Season greetings! Tis the season to be jolly. However, the very events that make holiday seasons so special for kids – festive atmospheres, gifts, and visiting friends and family – also cause holiday-related illnesses and mishaps. Here are some tips to help you make the holidays healthier and safer. 1. Give your friends and relatives […]
Baby Carriers
November 27, 2016 by
Don’t be surprised when planning your baby’s first trip – whether across town or across the ocean – becomes a monumental undertaking, not unlike outfitting a cruise ship for a long voyage. For one, how do you carry your baby plus all the paraphernalia he or she requires? 1. “Wearing infants” is the most practical […]
Children/Travel/Immunizations
November 4, 2016 by
When planning family vacations, check that everyone is up-to-date on their vaccinations. Adults included. Travel increases the risk of catching a host of preventable diseases: measles, mumps, rubella, meningitis and whooping cough (pertussis), to name just a few. And you need not visit Equatorial Africa to become infected. Anyone not fully vaccinated can become infected […]
Travel/Breast-feeding
October 19, 2016 by
“I carry a light-weight blanket when I travel with my breast-fed infant. If someone seems bothered by my nursing – even though I do it discreetly – I offer them the blanket so they can cover their eyes.” (From a website on breast-feeding.) 1. No reason to curtail your travel plans because you breast-feed. Stories […]
Are Your Infant’s Sleeping Accommodations Safe when you Travel?
September 12, 2016 by
Safety alert! When traveling, many parents put their infants to bed in unsafe positions or locations, increasing the risk of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) and other injuries. 1. Safe sleeping arrangements are often difficult to duplicate away from home. Until infants are one year of age they should be put to bed on their […]
Children/travel/common mishaps
August 25, 2016 by
When traveling with children safety is no accident, especially when you’re overseas. At home, you intuitively sense hazardous situations. Away from home, you must retrain your brain to be on the lookout for hazards in new surroundings and during unfamiliar activities. 1. When checking into a hotel room, crawl around on your hands and knees. […]
Update: Family travel/Overseas/Motor vehicles
July 24, 2016 by
Well-planned family trips to other countries are “surprisingly” safe and healthy, say surveys by travel medicine professionals. If problems do occur, they are more likely to be due to accidents rather than illnesses – even though there is far more information available on keeping kids healthy than on preventing accidents. The leading category of accidents […]
Caution at amusement parks
July 11, 2016 by
Some amusement park rides are not amusing. Every year about 9,000 children under the age of 14 years get an extra ride – to the emergency room. Many more mishaps are treated at first aid stations, by private physicians or by parents. Rides intended for children younger than four years of age account for about […]
Should Children Miss School to Visit Disney World?
June 26, 2016 by
Taking children out of school for family vacations is illegal in many (probably most) school districts in the US, Canada, Great Britain and Australia. Most school districts have specific policies regarding absences for reasons other than illness. Some districts allow a limited number of days (usually fewer than four) for such activities – if permission […]
Is Travel Safe During Pregnancy?
March 13, 2016 by
The uproar regarding pregnant women visiting Zika-infected countries bolsters the opinion that travel during pregnancy is never without some risk. The fetus, the littlest traveler of all, the hitchhiker, so to speak, seemingly safely and comfortably imbedded in the uterus, is susceptible to many travel-related conditions and illnesses. Travel further complicates pregnancy by removing women […]
