Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
•
Be sure you've slept sufficiently
for your trip. If you fall asleep in
the air and your child manages to
break away, there are all sorts of
sharp objects that could cause
injury. Especially during meal-
times, it's dangerous for a child to
be crawling or walking around the
cabin unaccompanied by an adult.
•
Be sure your child's seatbelt
remains fastened properly,
and
try to reserve the seat closest to the
aisle for yourself. This will make it
harder for your children to wan-
der off—in case, for instance,
you're taking the redeye or a long
flight overseas and you do happen
to nod off. You will also protect
your child from jostling passersby
and falling objects—in the rare
but entirely possible instance that
an overhead bin pops open.
In the event of an accident,
unrestrained children often don't
make it—even when the parent
does. Experience has shown that
it's impossible for a parent to hold
onto a child in the event of a
crash, and children often die of
impact injuries.
For the same reason, sudden
turbulence is also a danger to a
child who is not buckled into his
own seat belt or seat restraint.
According to
Consumer Reports
Travel Letter,
the most common
flying injuries result when unan-
ticipated turbulence strikes and
hurtles passengers from their seats.
(See “Child Seats: They're a
Must,” above, for suggestions
regarding FAA-promoted child-
restraint systems.)
•
Try to sit near the lavatory,
though not so close that your chil-
dren are jostled by the crowds that
tend to gather there. Consolidate
trips there as much as possible.
•Try to
accompany children to
the lavatory.
They can be easily
bumped and possibly injured as
they make their way down tight
aisles. It's especially dangerous for
children to wander while flight
attendants are blocking passage
with their service carts. On
crowded flights, the flight crew
may need as much as an hour to
serve dinner. It's wise to encourage
your kids to use the restroom as
you see the attendants preparing
to serve.
• Be sure to
bring clean, self-
containing compact toys.
Leave
electronic games at home. They
can interfere with the aircraft nav-
igational system, and their noisi-
ness, however lulling to children's
ears, will surely not win the favor
of your adult neighbors. Magnetic
checker sets, on the other hand,
are a perfect distraction, and small
coloring topics and crayons also
work well, as do card games like
Go Fish.
Visit the library before you
leave home and check out chil-
dren's topics about flying or air-
plane travel. Geography-related
topics and coloring topics that
include their departure point and
destination will also help engage
them during air travel.
A Walkman with a few favorite
recordings will also come in
handy—especially if you throw in
some sleepy-time tunes. By all
means, don't leave home without a
favorite blanket or stuffed ani-
mal—especially if it's your kid's
best friend at bedtime.
• Some airlines
serve children's
meals first.
When you board, ask
a flight attendant if this is possi-
ble, especially if your children are
very young or seated toward the
back of the plane. After all, if your
kids have a happy flight experi-
ence, everyone else in the cabin is
more likely to as well.
• You'll certainly be grateful to
yourself for
packing tidy snacks
