itinerary are exempted from the liquids restrictions if you are travelling with a baby under 24 months.
• Keep the following documents to hand for everyone in your travel party (even infants need ID): passport, SIN, birth certificate (for infants & children), health care number, aeroplan card and vaccination record. If travelling without your partner, carry a signed consent letter (and a copy of their driver's license) to prove that you have permission to travel with your child/children. A sample consent letter is provided on www.voyage.gc.ca (follow links to "Children and Travel"). Keep a photocopy of the original documents in a checked bag and another copy at home.
• Put contact information on every piece of luggage, including carry-on bags, strollers, car seats etc.
• Pack a diaper bag with a spare change of clothes for parent and baby, several diapers, plenty of wipes, Ziploc bags, a refillable bottle and snacks, and a few simple toys. Backpacks are a great choice for carry-on baggage because they leave your hands free. Kids over three can carry their own little backpack with a stuffie, a couple of toys and a drink bottle for the trip.
• Toys such as transformer robots that resemble firearms or toy weapons such as water guns are not permitted in carry-on baggage.
• Ensure that your carry-on bags conform to airline size/weight restrictions so that you aren't surprised at the gate and forced to check any of them. Check your airline's policy if in doubt.
• Infants without a seat are usually permitted a baggage allowance of 10 kg / 22 lb, but policies vary by airline. Air Canada and WestJet allow two items of baggage per infant (for example, a car seat and a stroller).
• If you're taking a car seat onto the plane, check the car seat before you leave home to make sure that it has a CMVSS 213 or 213.1 compliance sticker on it. Most airlines require the car seat to be installed in the window seat and only one car seat is allowed per row. If in doubt, call the airline to confirm their policy. (On a recent British Airways flight with our 11-month old who was still in a rear-facing infant seat, we were told that we could only install the seat in a forward-facing position.)
• Consider renting or purchasing a CARES harness for children aged one to four years (weighing 22-44 lb) sitting in their own seat. It does the same job as a car seat, but fits in your purse. CARES are available in Canada from Little Traveller.
  
• Lightweight or combo strollers are a must for most airports if you child is under four (or bring a baby carrier for young babies). Confirm in advance that your airline offers a "claim at gate" option. This option is not usually available for international flights -- strollers have to be picked up at the baggage carousel with the rest of your luggage. (I travel with a Quinny Zapp that folds right down and comes in a compact carry case with a handy shoulder strap. I sling this over my shoulder before boarding and stow it in the overhead lockers. It makes for a quick and easy transition when we land.)
• Some airlines (but not Air Canada or WestJet as far as I know) are starting to charge for large items, such as car seats, that are gate checked. Check with your airline in advance so that you can avoid additional charges.
• Pack winter coats at the top of your checked bags so that they are on hand when you land, and just carry on a warm sweater for you and your children. This saves you battling with big, bulky jackets.
• Bring your own cheap headsets for the kids so you don't have to wait for the flight attendants to offer them. Consider bringing a compact, portable DVD player so that you have more flexibility over what your children watch and when.
• Customize the look of your bags to make them easy to identify on the carousel.
• Keep the stubs from your checked luggage. Immediately report the loss of luggage to the baggage agent on duty.
• Prepare to deal with a lost bag. Pack so that you can continue your trip with the loss of one of your bags. Distribute key items like diapers, formula or underwear so that you can get to your destination.

For more information, head to these sites:
www.airsafe.com
www.flyertalk.com
www.voyage.gc.ca

Some interesting travel blogs...

It's that time of year when everyone is back from a great summer of adventuring and are starting to plan next year's adventures. (At least, that's what I do when it starts to get cold and I need something to keep my mind off the impending winter months!) Here are a couple of recent blog entries that offer some useful tips:

Nerd's Eye View posted "Mistakes Rooky RVers Make" about RVing around the southern Gulf Islands in BC.

Away.com posted an article called "Top Five Tips from a Five-Month Family Road Trip."

And if you're heading farther afield, check out Stuffyourrucksack.com. They have connected with 187 organizations (in 78 countries including Mexico) that need stuff -- stuff such as clothing, toys, stationery and other items that you could squeeze into your suitcase before you get on the plane. What a great idea!

Car seat compatibility

I remember the confusion and exhaustion I felt when shopping for a car seat for our first born a few years ago. I was heavily pregnant and my husband and I drove around Calgary checking out a number of different brands in several stores (that doesn't happen any more with two kids in tow: I research online then head straight to a store, make the purchase, and am out again within 10 minutes!) When we eventually decided on a car seat and a colour we both liked, we found it wouldn't fit in our Subaru. Let's just say that I wasn't very happy as we headed right back into the store to return it. Needless to say, we tried out a couple of options in the car before we bought a replacement.

But the internet has made life easier. The website carseatdata.org is a one stop shop for advice on car seats. It has useful pointers on choosing the best car seat, but the part I like best is the car seat compatibility search by car make/model. What a great time-saver! And you can even add your own data to the site if you wish.

