Flying with toddlers: going the distance

Guest blogger Emma Folz recently returned from a trip to Perth, Australia with her easy-going (lucky her!) 11 month old. Here are some of her insights in to flying around the globe with little ones.

The Journey

* Planning is everything. We booked our flights early and were able to get bulk head seats on all our long-haul flights. Having that extra space in front of you is very helpful for both you and your young ones.
* Break up the flight. Don’t try to do it all in one trip. Stay for 1-2 days at each connection point or after the long haul portion to have some time off the plane and get some decent sleep. We had a 15 hour flight from Vancouver to Sydney and then a 4 hour flight to Perth. Having 2 days in Sydney helped get us adjusted and made it easier on 11-month-old Joah
* Pack a sling and a baby carrier in your carry on. Also, a small umbrella stroller can be checked at the gate on most airlines. I used them all at different times for different reasons
* Sleep Training. Teach your baby to go to sleep in your arms with a trusted nursery rhyme before the trip. It will pay off on the plane
* Safety. We took both the Baby B'Air and CARES harness
* Toys and books. We packed a set of stacking cups and some plastic blocks which turned into many play combinations and doubled up as bath toys. We also packed a hand puppet. The plastic emergency instructions and paper bag in the airplane seat pocket were also a big hit. Lift-the-flap and pop-up books gave hours of delight
* Carry on what you need, but not more. Take a good-sized carry on for your baby items: food, toys, diapers, wipes, creams, medications, clothes and books are critical. Don’t feel like you have to fill the bag right up, this will come in handy when you are looking for items quickly. Pack similar items in separate mesh or plastic bags within your carry on. Take lots of plastic shopping bags or ziplock bags for garbage etc.

Jet-lag

• Sleep before! We didn’t keep our son up late in the nights leading up to the flight. Let them get as much sleep and rest as they can prior to the journey.
• Have a good sleep routine. I truly believe in a good sleep routine at home, which translates in to a good sleep routine when you are away. After bath, milk, teeth and storytime, it was clearly evident to our son that it was bedtime… time to sleep all night.
• Adjusting to jet-lag. The first three nights, if Joah woke up and wouldn’t go straight back to sleep, we allowed him one hour of play and some milk (no food) before back-to-bed. After that, it was non-negotiable; he had to go back to sleep. It only took 2-3 days for him to adjust. It was easier to adjust going east-west, harder coming back this way!

Favourite Christmas Gifts

Our two children (aged 5 and almost 2) got some great gifts this Christmas. All of these would work well on a trip away from home and they are all fairly low-tech and easy to pack. Here are our top hits of 2009:

Pink and blue LEGO digital camera
A huge hit with my 5-year-old daughter. And it's inexpensive enough to buy for a special trip, too. There's nothing like seeking out interesting objects to take pictures of to relieve the boredom of airports or restaurants or when forced to spend several days cooped up at home because it's too cold to go outside... It comes in a red/yellow/blue colour scheme, too.

"You Choose" by Pippa Goodhart and Nick Sharrat
A great book for any age, my 5 year old and 23 month old love looking at this together and because it's interactive you can "read" it over and over again. A fantastic book to share with your kids and stimulate the imagination, and a brilliant book to take along on a trip.

Maisy's Amazing Big Book of Words by Lucy Cousins
My 23 month old, who is just learning to talk, loves Maisy. This book is choc full of classic Lucy Cousins illustrations and includes flaps on every spread. My daughter also loves searching for Panda on every spread.

Little Doctor's Kit
Again, a big hit with both children. My five year old has received these in the past but the new one included a surgeon's dress-up outfit and some real band-aids and bandages that has kept the two of them busy for hours already. There's something about giving doll/sister/mum/dad a pretend injection that never seems to get boring.

Fairies: Petal people you make yourself by Rachel Haab/Klutz
This is some serious crafty fun for girls (and parents, too!). Once we'd made a couple of fairies, my daughter was off in a world of make-believe with them. The product is recommended for eight year olds and up and my 5-year-old daughter needed a fair bit of help with the fiddly gluing, but that's what I love about crafts: everyone gets involved. Klutz make a wide range of crafty sets so if you have boys, check out the Klutz website for more info.

Tips for travelling with baby

Travelling with a newborn can be daunting, but in fact young babies are often good travellers. Here's an article I wrote for The YummyMummy Club out this week with some tips for travelling with newborns.

