Sometimes it’s necessary to allow your child to travel with a close friend or family member. Maybe Grandmom is spending the summer in Europe and wants to take the grandkids along for a trip of their lifetime. Or, perhaps your child’s best friend is going to the beach during a school break and have invited your child along. These kind of trips are usually more stressful for parents than children.

To alleviate your concern, speak to the adult who will be in charge during the trip. Be clear on any conditions you may have regarding the trip. Maybe Grandmom can take Suzie to Europe to visit family, but you want to her to be with Grandmom the entire time, no babysitters, even family, allowed. Make these kinds of wishes clear. 

If your child has food allergies or a medical condition, spend time teaching the responsible adult about the condition. Send written materials with the adult and make sure they have all emergency numbers and medication.

Share any medication information with the responsible adult, as well. Educate them on side effects and things to watch for.

Get a detailed itinerary from the responsible adult. You will feel much better if you know well in advance where your child will be going and where they will be staying. If they will be staying with friends or family overseas, call and speak to those people before your child leaves. This is especially important if you have never met these family members.

Be sure to give the responsible adult medical power of attorney over your child for the duration of the trip. Nothing is more upsetting than getting a call from a hospital out of country that your child has been injured or is ill, but they can’t provide medical treatment until you arrive on the premises.

Being on an airplane with a bored child is not a fun experience. Young children cry or whine, older kids might try to run up and down the aisle or annoy the person in front of, or next to them.

Parents can ensure a more pleasant trip for themselves and those surrounding them by planning ahead and packing engaging activities for their children.

For older children, consider bringing a deck of playing cards. There are many card games children enjoy playing. 500 Rummy, War, Old Maid, and 21 are great to pass the time.

Pocket versions of popular board games will entertain the kids and won’t take up much room in the carry on bag. Most pocket or travel versions of board games are magnetic to minimize the risk of pieces getting lost or falling off the board during play.

Self –contained drawing games such as Etch-a Sketch ®, and Magna Doodle ® allow your child to draw, write, or play games such as hangman without burning through a lot of paper. 

Coloring books and crayons are light and don’t take up a lot of room in the carry on bag. They’re great for children of all ages.

Be sure to bring along your child’s favorite books. Reading a well known and loved book is comforting and will help your child feel more secure on the plane.

Parents and children can take turns telling each other a story. One person starts by giving one or two lines of the story, the next person continues with the story until they have no more to add. Continue around until the story is finished. It might be fun to record the story on tape recorder or cell phone to listen to later or share with family and friends at your destination.

With a little planning, your child can stay busy and have fun. Who knows, you and your child may come to enjoy flying and playing games together.

Arizona is a great place to go for a holiday, and the best accommodation you can get for a family or a group is a vacation rental.  Vacation rentals can offer you a great rate on accommodation, and you don’t have to worry about the hassles that are accompanied by staying in a hotel, such as the lack of kitchen facilities and small size of many hotel rooms.

You can find a range of phoenix vacation rentals on the Arizona Vacation Experts site.  The site is very easy to use and to navigate, and there are plenty of homes listed in each area for you to consider.  The homes are very well photographed so you will not just by a simple inspection of the listing if the house is suitable to you.  They are of course very well described in terms of number of bedrooms, bathrooms and even features like granite bench tops are mentioned.  Everything from luxury to budget is available.  Arizona rental homes were never so easy to locate as this!

As mentioned, the homes range in price and in size. You can go from everything from a vacation condo right through to a mansion with many bedrooms.. which would be perfect if you have a large family you want to accommodate at the one location. Often, resorts don’t have larger properties available, so it is difficult to find something in the four or even 5 bedroom range that is of any quality.

Make life easy for yourself and check this site out today!

Of course, everyone knows Harry Potter and his world of wizards and magic doesn’t really exist. Hogwarts and all it’s characters Hogwarts was created by J. K. Rowling in her fantasy series. 

But, they had to shoot the movies somewhere, right?  So, if your kids (or you, for that matter) are big Potter fans, and your travels are going to take you to London, why not go looking for the real life that helped depict the mythical Harry Potter?

Start in Central London, at Kings Cross Station.  You can walk right up to platforms 9A and 9B, and just imagine there’s a platform 9 and 3/4 between them.

The scene where Harry releases the snake from it’s cage was filmed at the London Zoo.

Next stop:  North Yorkshire, and the train station in Hogsmeade Village, admirably portrayed in the movies by Goathland Station.  Their website lists a variety of other TV shows and movies that have filmed there as well.

Hogwarts, the school of wizardry, is actually a combination of several locations across the UK and some movie sets as well:

·       Alnwick Castle, home of the Dukes and Earls of Northumberland and the second largest castle in England, served as the Hogwarts exterior in the first two movies.

·       1300 year old Gloucester Cathedral provided several interiors.

·       The medeieval village of Lacock and Lacock Abbey provided more of the Hogwarts indoor scenes.

·       The massive Hogwarts Library is actually a combination of Duke Humfrey’s Library and the Divinity School at Oxford University.

·       And the Great Hall of Oxford’s largest college, Christ Church, is Hogwarts’ principal stand-in.

All of these places have web sites listing their availability for tourism and attractions.  So, the next time you’re in England, why not try to chase down Harry Potter’s stomping grounds…?

Traveling around town with your physically challenged child can be difficult enough, traveling across the country or internationally can seem impossible. But, with some planning and preparation, you can minimize the hassle and both of you can enjoy the trip.

First, if your child uses a wheelchair or other mobility aid device make sure let the airline when your purchase your tickets. All airlines make accommodations for those who need extra assistance. Also, take advantage of pre-boarding and preferred seating, if available.

Have your child use the restroom before boarding the airplane. It is difficult, if not impossible to maneuver the aisles with a wheelchair, walker or leg braces. Also, if your child uses a urostomy or colostomy bag, be sure to empty those minutes before boarding, as well.

For the child who uses diapers, you may want to plan your flight with a lay over long enough for you to take your child off the plane for a change.

On the plane, use pillows and blankets to help position your child comfortably. Reposition often to avoid pressure spots.

Take all the child’s medications with you in your carry on bag or purse. Keep written prescriptions in a separate place, in case you carry on gets lost. Have emergency phone numbers for your child’s regular doctor and any specialists on had at all times.

If your child eats specially prepared food or takes formula through a feeding tube, be certain you have enough with you in your carry on bag. Sometimes luggage can get lost in transit, it would not due for your child’s prepared foods come up missing.

Also, you might want to call ahead to medical suppliers at your destination and order supplies in advance. Changing brands of vital supplies can be stressful on your child.

When calling for hotel or taxi –cab reservations, always inform the company of your  child’s unique needs. Most people are willing to help.

If possible, travel with a second adult. Caring for a disabled child can be stressful at home. With the added strain of travel, the main caregiver will need a break.