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[[Category:Family Vacations]]
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[[Category:Family Vacations]]
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== Steps ==
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== Steps ==
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#Have your children's appropriate legal documents. Passports are now required for all children, including infants and toddlers, for international U.S. travel. Make sure to order them 4-6 weeks in advance to allow for their applications to be processed. Double check everything, as the last thing you want is to cancel a trip because your child's passport application was denied for lack of information. If you don't need a passport to travel, still remember to take a copy of your children's birth certificates. The cut-off age for lap children is two years old. Some airlines don’t ask for a birth certificate and some do. So to be on the safe side, keep a copy of your children’s birth certificates in your purse/bag. Of course, if you have a passport, you will not need to bring birth certificates as the passport will provide complete authentication.[[Image:Travel With Children on Long Trips Step 1.jpg|center]]
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#Have your children's appropriate legal documents. Passports are now required for all children, including infants and toddlers, for international U.S. travel. Make sure to order them 4-6 weeks in advance to allow for their applications to be processed. Double check everything, as the last thing you want, is to cancel a trip because your child's passport application was denied for lack of information. If you don't need a passport to travel, still remember to take a copy of your children's birth certificates. The cut-off age for lap children is two years old. Some airlines don’t ask for a birth certificate and some do. So to be on the safe side, keep a copy of your children’s birth certificates in your purse/bag. Of course, if you have a passport, you will not need to bring birth certificates as the passport will provide complete authentication.[[Image: Travel With Children on Long Trips Step 1.jpg|center]]
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#Bring a backpack of toys and activities. Kids like being in charge, so give them something to be in charge of. A backpack is perfect because it stays put, unlike a bag which can slip off their shoulder and you end up with one more thing to carry; just don't make it too heavy for them. Not only is this useful in-flight/on-board entertainment but it'll serve a dual purpose of amusing the kids once you reach your destination. Put in all your favorite ideas, including these suggestions:[[Image:Travel With Children on Long Trips Step 2.jpg|center]]
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#Bring a backpack of toys and activities. Kids like being in charge, so give them something to be in charge of. A backpack is perfect because it stays put, unlike a bag which can slip off their shoulder and you end up with one more thing to carry; just don't make it too heavy for them. Not only is this useful in-flight/on-board entertainment but it'll serve a dual purpose of amusing the kids once you reach your destination. Put in all your favorite ideas, including these suggestions:[[Image: Travel With Children on Long Trips Step 2.jpg|center]]
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#*Books. There’s never enough time in the day to read to the kids, so take advantage of the opportunity of the long plane, train or car ride for some one-on-one time. Pack your kids' favorite books for you to read or easy-reader books for them to read by themselves. There’s no reason to plug their brains into electronics for the whole journey. Expand their imagination through the endless possibilities in a good book!
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#*Books. There’s never enough time in the day to read to the kids, so take advantage of the opportunity of the long plane, train or car ride for some one-on-one time. Pack your kids' favorite books for you to read or easy-reader books for them to read by themselves. There’s no reason to plug their brains into electronics for the whole journey. Expand their imagination through the endless possibilities in a good book!
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#*Coloring Books. Coloring books can be a great distraction and can help get out a little scribbling energy. A favorite coloring tool is Crayola’s "Color Wonder" markers and paper. They’re great because the markers only write on Color Wonder paper, which means your little ones leave no evidence behind! Also try dollar stores for coloring books you won't mind them half-completing and being discarded for the sake of extra space.
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#*Coloring Books. Coloring books can be a great distraction and can help get out a little scribbling energy. A favorite coloring tool is Crayola’s "Color Wonder" markers and paper. They’re great because the markers only write on Color Wonder paper, which means your little ones leave no evidence behind! Also, try dollar stores for coloring books you won't mind them half-completing and being discarded for the sake of extra space.
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#* Comfort Toys for Small Children. Throw in a favorite blanket or bear for small children. It may help them snuggle down for quiet time or just help get through a bumpy patch of air or a tedious part of the drive. You can never have enough props for entertaining that last 20-30 minutes of a flight when everyone is impatient to get off! Favorite games to play with a blanket or cuddle friend are "peek-a-boo" and "pat-a-cake".
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#* Comfort Toys for Small Children. Throw in a favorite blanket or bear for small children. It may help them snuggle down for a quiet time or just help get through a bumpy patch of air or a tedious part of the drive. You can never have enough props for entertaining that last 20-30 minutes of a flight when everyone is impatient to get off! Favorite games to play with a blanket or cuddle friend are "peek-a-boo" and "pat-a-cake".
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#*DVDs and Personal DVD Players. A laptop with a DVD drive works just as well as a personal DVD player. Bring along a set of earphones (or a splitter so you can have two sets of earphones), so your child's viewing of his/her favorite movie or TV show doesn’t interfere with the comfort of others. Although, if you are taking a plane flight, you can save on space and rely on the in-flight entertainment. Best suited to car travel.
