The following is a guest post by Jane Showls. Jane is a part-time teaching assistant, and is passionate about supporting children’s educational development. Most of her time outside the classroom is taken up by caring duties for her young family, but Jane also enjoys contributing to a travel blog and organizing her next foreign adventures.
Traveling can be an incredibly rewarding experience for adults and children alike. Time spent away from home exploring new places can form core memories during the developmental stages of your child’s life. But for children living with a disability, heading on holiday can be unsettling, as the comforts of home are stripped away and they’re suddenly in unfamiliar surroundings.
Depending on the nature of your child’s disability, their needs will vary slightly. However, there are some general factors to consider that will apply to the vast majority of traveling families. In this post, we outline our four top safety tips to keep you and your child safe while visiting new places.
Contact your accommodation and airline providers
One of the first things you’ll need to do is contact your accommodation and airline providers, to make them aware of your child’s needs. This way, they will be able to make any necessary provisions to your bookings to help ensure your child will be as comfortable as possible. Accessible modifications to buildings and processes associated with travel are becoming more commonplace, making it easier for everyone to enjoy the pleasures of going on holiday. However, it’s always worth double checking if your hotel has these accommodations in place.
These adjustments should go beyond physical modifications like wheelchair ramps. For instance, if your child has dietary needs, you will want to make sure these are accounted for in the hotel’s food menu. These things will typically be made clear at the time of booking, but it’s always worth double checking in advance of your trip to help everything go smoothly once you arrive.
Ease anxiety with some home comforts
It’s common for all children to feel a little anxious when going on holiday, particularly if air travel is involved. If they’re unable to control this anxiety, it can make flying extremely distressing for both the child and their parent/carer.
Over time, it’s likely that you’ll develop your own techniques that help to make this potentially stressful experience much easier. A great approach to try is packing a few home comforts. Not only will this hopefully help to ease any anxiety, but any tech or toys that they’re familiar with will also keep boredom at bay, making for a smoother journey. If they’ve got a tablet at home, download a few of their favourite television shows or movies, as well as some games to keep them occupied. This will also help to mitigate the stress of any unexpected delays, which can often be a feature of foreign travel.
Don’t leave planning to the last minute
Last-minute holidays can be a great idea if you’re travelling solo or even as a couple, but spontaneity generally isn’t the best approach when children are in tow. There will be so much to think about, so giving yourself a little extra breathing room will help to ensure nothing is forgotten about and you can enjoy a relatively stress-free break.
The first things you will want to think about are remembering any required medication or mobility aids. Beyond that, you can start to think about planning a child-friendly and accessible itinerary that considers both your their interests and needs.
Factoring in your child’s disability will naturally be a feature of everyday life, when planning things to do and places to go. But it’s even more important to keep accessibility in mind when planning an itinerary in a foreign country. Unfamiliarity with the area and potential language barriers can make it tricky to navigate some attractions, so make sure to do your research of the area in advance, and make decisions with this information in mind.
Speak with their doctor
As part of your holiday preparation, it can be reassuring to speak with a doctor to ensure your child is ready and safe to travel. On top of following general safety advice for family holidays, your child is likely to have more specific needs which a health professional will be able to advise on. This could include things like extra immunizations, depending on where you’re travelling to. They may also be able to give advice on the health services local to the area you’re visiting, in case you encounter any problems. Even if you’re not travelling far, it’s always best to seek professional medical advice.