Keeping toddlers busy

What's your favourite travel toy for airplane journeys and road trips? I love the Mudpuppy mini magnetic play scenes (rated for 3+ years because of little pieces). I bought a few different sets and keep them hidden away until we have a long car journey or plane ride. They even have an airport themed play scene. The Usborne Great Searches book series also work really well for our children who love studying the busy pages.

Delicious Baby posted some great articles recently about keeping your little ones occupied during airplane journeys. Debbie calls her bag of carefully chosen toys an "airplane busy bag". Here are three recent blog posts about packing a busy bag that's appropriate for your child:
- Packing an airplane busy bag
- What's in my airplane busy bag?
- Travel Toys (by age)

By the way, one of Debbie's favaourite travel products is the CARES airplane harness. To find out more, click here to access Little Traveller's information page.

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!

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!

Need to rent baby equipment?

Have you started travelling again now that your little ones are a wee bit older? Or perhaps your kids are school aged but your sister is visiting with her little baby? If you find yourself in need of some compact baby equipment in Calgary (or pretty much any city in the world) then look up your local baby equipment rental company. But before you make the phone call, read my tips on renting baby equipment that were published this week on UrbanMommies.com.

Little Traveller rents baby equipment in the Calgary area. Our most requested items are convertible car seats, CARES airplane harnesses, playpens and high-chairs.

Travelling while pregnant

I came across this informative post today by pregnancy/parenting expert Ann Douglas on Canadian Babies about travelling while pregnant.

It's also a good idea to pack a big box of your preferred heartburn/indigestion remedy of choice. There's nothing like the combo of travelling, disturbed sleep and unfamiliar foods to enhance that uncomfortable pregnancy side-effect.

Happy travels!

The scoop on Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop

Like all celebrities, Gwyneth Paltrow has done more than her fair share of travelling. To share her knowledge and insider tips, she publishes a weekly newsletter that features her personal travel tips but also recipes, crafts, fashion and much more.

If you want your children to experience life in the celebrity fast lane next time you're in New York, LA, London or Chicago check out this newsletter on kid-friendly restaurants. For something more wallet-friendly, bake some of Gwyneth's favourite cookies with your little ones this weekend.

You can sign up for her newsletter through her web portal Goop.com.

Calgary's Amazing Attractions

The Travel Alberta web site just announced some summer coupons and special deals for Calgary. By signing up for a holiday card (which is free) you can take advantage of some great deals at some of the best family friendly attractions in the city. For example, you can enjoy 50% off admission for up to four people at Calaway Park. And there are similar deals for the Calgary Zoo, TELUS World of Science, the Aero Space Museum and more.

Family car games

Here's a cool post on Savvymom.ca with ideas for games to play with the kids on your next road trip... or when stuck in traffic around town.

Pit Stops with Kids

It's not always the case (I can think of a couple of memorable exceptions!), but half the fun of a family trip is often the journey there and back. Especially if your kids are very small (so they sleep the whole time!) or old enough to enjoy some lively family discussions that you don't get around to having at home. There are also plenty of adventures to be had along the way, especially if you know where to look.

Next time you are planning a road trip through the US, check out the recommendations on Pitstopsforkids.com. This super-useful site provides reviews of kid-friendly places to rest, eat and play searchable by state, airport or interstate. Most of the reviews so far are for Oregon, Washington and California but they are expanding coverage.

The site doesn't have any recommendations yet for Canada but is hoping to expand northwards. So next time you head out on a road trip, make a note of where you stop and send in your reviews (details here). They also accept reviews of airports around the world.

What a great resource this will be for travelling families when we have all the major routes in Canada covered!

The Head Snuggler

I come across some weird stuff sometimes, but this seems to be a crazy-looking invention that might actually work. My 15-month old has a serious case of head lolling while she snoozes in her car seat and I'm planning on giving the Head Snuggler a try on our next road trip. Designed to properly support your child's head and neck in a car seat or a stroller, this mom-invented product designed in Calgary has the thumbs up from a pediatrician and a chiropractor. 

Available online from Melrose Kids, the cost of the Head Snuggler is $15.99 plus $5 shipping.

CARES and special needs children -- new breakthrough

There's great news of a breakthrough for parents of special needs children who would like to use the CARES airplane harness on flights in the US. If the CARES harness will physically fit your child (the black straps actually expand enough to fit a child about 4 ft 10 inches tall) even though they are over the 44 lb / 40 inch current limit, a request in writing can be made to the FAA for permission to use the CARES harness. Specify in the letter that you are willing to sit in a bulkhead seat (the last row of any section of the plane) so no one will be required to brace by leaning against your child's seat. According to Kid's Fly Safe MD Louise Stoll, the FAA will not take long to grant the exemption. Carry the exemption with you when you fly. When you make ticket arrangements, ask for a bulkhead seat, but there is no need to discuss anything further with the individual airlines.

