March 2011 – Little Gulliver

Best time of day to travel

Mel said: March 27th 2011 8:22 PM
childinrestrained Hi! I will be traveling alone with my 19 month old son. What would be the best time to travel? I can get a 1am flight and I think I could get him back to sleep or one during the day? He is a very active little boy so I am leaning towards a night time flight. And I’ve checked, there are no flights around his bed time. He does travel well in the car on long trips. Any help would be great.

Donna @ Travel Toddler said: March 29th 2011 12:35 PM

Hi Mel,

a trip with your son sounds fun! I understand your thoughts on the best time to travel and it is certainly one we all wonder about. I guess its also worth giving some extra consideration when you’re travelling alone AND crossing a time zone, as you may be.

My only thoughts about travelling with a small child at night is to consider the worse case scenario. If he can’t get to sleep – neither can you and you may both begin your trip worn out. Of course you may
both board, drift off and wake blissfully hours later, its really hard to know!

Another thought is to consider your arrival time. Once I board a long flight I switch to the destination time and try and sleep accordingly. This always works for me and luckily I don’t suffer from jet lag. (I haven’t been able to try this with the kids though). The important thing is to consider what time of the day you will arrive at your destination -will you easily be able to make your way to your accommodation?

Of course, with either of these situations, you may not be able to have a choice, but when you do its something to think about.

To help with comfort on the plane take a look at the Zoobies (3-in-1 plush toy, pillow, blanket), animal neck rolls, disposable bibs and neoprene bibs. If you’re not using nappy pants, consider them as they are handy for a stand up change on the go. Try the ones that pull apart at the side (for travel they may be easier to get off if there’s a mess inside). The Little Gulliver Shop by age – Toddler category may be helpful. Also, I always pack a lunch box full of healthy snacks (after a history of flight delays). Make sure he understands only one snack at a time though (thats another story)!

playette_travel tray — Playette – Kids Travel Tray

And really, there are so many entertaining things on planes, people watching, perhaps looking out a window and don’t discount the in-flight magazine for a conversation starter. Take a look at the Little Gulliver – Play category for some extra activity ideas. Consider some colouring, while our Doodle Pro’s and Aquadoodle’s are popular for no mess. The Create-a-scene sticker books are also great for some creative fun with mum.

I’ve included some other blogs that have talked about some of these issues, you may find them useful;

is there a best time of day to travel with a baby or toddler?

first-time-traveling-with-baby-is-there-best-time-to-fly-other-advice

best time to fly part 1

travel tips

I think, instinctively, parents know whats best for their kids. So, after giving it some thought you feel your son will sleep well on the 1am flight, then perhaps he will. Ultimately, you’ve got to be comfortable and then, all going well, he too will be relaxed and enjoy the trip.

I hope you find this useful. I’ll also post your question on Little Gulliver’s Facebook page, some of the other parents (many of them frequent long haul travellers), may have some useful feedback.

Let me know what you decide and how it goes!

Regards,

Donna

Frommer’s on CARES

Arthur Frommer, of Frommers Travel Guides fame, recently included the CARES in his article “10 travel tips, including why you should go to China”.

Read the full article here.

Excerpt “10. Finally, among unusual new travel products is something called “CARES” (Child Aviation Restraint System), a harness-like seat belt for children under the age of 3 who also weigh less than 40 pounds. It’s an alternative to the child seat, and weighs only 1 pound.”

Arthur Frommer is the pioneering founder of the Frommer’s Travel Guide book series. He co-hosts the radio program, The Travel Show, with his travel correspondent daughter Pauline Frommer. Find more destinations online and read Arthur Frommer’s blog at frommers.com

Distributed by King Features Syndicate

Transport in Bali and Cuba

Nadia said: March 13th 2011 3:58 PM

Sent: March 14 2011 10:00 AM

My baby will be 8 months when travelling to Bali and 14 months when travelling to Cuba.

Do i need to take a baby seat with me, are seat belts installed in these country’s’ or is there other products that can help ensure the safety of my boy when travelling by car or bus without lugging around a cumbersome seat (we intend to backpack around).

Donna @ Little Gulliver said: March 17 2011 10:54 AM

Hi Nadia,

Car seats and their world-wide requirements is a really common question and sadly so hard to find information on. My thoughts are though, that I’m afraid you can’t go past a car seat to ensure ultimate safety, especially as some say driving in those areas tends to be a bit “haphazard”. The best option may be to take a car seat with you for car travel, but buses are unlikely to have seat belts.

