At what age is it appropriate to take your child to travel abroad?

Babies under 1 year old are not suitable for long-distance travel, because they cannot walk yet, and it is not easy for parents to carry them for long distances. Babies aged 1-3 years old can choose to travel to nearby places. The travel location chosen by parents should preferably be reached within 4 hours by car. Babies aged 3-6 can travel far away, but it is not advisable to sit in a car for a long time.

Babies aged 0-2 years old

The perception of the outside world is the strongest stage. According to medical research, the baby's hearing and vision will develop rapidly during this stage. Moreover, babies learn all the time in ways we can’t imagine. Therefore, taking your baby to see interesting scenery and listen to interesting sounds, such as waterfalls and waves, will help your baby establish circuits that permanently connect nerve centers in the brain.

Think about the travel itinerary

Considering the acceptance level of the baby, it is best to choose a short trip that can take about 3-4 days, so that even if there is an accident on the way, it can be short. Time returns. The best destinations are travel products with fresh air, beautiful natural landscapes or professional parent-child activities. In fact, babies are not as fragile as parents worry, and babies around 3 months old are quite suitable for travel. And at this stage, the baby is less likely to feel that travel is disruptive, and he will not run around and cause trouble. As long as the route is interesting and broad, your baby will definitely enjoy it.

Choose the right way to travel

Generally speaking, babies under 6 months old are not recommended to take long-distance flights continuously because their lung function is immature. Babies over 1 year old are fully able to adapt to flying, so how to provide a comfortable flying environment for the baby?

1. Only by informing the baby of traveling with the baby at least 1 hour in advance can the airline provide timely assistance. You arrange mother and baby seats (with wide spacing and folding panels) and provide baby in-flight amenity gift packs.

2. Change your child’s diaper in the ground toilet before boarding the plane. The toilet on the plane is narrow and cramped, so changing diapers is not an easy task.

3. Keep the baby awake during takeoff and landing, and use toys and soothing objects that the child likes to reduce uneasiness and reduce ear discomfort caused by aircraft takeoff and landing.

4. If you need to prepare milk powder, you can ask the flight attendant to do it for you. However, you need to pack the exact amount in the milk powder box in advance and tell the corresponding water level scale and water temperature requirements, because the flight attendant does not necessarily have childcare experience.

Health emergencies during the trip

The most common health problem for children when traveling abroad is gastrointestinal discomfort. Babies who start to eat complementary foods are prone to diarrhea, stomachache, etc. due to food changes or colds. phenomenon, so you can prepare some gastrointestinal medicine for children.

Mosquito bites are inevitable, babies cry, and mothers are extremely upset. Nano plant essential oil mosquito repellent patch can usually maintain its effect for more than 12 hours and is very easy to use.

It is not necessary to bring the entire medical first aid kit. Band-Aids and individually packaged alcohol pads are the most practical.

Each country and locality has different water quality standards, which is the so-called acclimatization. The safest way is to boil bottled water and mix it into warm water before giving it to your baby.

Prepare the baby's personal equipment

Put the baby's spare clothes in dense bags in the mother's bag. In case your baby vomits or pees on clothes, the dense bag can effectively isolate the odor of dirty clothes and prevent dirt from spilling out.

Infants and young children will always create garbage and waste in ways that parents cannot imagine. If you don't want to be forced to litter, you need enough plastic bags and Ziploc bags to store them, and place the bags in the most accessible places in your bag.

Prepare plastic pads and wet wipes for diaper changing. Public bathrooms may not have reassuring folding diaper changing boards. Doilies can also be replaced with disposable tablecloths, which can be used and thrown away.

Removable paper towels are more convenient and durable than handkerchiefs. No matter how much you rely on paper towels, a small towel or saliva wipe is still a necessity.

Travel for young children (2-6 years old)

Babies of this age group are in a stage of rapid development in intelligence, perception, memory, and expression, and their ability to accept things Very strong. It is manifested in the gradual enrichment of vocabulary and the ability to express one's own ideas coherently; at the same time, it has a strong ability to imitate, and its communication skills with others have been further improved; it also has its own perception and understanding of color, direction, and aesthetics. At the same time, the increase in physical fitness and endurance is also more suitable for long-distance outdoor parent-child travel.

Finalize the travel itinerary

Mom and dad can take more babies of this age to try mid-way trips. It should not be too difficult and it is appropriate to choose tourist attractions that have been developed and are highly interactive. For example, historical buildings in various cities, seaside lakes, wildlife parks, botanical gardens with rich vegetation, etc.

Prevent "motion sickness" in children

Compared with babies who are suitable for short trips, children aged 2-6 can challenge longer journeys. However, during long-distance travel, whether by train, boat, or plane, children may suffer from vertigo, which is medically known as "motion sickness." How to prevent motion sickness?

For children who are known to get motion sickness, it is best to take oral motion sickness medicine before riding in the car. Try to keep your baby in a happy mood during the journey.

Don’t feed your child too much before riding in the car for a long time, let alone starve them. Even if they cry and are impatient in the car, don’t give them sweets such as chocolate.

If the child is dizzy, apply a small amount of white flower oil and Fengyoujing on the temples and Renzhong points to prevent nausea and vomiting.

If your child becomes nauseous on the way, you can give your child a small amount of solid food (such as biscuits) to relieve excessive gastrointestinal motility.

Emotional soothing on the way

No matter what kind of transportation you take, your baby may become anxious and cry when leaving home due to discomfort. How to help children overcome the fatigue of travel and stay in a good mood?

A piece of gauze towel, a small toy... Anxiety can be reduced to a minimum through these familiar items.

Don’t scold your children for trivial matters during the trip to avoid psychological stress on your children.

After a long journey, not only adults will feel tired, but children will also find it very hard. Give your child as much rest as possible, even if it's just a nap in the car every now and then.

Prevent your baby from getting lost

Carry a card with their name and parent’s contact number on your baby and put it in your clothes pocket. Outbound travel must be indicated in Chinese and English.

Tell your child the name of the hotel where you are staying and ask him to recite it.

Wearing an electronic anti-lost device will automatically alarm whenever the baby is more than a few hundred meters away from an adult, greatly improving the safety factor of your baby's travel.