The situation is Canada is less accommodating. Transport Canada told me that it is unlikely that an exemption could be issued at this time for special needs passengers over the current CARES limits since no regulatory requirements are yet in place for the use of CARES by children with special needs. Also, in Canada it is up to the individual airlines to make their own rules regarding the use of on board child restraint systems.


Little Traveller baby equipment rentals in Calgary sells and rents the CARES harnesses (we ship across Canada). Visit our website for more information or call us at 1-877-242-4067.

Add more fun and culture to your next family holiday

My husband and I both did postgraduate research at university. It's left us with an incurable desire to research everything. If we watch a movie based on a real event, we read up on it afterwards to find out more about the event. When we plan a holiday, we delve into the history of the place. We don't overplan the trip itself because it's fun to discover the sights when you get there, but we like to have a grasp of the culture and even the language. We went to Zanzibar on our honeymoon and spent the months leading up to our wedding learning some Swahili so we could interact with the hotel staff and perhaps meet a few local people -- which we did. Our best memories of the trip come from these interactions.

We plan on continuing this approach to travelling with our chidren in tow. Of course we can't make them learn the local dialect but then children don't seem to let a little language barrier get in the way of a good playdate on the swings. And we won't force feed them culture -- there are more subtle ways of enjoying a foreign travel experience with kids. Check out this great blog posting written by Debbie Dubrow on the blog www.Travel-Rants.com: Adding fun and culture to your next holiday.

CARES harness for children with special needs

The CARES airplane harness can be a very useful tool for families flying with children that have special needs. If your child is in the 22-44 lb weight bracket and has physical disabilities, check with your doctor or physical therapist to determine whether the harness will provide sufficient upper body support. If you get the green light, check your bulky car seat and carry the little 6" CARES stuff sack on board instead.

For children with autism or related issues, the CARES harness has been successful in providing a level of security beyond what the lap belt alone does, and families that have used it say that it helps to keep their child calmer during the flight.

For more information on flying with children with special needs, check out this About.com web page that has relevant links to the major airlines.

Little Traveller baby equipment rentals in Calgary sells and rents the CARES harnesses (we ship within Canada). Visit our website for more information or call us at 1-877-242-4067.

Flying with baby -- the Delicious way!

I thought about compiling a list of all the little things you need to consider when flying with babies or toddlers. But then I found this page on Delicious Baby (www.deliciousbaby.com) written by Debbie Dubrow, a mom of two from Seattle, WA. She's thought of everything so you don't have to. There's a section on how to breeze through security with kids and how to nurse or pump at high altitude, product reviews and more. Take a peek... when you have a spare hour or two.

The Mother of all Packing Lists

Packing for a family vacation takes a lot of preparation. I take the opposite approach to my husband and start making lists of things to remember weeks before I go, but I'm a serial list maker (and I tend to get very excited about upcoming trips). Here are a few websites with packing lists you can print out to help take the strain:

The website www.HaveBabyWillTravel.com has a pretty inclusive packing list to help you in this mammoth task. Consider renting the last four items on the list when you arrive at your destination, if that's an option.

There are a number of tailored packing lists at About.com including a Disney packing list and a camping packing list.

Listorganizer.com has a form to print and fill out so you can personalize your list according to baby's needs and the length of your trip.

For help with what to take pack in your carry on, check out www.havebabywilltravel.com again as well as the US Transportion Secutiry Administration's advice page, and the Canadian equivalent with a detailed list of what is and isn't permitted in carry on baggage.

Happy travels!

Turbulence Tips

Most flights experience some form of turbulence from weather systems or erratic air movements. And while pilots often know when to expect it, clear air turbulence can catch the crew (and therefore the passengers) unawares. To help prevent injury from turbulence during a flight, follow these guidelines:
- keep your seatbelt buckled at all times when seated (to keep yourself safe and to set a good example to your children)
- keep your child's seatbelt or restraint harness buckled at all times when seated
- don't get up unless necessary
- when walking about the cabin, hold on to the seat backs or overhead bins and keep hold of your child at all times
- don't stow heavy items in the overhead bins
- keep the overhead bins closed at all times
- consider renting or purchasing a Baby B'Air flight vest for your baby travelling in your lap or a CARES harness if your child is over a year old, weighs at least 22 lbs and has her own seat. Both restraints are designed to keep little travellers safe during mid-flight turbulence.

Safe travels!