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#*DVDs and Personal DVD Players. A laptop with a DVD drive works just as well as a personal DVD player. Bring along a set of earphones (or a splitter so you can have two sets of earphones), so your child's viewing of his/her favorite movie or TV show doesn’t interfere with the comfort of others. Although, if you are taking a plane flight, you can save on space and rely on the in-flight entertainment. Best suited to car travel.
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#*Electronic Games.
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#*Electronic Games. Handheld games are extremely popular for older kids and can keep them quiet for hours. Bring along a set of earphones so your child’s favorite game doesn’t interfere with the comfort of others. A long plane or car trip might be a good time to invest in a new game for a special surprise!
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#*Sticker Books. Reusable sticker books are great for early elementary age kids. You can find them in your child’s favorite TV/movie character or interest. And because they’re reusable you can create new scenes, stories or just mix them up for fun!
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#*Sticker Books. Reusable sticker books are great for early elementary age kids. You can find them in your child’s favorite TV/movie character or interest. And because they’re reusable you can create new scenes, stories or just mix them up for fun!
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#* Boards. Pegboards are fun for all ages of children: young children can just fit them into the slots, middle-aged children may make patterns, and older children can make designs. Geoboards are great for children over 3 years old. Children can make shapes or designs with
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#* Boards. Pegboards are fun for all ages of children: young children can just fit them into the slots, middle-aged children may make patterns, and older children can make designs. Geoboards are great for children over 3 years old. Children can make shapes or designs with rubber bands. Felt or flannel boards are great for making scenes with felt figures. Magnetic boards also serve this purpose, they just use magnetic figures instead of feeling ones. Try activity boards for young children, these can be purchased at the store, as well as dressing boards. These are great because all of the pieces are attached, so you won't lose anything. They are easy to store and have long playing value for toddlers and young preschoolers.
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#* Pretend play. Children love acting like adults and can learn adult ways from pretend play. Pack according to age: plastic keys made for babies for infants and toddlers, real ones for preschoolers. Also consider:
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#* Pretend play. Children love acting like adults and can learn adult ways from pretend play. Pack according to age: plastic keys made for babies for infants and toddlers, real ones for preschoolers. Also, consider:
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#*a wallet with play money and cards
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#*a wallet with play money and cards
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#*a camera
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#*a camera
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#*a compass
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#*a compass
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#* a doll with a blanket and a bottle or other simple item
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#* a doll with a blanket and a bottle or other simple item
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#Bring your car seat on the plane. One way to rein in a fidgety toddler is to take their car seat on the plane. Young kids behave much better in a familiar car seat, which keeps everyone happy. They can rest and fall asleep more easily in their car seat because it reminds them of riding in the car. Check with your airline first that this is permissible before lugging it down to the airport. Car seats also make for greater entertainment for younger children and make you not have to carry so many toys. Attach an unbreakable mirror to the soft side of the car seat, and a play steering wheel and keys to the side with the hard arms (though these may be soft at times, depending on the car seat). Suction toys are popular for the car seat tray
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#Bring your car seat on the plane. One way to rein in a fidgety toddler is to take their car seat on the plane. Young kids behave much better in a familiar car seat, which keeps everyone happy. They can rest and fall asleep more easily in their car seat because it reminds them of riding in the car. Check with your airline first that this is permissible before lugging it down to the airport. Car seats also make for greater entertainment for younger children and make you not have to carry so many toys. Attach an unbreakable mirror to the soft side of the car seat, and a play steering wheel and keys to the side with the hard arms (though these may be soft at times, depending on the car seat). Suction toys are popular for the car seat tray if the car seat has one.