International car seat laws

Now, the really annoying part for parents trying to do the right thing is that car seat standards are different the world over. Therefore, car seats approved for use here in Australia are unlikely to be “approved” for use overseas. So, is taking your own car seat practical anyway? In the 2 areas you are looking at it could be safe to assume the laws may not be too strict? And if you want to take a car seat on a plane that is a different problem all together.

I’ve got a few thoughts though, on how to make this a bit easier;

Rear facing car seat

I guess at 8 months and 14 months your son would still be in a rear facing car seat (at between around 9 – 11 kilos). If you didn’t want to take your own car seat, consider getting a second hand one specifically for the trip or a budget, light-weight version?

There’s also the Sit n Stroll from Lilly Gold, these are quite popular overseas and have had some good reviews. (I noticed there’s one on ebay in Australia at the moment. Also, I’m unsure if it is approved for use in Australian airlines or cars, so may just be useful for overseas travel). It’s worth checking how easy it is to convert from a stroller to a car seat…

The cars in both Bali and Cuba should have seat belts (but no bolts) so you’ll be fine installing a seat in a car, but as I mentioned the buses are unlikely to have seat belts (but you never know). Also, maybe look at a car seat which has a reclining feature since you may be on the road during sleep times.

Car Seat bags

Consider a car seat bag. Its an easy way to transport the car seat when not in use, there are some with wheels which make it easier to cart around. It also a great space to cram some extra nappies and wipes into.

Stroller

If you’re considering taking a stroller, we use a Quicksmart for travel. Another great option is to get a cheap umbrella stroller, one of the $20 varieties. They do the trick, you wont mind it it gets damaged in transit and you can even leave it there if you’re finished with it. Again, some sort of stroller bag may be handy, depending on what you’re already taking. And, have you seen the Ride On Carry On? I’m still a bit on the fence with this one, but it is popular and I can see it would be useful if you need an extra pair of hands. It may not work with your style of backpack anyway?

Car seat alternatives

I have to say first, that there really is no alternative to a car seat. But take a look at these and see what you think. There are 2 products that I know of which are designed to improve safety in vehicles. Again, neither really replaces the car seat. One is the Safefit. It moves a regular car seat strap into a more suitable position for a child. Coupled with a cushion booster seat to lift the child up, it could work well. Again though, some cushion booster’s are recommended from around 18 kilos, so not recommended for your child’s size. Another is the Ride Safer Vest. I’m not sure, again whether these would suit you at 8 and 14 months and how easily you could get one. A blog I have found useful (though our youngest is now 2, sigh), Travels with Baby, has a great car seat alternatives post (bearing in mind its US based).

Some reading on Cuba

In Cuba, it sounds like the Casa’s, hotels and rented apartments are great options for families, while travelling on public transport works well. Apparently just allow extra time for travel, as many Cubans will want to stop you to see your child! We have family visiting Cuba as we speak, so I may be able to add some more feedback about travelling there at a later time.

http://www.babygoes2.com/

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/

http://www.travelpod.com/

http://www.tripadvisor.com/

Some reading on Bali

http://www.balibaby.com/

http://www.tripadvisor.com/

CARES

Your son may still be too young to fit into a CARES flight harness for the travel you have planned for this year. It’s worth some thought for the future though, especially as you seem to be frequent travellers. And, of course, it and other handy Travel Essentials for Kids are available from www.LittleGulliver.com.au!

I hope I’ve been able to add some useful insights and information for you here. I’d love to hear what you think and how you go. They sound like great trips. There is a lot to think about re the car seat, so in the end, just go with what you feel comfortable with.

Finally, apologies for my delay in replying, I’m catching up after the labour day long weekend here in Victoria. We had some beautiful Autumn weather so all was good!

Regards,

Donna.

Child safety on board light aircraft

Phone query from Doug: March 1st 2011

Little Gulliver had a lovely phone call from Doug, who pilots his own light aircraft. He is looking into safety on board when he takes his grandchildren on a trip. The CARES will be used for the older children, but what are the best options for the baby (then aged approximately 3 months old)? The aircraft does not have bassinets installed.

Ben @ Little Gulliver said: March 3 2011 1:18 PM

Hello Doug,

Thanks for visiting Little Gulliver and your query on Tuesday. I spoke to Donna, our chief researcher, and your findings are in line with our understanding.

