Traveling with kids. This is one of my favorite topics. I traveled a lot internationally as a child. And I traveled tons while I was pregnant and have taken both of my kids with me to different destinations around the world. So let's explore that a little bit. Many people are deciding to travel more to travel far and wide with their families, including young children.

No longer are people relegated just to a road trip, but they're actually getting on planes, trains and going all over the world with their children. Many people recognize that the world is the best classroom without walls, where you can learn so much about yourself and help your child to take in some of those important lessons about life. People feel like they it's important to fill your life with adventures, not things to have stories to tell. Not stuff to show. The takeaway here is that planning ahead and preparing your children for The trip will make your travel go much more smoothly than if you ignore these two things. I like to call it the to peace or peace square planning and preparation.

Planning ahead. First of all, obviously, you need to secure your passports. And we've talked about that in the earlier lecture in terms of what you need to do to get a passport for yourself, and also for a minor child. So obviously, you need to make sure that you give yourself enough time and do everything that you are required to do to get a passport for a child that's under the age of 18. And the other part you want to be prepared for is making sure that you have all of the documentation that's required by the customs officials at the location or destination that you're going to some places if the children are just traveling with one parent, and both parents are listed on the passport, they might need some additional documentation such as an original question. certificate or some sort of notarized letter, saying that the second parent is allowing the children to travel internationally.

So you really want to look into this, there have been cases of people who have problems traveling from other parts of Africa to South Africa. And I've even been asked when I was traveling to Canada with my children for some sort of letter or documentation that their father was allowing them to travel. The other thing is make sure that you start researching and contact the airline about ticket pricing. So for the most part, children under the age of two, do travel or fly for free, but there are still some associated costs or fees that go along with that, for example, some taxes and other limited fees that you might still have to pay. In addition to that, even though the child is technically traveling for free, not paying an airfare, they still need a ticket to get from security. So you can't just show up to an airport with a child under two and just get on a plane, you still have to go through certain procedures, get some sort of ticketing or documentation and pay any associated fees.

So you want to make sure you take care of that so you're not delayed at the airport. Also for children over the age of too many airlines may still run specials such as a certain percentage off, or children being able to fly free for limited time with their parents. So this can really help to save you a lot of money if you start researching airlines that do have these sort of specials and sales for children who are traveling. Also make sure you start to research what the TSA or security requirements are for the airport where you're going to be departing from or traveling to. And so you might want to make sure that you are aware of the type of clothing that you might need to take off if you're going to have to take off shoes, make sure that they're easily you know, we moveable, make sure you don't wear a lot of metal jewelry or belts and the same for your children.

When you're traveling with little ones, you want the process to be as smooth as possible. The other thing is, if you are in fact, traveling with a really small child who's still drinking from a bottle or breastfeeding, you want to find out ahead of time, what types of how much milk you can take, for example, how much formula if you're allowed to take pump, breast milk or breast pump, or any other equipment if your child has asthma or any other special needs or medical conditions, you just want to find out ahead of time, whether or not you need any documentation or what it is that you'll need to make that process go much more smoothly. So you're not held up arguing with security officials and TSA agents. The other thing that's related is making sure that you take care of all your child's medical needs. So what does that mean?

First of all, getting travel insurance like We talked about earlier, it's essential when you're traveling with children, making sure that you see a travel doctor or travel medicine clinic so that you can be aware of any medical problems or diseases that might be, you know, prominent in the area that you're going to in making sure that you're aware of shots that are required. So in many parts of the world, you might need, for example, yellow fever shot and you want to make sure you get that for your child at the right time. In other cases, there may be some immunizations that are recommended and then you can at least get that information and make a decision for yourself. The final thing is that you want to make sure that you're traveling with some medical equipment for example, a first aid kit or any over the counter medicine for common ailments such as fever, stomach ache, headache, or diarrhea, bandaids, disease, In fact it anything that you can carry with you so that if there's a little accident, it doesn't become a big crisis.

The other part of planning is really thinking about getting the right gear for your destination. So here's a picture of my daughter when she was younger, and we were in southern Africa and that was our trusty stroller. That stroller had been all over the United States. It had been to parts of the Middle East, to West Africa, Southern Africa, and it was really sturdy, it was able to run smoothly on smooth pavement, pavement, but it was also really good and sturdy for rocks and Rocky and dirt roads and even in desert terrain. So making sure that you can get the right gear, whether it's a stroller, whether it's a carrier where you can carry your baby your young child on your stomach or on your back making Ensure that the child has the right walking shoes for the environment that you're going to making sure you have things like the right son hats, and clothing that's either cool enough or warm enough different layers, different things that you can have on hand to make sure that your child is comfortable, because inevitably, they are going to get cranky or irritable.