There is an art to installing a car seat correctly (read: safely). There are two companies in Calgary offering car seat installation clinics, house calls and consultations: Seat Savvy Inc. and Keepin' Baby Safe. LaVonne Ries at Keepin' Baby Safe told me that 85% of car seats are not used correctly. Post a comment on this blog entry and I'll email you a free car seat inspection coupon (worth $20) for an upcoming clinic through Keepin Baby Safe.

20% discount on Baby B'AIR flight vests

We're running a fall special on the small size of the Baby B'Air flight vest. Regularly priced at $45, it is on sale for $36. The small size is suitable for babies aged from newborn to 6 months. The Baby B'Air helps protect lap-held babies from mid-air turbulence by attaching them to a parent's lap belt.

Contact us at Little Traveller (kara@littletraveller.ca) or 1-877-242-4067 if you'd like to place an order. We're located in Calgary, Alberta but will ship across Canada.

Airline Safety Tips

The odds of dying in a plane crash are very slim (some reports put the figure at 1 in 11 million, others at 1 in 90 million). Over the last 10 years, there have been on average 173 major plane crashes per year around the world. Odds like this won't stop me flying with my family. But some high-profile aviation accidents earlier this year (especially the Hudson River crash landing in January) got me thinking. I wanted to find out how I could maximize my family's chances of getting out of a plane crash alive.

This is what I discovered:
1. Fly on non-stop routes (the first three minutes of a flight and the last eight are when most accidents occur)
2. Choose larger aircraft
3. Sit within five rows of an exit
4. Seat your family together
5. Pay attention to the preflight briefing
6. Listen to the flight attendants
7. Keep heavy items out of the overhead storage lockers
8. Keep your seatbelt fastened at all times while seated (and keep kids buckled up, too)
9. Keep your shoes on during the flight
10. Don't drink too much -- you need to keep your wits about you!

Dinosaur Capital of the World

Not only does Calgary have proximity to the Rocky Mountains in its favour, it's also close to one of the world's biggest discoveries of dinosaur bones. According to voters on Smithsonian.com, Drumheller, Alberta is the dinosaur capital of the world. The town is just 90 minutes drive northeast of Calgary and is a great day trip for kids of all ages. The Royal Tyrrell Museum is the star attraction. I took my two children (aged 4 and 1) a couple of months ago and spent the day at the museum enjoying the interactive exhibits, the roaring dinosaur (!), the inside look at a paleontology lab and much more. The weather wasn't great so we didn't hike the outdoor trail, but we did pack a picnic and enjoyed the gorgeous views of the badlands.

This weekend (September 18-20, 2009), the museum is celebrating Alberta Arts Days with free general admission and tons of kid-friendly activities scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

To find out how to get there click here. Want to get your little ones excited before you go? This site lists a big selection of kid-friendly dinosaur web sites.

Travel crib reviews

Most parents of young children buy a portable travel crib of some sort. The majority opt for a Graco playpen (and these are our most popular rented cribs at Little Traveller) but there are other options. We also rent out the Peapod travel bed and Baby Bjorn Travel Crib Light -- two lightweight, portable sleeping options for children under 4. The Peapod weighs in at under 6lbs and the Baby Bjorn crib at 11lb (compare that with the Graco playpen which is over 20lbs) and that makes them both excellent travel companions.

Delicious Baby has given the Peapod the thumbs up in a review this week (the site reviewed the Baby Bjorn Travel Crib earlier this year). They are giving away a Peapod next week (starting September 14) -- check back here for details on how to enter to win.


To give either of these products a try or to rent them for an upcoming trip in the Calgary area, give Little Traveller baby equipment rentals a call on 1-877-242-4067.

Enjoy a cuppa on your travels!

I was born and raised in England so it goes without saying that I enjoy a nice cup of tea (or two). I can't stomach coffee at all, no matter how hard I try. When my husband and I first arrived in Canada 10 years ago, it wasn't easy to find a decent cuppa. But things have changed and now I regularly head out with my kids or with friends to my local tea house (we now have a few great tea shops in my Calgary neighborhood).

Edmonton author, Mary Oakwell, has written a book called "Tea Time in Alberta" detailing 54 great tea houses from Grand Prairie to Waterton Lakes. So next time you're on the road in Alberta and need a break, consider stopping at an old fashioned tea house for some old world hospitality. A few of the tea houses profiled by Oakwell are featured in this Travel Alberta article.

Get fit while the kids play!

Sometimes I feel like my life is slipping away as I wile away another afternoon at the local park. But now I can keep myself busy, too. Two Calgary mums have started PlayFit -- a fitness class that allows you to bring your your kids along. For a nominal babysitting fee of $1 or $2 your kids can play at the nearby playground while you sweat it out with the PlayFit trainers.

There are classes around the city (check out meetup.com for a full list of classes) and Margaret and Dawn are introducing new locations all the time, though sadly none in the Kensington/Hillhurst area yet (anyone interested in being a community organizer and working out for free??) The cost is $10 per class or 10 classes for $95. Head to their website www.playfit.ca or their Facebook site PlayFit Canada for more information.