Sunday, February 24, 2008

Tips On Traveling With Children

Traveling with children can be fun and yet stressful at the same time. It is crucial to make proper planning.

There is no question that going on vacation with your children can be a true test of your patience. However, it can also serve as a real eye opener to look at your trip through the eyes of the children.

Vacation travel doesn't have to be a stressful time if you are prepared and come equipped for incidents that are likely to take place. Sure, you can't plan everything, such as if a child gets injured or has a miserable time, but you can at least prepare them for the changes they will face while away from home.

The most important aspect of traveling with children is to plan, plan, and plan some more. Everything from the attractions you will visit and restaurants for meals should be planned out. Before you even depart, consider taking feedback from your children concerning how they would like to spend some of the time.

It is good to plan one day for everyone in which they decide together what they are going to see and where they will eat. By involving them in the decisions, you provide them more to look forward to and to get excited about.

By all means, plan events that are flexible. If you work out a schedule that takes 4 hours to get through and after the first hour the children are bored and cranky, be willing to change in mid-stream. It simply isn't worth the hassle of making your children miserable if they dislike an activity. By preparing a backup plan in advance, you can turn a potential negative into a happy memory.

It is imperative, though, that you keep your younger children busy, because the attention span of children is notoriously short. Although you might think they will simply enjoy just hanging out, chances are they will become harder to manage if they do not have scheduled activities.

While you are on vacation or journeying to the destination itself, you should come prepared with a few items your child will enjoy. If he or she has a favorite toy or book, go ahead and bring it. You don't, for example, want them to be miserable the entire time if they miss their binky.

Be sure to pack all your daily essentials like diapers, wipes, bottles, strollers, a first aid kit, and any other reasonably-packed items that are a normal part of life at home. Some of it may be heavy, but a bag with a few of your child's most prized possessions can be a real lifesaver when you are visiting an attraction far from your hotel room.

Even if your kids are having a good time, an abrupt or nagging sickness can certainly bring that to a screeching halt. Unexpected events such as motion sickness or a fever may be unwelcomed surprises, so make sure you have access to a few standard medicines while you travel. Bring along decongestant, pain reliever, anti-nausea and anti-diarrhea medicine to help them feel better and enjoy themselves.

Vacationing with children can be exciting and fun for both you and them. But travel prepared with the mindset that not everything is likely to go the way you wish, so develop some simple backup plans in advance and keep an open mind about using them as needed.

Other related articles :Family Travel Tip: 7 Ways To Make Traveling With Your Kids Easier and How To Travel Safely With Young Children When You Rent A Car

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About the Author, Ross Anderson: For information on practical travel lodging, see http://www.travel-lodgings.com, a popular site providing insights of travel stay ideas, such as Yosemite - http://www.travel-lodgings.com/yosemite-lodging.shtml, Las Vegas - http://www.travel-lodgings.com/las-vegas-vacation-homes.shtml and many more!

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Monday, February 18, 2008

How To Stay Healthy While Traveling

To stay healthy throughout the trip is most important or else it defeats the whole purpose of having the trip in the first place. My friends had an experience before whereby they were in another country and they eaten some seafood, which gave them mild food poisoning. They had to stay in the hotel for most part of the trip. It is very important to watch what you put into mouth especially when you are traveling. You have to take note that your body might not be accustomed to the hygiene level of the new location. It is advisable to drink bottled water when traveling as it reduces the chances of drinking contaminated water. A little caution goes a long way when you are traveling.

There is little worse than planning a long-awaited vacation only to find yourself getting sick during that intended fun time. It takes months to plan a lengthy trip, and when you become ill somewhere along the way it can ruin your time and memories.

Instead of sightseeing or lying on the beach, you are in your room alone unable to do what you want (and probably doing things in the toilet that you don't want!). Given the need to avoid illness on a trip, it is a good idea to look at a few tips on how to remain healthy while traveling.

Even when vacation plans are not under consideration, one of your life priorities should be to get in and remain in the best shape you can at all times; but before a vacation trip, this is even more imperative. Take your vitamins every day, exercise, and get your body in shape.

Having done so, then how do you remain healthy once you are at your vacation destination? It is actually fairly easy. You need to plan. Before you depart, check the climate so you pack the right types of clothing. You certainly don’t want to be stuck in a blizzard without a coat, gloves, and a hat, so travel prepared by knowing the predicted weather at your destination.

Additionally, research the particular area in which you will stay to learn whether there are drinking water restrictions. You’ll find that many people who travel to other countries wind up in bed with “Montezuma’s Revenge.” Obviously this is a very unpleasant experience that can ruin a good vacation, for sure. It would not be a bad idea to buy bottled water when you are in any country other than your own simply based on the fact that you do not know the contaminants in other nation's water supplies.

Despite precautions, you may still find water in the food you eat and ice cubes in your drinks, so caution is the byword! For hotel water or drinking water in general, you can also bring along water purification tablets to avoid drinking straight from the tap.

Another important tip is to consider what you are eating. Granted you want to splurge a bit, but it is vital that you keep your dietary restrictions prominent in your mind. If, for example, you know you can’t eat chili because it gives you severe heartburn, by all means avoid it while on vacation. It is no different with other foods that don’t sit well with you.

Just because you are in a different location doesn’t mean you can dramatically change your eating patterns without unhealthy consequences. This includes overeating as well, a common practice while on vacation.

Lastly, don't neglect to bring any prescription drugs your doctor has prescribed for you. In another country, it will likely be more complicated acquiring a dosage that covers your visit time.

Most of this is common sense. Health precautions are not complicated, and in fact are relatively easy to maintain. However, you must be alert to vacation giddiness that lets your guard go down.

If you follow these basic recommendations, you will likely remain healthy and enjoy your time away from home.

About the Author, Ross Anderson: For information on practical travel lodging, see http://www.travel-lodgings.com, a popular site providing insights of travel stay ideas, such as Yosemite - http://www.travel-lodgings.com/yosemite-lodging.shtml, Las Vegas - http://www.travel-lodgings.com/las-vegas-vacation-homes.shtml and many more!

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