And you want to make sure that you have gear that's really geared towards helping you ease the transportation and make them feel more comfortable. Also, preparing your child This is a big part of the preparation. It really starts with talking to your child in a way that is appropriate for their age. So if it's a little baby that isn't talking yet, you can even do things like show pictures and say this is where we're going or have a little picture book. If it's an older preschool child, you can have that child get involved. In the whole process of finding out about the location and even if you all are planning together if the child can help pick their top location, and you can take that into consideration for where you're going to travel to.

The key is making sure that you talk to your child so that he or she feels really involved in the process. And so along those lines, you can help them to get really involved in the preparation and planning. You can do things like show them a physical map or globe or find one on the internet. do your own research together by looking at different websites, or going to the library reading books, or even talking to people who might be from the place that the country that you're going to. So your child can even be involved in doing his or her own live interview with someone from that country, and then help let your child pack. They can do things like have their own little suitcase and figure out start to problem solve and Plan ahead about what it is that they're going to need for the trip, what kind of clothing, what type of toys, what type of toiletries, they really, really get excited about this stuff.

The other thing is try to enlist help. So we all know if, in particular, if you're going on a really long flight, that can almost be a dreaded nightmare for parents. We've heard and seen online all kinds of complaints about passengers complaining that children are crying or running around the airplane. Flight attendants can really be your ally to help your child cope with the stress of being on an airplane, particularly a long flight. Flight attendants have things such as their own little activities, whether it's coloring books or special treats, stickers. They have a lot of tricks up their sleeve to help your child feel special.

They might even let your child see the inside of the cabin or meet the pilot depending On how crowded the flight is, the point is that they are experienced in this and you want to have allies when you're on the plane, other people that can help you to come or soothe your child when they become overwhelmed with the flight. The other thing is you want to make sure as much as possible that both you and your child get enough rest and nutrition. I know this is really difficult for parents, particularly when they're planning a big trip. Sometimes they sort of skimp on rest. But if at all possible, you want to make sure that your child stays on a nice routine of going to bed on time getting enough rest, eating enough food staying hydrated, enough fruits, vegetables, nutritious snacks, and that will help them both on the flight and also to adjust once you get to your destination, particularly if there's a time change or you're concerned about jets lag.

So making sure you get enough rest and nutrition and making your child or helping your child stay on some sort of routine or schedule that will really help them to adjust, particularly if they're going to be dealing with jetlag. also preparing your child by having a variety of activities for the airplane and airport and even for your destination. And so you want to mix and match the combination of electronics like different apps that you might have on your phone or your tablet. Also regular paper and pencil things like both coloring books, journals, things that they can write down or do with their hands, and then some comfort items and this is for all ages. For for younger children. This might be a stuffed animal, a blanket, a small toy, even for older children.

It can be something like a favorite piece of clothing, or a journal that they have or picture Have them with their friends, something that helps to remind them of home and is familiar to them. That can really be comforting, even for us as adults, it can really be helpful. And then you want to think about once you arrive, what are some of the ways that you can make social connections at your destination. This could be anything from trying to scope out the little parks or playgrounds that are close to where you're going to be staying, finding out if there are different cafes or restaurants that are really open to children. Seeing finding out from the Tourism Bureau, what sort of special activities or festivals might be going on, for families and with young children or children of all ages. The key is you want to start thinking about how to involve your child in all of the activities.

So for many people a family vacation, it used to be all about just going to Disney World or a trip to an amusement park. Now many families are traveling so many different places with their children, but they still want to make sure they find ways to make it child friendly and center their child so the child feels really excited and involved in the process. So here's your challenge. If you're thinking about traveling somewhere soon with your child, ask your child unless it's a really small infant. But if your child can talk and understand, ask your child where he or she would like to travel in why start them thinking about what is this idea of traveling, taking a journey and choosing your location, and then help them to learn one or two interesting facts about the destination that you all are planning to go to or where your child wants to go.

So help them to understand the idea of doing some research, finding out some information and getting excited about the destination.