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#*Attach up to 4 entertainment items on the car seat, then bring along some string or ribbon to attach small toys to the car seat. Also, many toy companies make toys that are attachable to the car seat. Changing the toys every so often is well worth it, for infants and toddlers.[[Image:Travel With Children on Long Trips Step 3.jpg|center]]
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#*Attach up to 4 entertainment items on the car seat, then bring along some string or ribbon to attach small toys to the car seat. Also, many toy companies make toys that are attachable to the car seat. Changing the toys every so often is well worth it, for infants and toddlers.[[Image: Travel With Children on Long Trips Step 3.jpg|center]]
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#Divide and conquer. Don't lose the kids, especially if you have more than one to keep an eye on. Decide ahead of time who is in charge of which child. This will eliminate the heart-sinking question “Where is so-and-so?? with the answer of “I thought you were watching him?" Miscommunication and lost children are not a good way to start a vacation![[Image:Travel With Children on Long Trips Step 4.jpg|center]]
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#Divide and conquer. Don't lose the kids, especially if you have more than one to keep an eye on. Decide ahead of time who is in charge of which child. This will eliminate the heart-sinking question “Where is so-and-so?? with the answer of “I thought you were watching him?" Miscommunication and lost children are not a good way to start a vacation![[Image: Travel With Children on Long Trips Step 4.jpg|center]]
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#Take precautions to guard against ear problems:<p>[[Image:Travel With Children on Long Trips Step 5.jpg|center]]
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#Take precautions to guard against ear problems:<p>[[Image: Travel With Children on Long Trips Step 5.jpg|center]]
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#*For babies: bring something they can suck on to help regulate their ears during the course of the flight, especially during ascent and descent. Airline flights can be quickly spoiled by a little one with an earache! Some ideas to try: Bottles of juice and/or water, pacifier, jello jigglers with extra Knox gelatin (this is messy but the kids love it!), or any Gerber baby type snacks. They dissolve quickly in the mouth eliminating a choking hazard (read safety precaution on the label before buying). Try such snacks as "Gerber stars" (lots of flavors), fruit snacks (these start dissolving almost instantly) and baby cereal bars. As of August 2006, such snacks and gel products may be prohibited under tight new security regulations. Check with the airline or government transport security sites for prohibited items.
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#*For babies: bring something they can suck on to help regulate their ears during the course of the flight, especially during ascent and descent. Airline flights can be quickly spoiled by a little one with an earache! Some ideas to try: Bottles of juice and/or water, pacifier, jello jigglers with extra Knox gelatin (this is messy but the kids love it!), or any Gerber baby type snacks. They dissolve quickly in the mouth eliminating a choking hazard (read safety precaution on the label before buying). Try such snacks as "Gerber stars" (lots of flavors), fruit snacks (these start dissolving almost instantly) and baby cereal bars. As of August 2006, such snacks and gel products may be prohibited under tight new security regulations. Check with the airline or government transport security sites for prohibited items.
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#*For toddlers and older children: toddlers and older kids don’t always understand how to regulate their ears by just swallowing, so a little help is sometimes required. Try Starbursts because they take a long time to chew and a lot of saliva begins flowing, which to
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#*For toddlers and older children: toddlers and older kids don’t always understand how to regulate their ears by just swallowing, so a little help is sometimes required. Try Starbursts because they take a long time to chew and a lot of saliva begins flowing, which to keep the child swallowing. Some other ideas are fruit snacks, gum and hard candy (for older children). Again, check with your airline or government transport security site to see what is and what isn't permitted to be carried on board.
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#Take items for mess clean ups. Keep a bag of wipes, hand sanitizer and disposable bags for dirty diapers nearby. Baby wipes can clean up almost anything—even something spilled on carpet. Hand sanitizer is a must for traveling with kids and those disposable bags are good for containing messy stuff besides diapers! And don't forget to bring your favorite brand of stain remover wipes or pens for those times when the baby wipes just aren't enough. As of August 2006, very strict security regulations are in place which may impact on which of these items you can take on a plane.[[Image:Travel With Children on Long Trips Step 6.jpg|center]]
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#Take items for mess clean ups. Keep a bag of wipes, hand sanitizer, and disposable bags for dirty diapers nearby. Baby wipes can clean up almost anything—even something spilled on the carpet. Hand sanitizer is a must for traveling with kids and those disposable bags are good for containing messy stuff besides diapers! And don't forget to bring your favorite brand of stain remover wipes or pens for those times when the baby wipes just aren't enough. As of August 2006, very strict security regulations are in place which may impact on which of these items you can take on a plane.[[Image: Travel With Children on Long Trips Step 6.jpg|center]]
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#Be flexible with your seating arrangements. If you’re traveling with a group
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#Be flexible with your seating arrangements. If you’re traveling with a group or a large number of family members, it might be fun to let your children choose which adult they want to sit by. If they don’t see Uncle Bob very often and want to sit by him (and Uncle Bob is okay with the idea), then relinquish parental control for a few hours. It’s a great time to talk and tell stories with people you don’t get to see every day. And the parents have a small rest![[Image: Travel With Children on Long Trips Step 7.jpg|center]]
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#Take snacks. Snacks, snacks and more snacks! Snacking keeps children busy and entertained. So pack your kids favorites for your long journey. The healthier the better - try carrot sticks, celery pieces, permitted nuts, gummy bears etc.[[Image:Travel With Children on Long Trips Step 8.jpg|center]]
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#Take snacks. Snacks, snacks and more snacks! Snacking keeps children busy and entertained. So pack your kids favorites for your long journey. The healthier the better - try carrot sticks, celery pieces, permitted nuts, gummy bears, etc.[[Image: Travel With Children on Long Trips Step 8.jpg|center]]</p>
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== Video ==
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== Video ==
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from wikiHow - Recent Changes [en] http://bit.ly/2EOs1G3
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