CARES with packaging For children over 1, the only two child restraint options for use in all phases of flight are an Australian standard car seat (AS 1754) or CARES restraint. Although, for an Aust. car seat to comply, the airline must be willing to provide the 3^rd overhead tether belt which may then restrict the use of any tray table directly behind the child’s seat and also limit feet rest area for the passenger behind. Each car seat will carry a different height and width dimension and this is why the airlines still have a policy of needing the exact make and model of the seat to cross check with the type of airline seat the child will most likely use.

We do not have access to any lists of which carseat is suitable for which airline seat unfortunately. For your particular aircraft, any Australian approved car seat that fits your seat configuration should provide a compliant seat for your baby passengers who are too young for a CARES. It will need to be setup in the window seat or bulkhead seat so it does not impede other passenger’s ability to move about. One brand we’ve seen mentioned is the Britax Safe N Sound Compaq car seat. The other brands I’d seen mentioned are US standard only so not available for use out here.

Additionally, airlines traditionally only recognise the car seat safety standard requirements of the country they are registered in, so US airlines will be OK with US standard car seats but not allow Aust standard ones on board. This makes it very difficult if travelling across multiple airlines for any overseas travel.

For a baby flyer, the options are even more limited. The infant lap belt is common on Australian airlines but banned in other parts of the world. Evidence appears to show them as relatively ineffective in certain circumstances too. A baby can be in a bassinet arrangement if under 3 months old, but you indicated this isn’t relevant for your charter craft. A suitable car seat or the infant lap belt are the only approved item for such young flyers.

Here’s a couple of articles that may be of interest, apologies if you’ve come across them already. Flying with babies – this is an article Donna published on our blog. This article also links to a Flight Safety Australia Fly Baby Fly discussing babies on board (it was published in 2004, but there appears to have been little progress on the issue since). We also list the links to the latest child restraint policies for most local airlines here.

I hope this helps, please let me know if I can assist with any other queries.

Kind regards

Ben

Dreams Come True at the ACMI

We had a lovely family day at the ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image in Melbourne’s Federation Square) this past weekend. We saw the ‘Dreams Come True‘ exhibition – the art of Disney Classic Fairy Tales. Not only were there some of our favourite Disney movies showing (and we had a look how they were drawn) we also caught a train and a tram!

The kids loved wandering through the exhibition and were excited to see which Fairy Tale we would come to next! Starting with Snow White and finishing with Tangled it was (almost) too exciting…
We caught a tram there, a big treat if you’re 2, 3 & 4! Slight problem was, it had been that long since Mum and Dad had been on a tram we had some ticket issues. The ticket machine was only coin operated – and we didn’t have that many coins, ooops. Do people really know to carry change for trams? Anyway, plan ahead and buy in advance! Its worth checking the Met website too, you can buy Met tickets online and they deliver. There are Sunday savers too. I think we’ll stock up for next time!

As we had a warm weekend in Melbourne we had to break out the sunglasses, hats and sunscreen for the trip. The Banz sunglasses and hats are big hits at our house. The hats have an adjustable band and the three pairs of sunglasses all fit in one of the sunglasses cases for easy storage.

We arrived at Federation Square to find the Melbourne food and wine festival in full swing. There were many activities for kids (food related). We enjoyed planting our own strawberries and digging for potatoes. They also had ‘Willy Wonker and the Chocolate Factory’ on the big screen with deckchairs and free popcorn – very popular!
The temperature climbed to 27 degrees celsius, so the Cheeki drink bottles came in handy. The kids handle them really well. They have a twist spout (which I prefer as our kids tend to pull the pop tops with their teeth). I just keep an eye on the 2yo, as he doesn’t use his as much and sometimes closes the lid without closing the spout…

The only down side to the trip were the toilet facilities at Flinders Street Station, best avoided or at least make sure you have your Cleanspray. Enough said.

All in all a fun day out, we all had a ball. The kids managed to tire themselves out and went to bed early…mums and dads – dreams really do come true!

Travel Brochures Online

Plan your holiday with free travel information and free brochures.

I’m often asked for family travel ideas. A great way is to start with browsing some brochures and see what appeals. While there are a few brochure sites around, I like this one Travel Brochures Online. It includes great information from operators like Trafalgar, Intrepid, Peregrine, Club Med and Creative Holidays. You can download your brochure immediately or have up to 7 posted out to you. So if you’re planning a trip, or looking for ideas it is a good place to start! There are plenty of famiy travel ideas – go to ‘Special interest – Family’.

Note; and the good news is – this is a brochure service only – they will not contact you. For any travel reservations you should contact the tour operators direct.

Happy reading!