Infant traveling internationally

12 tips on how to travel internationally with a baby

Traveling with an infant is already an adventure -- and traveling abroad with one is an even bigger feat to tackle.

Knowing the rules, researching and prepping ahead of time and packing the right things can make (or break) your first international trip with a baby. If you're in the know, you can take advantage of all the options afforded to traveling families, from bassinets on the plane and security shortcuts to special infant fares and other perks.

Covering everything from booking and documents to travel insurance and even jet lag, this guide provides everything you need to prepare for an international trip with your baby.

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Get your baby's passport

Before you get too far into planning a trip abroad, you'll need to get your baby's first passport.

While you're at it, make sure everyone else in the family has a valid passport, too. Remember, U.S. passports for children under 16 expire after five years, not 10 years like adult passports. Also, make sure everyone's passport isn't nearing expiration. Many countries require three or six months of validity to enter, which effectively means that child passports are really only valid for 4 1/2 years, which go quickly.

When getting a passport for your baby, here are the main steps to follow:

1. Get their birth certificate.
2. Find out where to apply.
3. Make an appointment. You'll need to go in person and bring your baby with you.
4. Take their passport photo. It can be difficult to get a photo of your baby. Rules for photos state that the child/baby should be looking directly at the camera with a natural smile or neutral look. If you can manage to get the baby's eyes to stay open, that's typically enough for their first passport photo. The background should be white and the size 2 by 2 inches with no filters. Within that size, your baby/child's head needs to be 1 to 1 3/8 inches (25 to 35 mm) from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head. If you're struggling to get everything just right, the ItsEasy App can help you crop and size your photo to the correct dimensions.
5. Gather the paperwork. Fill out Form DS-11 and take your baby's birth certificate plus photocopies of each document. Bring a couple of photos, a valid ID for each parent, a photocopy of parental IDs and the fee (you can pay by check). Fees are currently $100 for the passport and $35 for processing.
6. Attend the appointment in person with both parents present. If only one parent can go, fill out and bring parental consent form DS-3053 plus a copy.

Get your baby Global Entry

If you already have Global Entry, you won't be able to use the service as a family if your little ones don't have it. So, get a start on your baby's application. Or, if this is something your whole family wants to do, apply simultaneously, making expiration dates and renewals easier to complete for everyone at the same time.

Do note that with TSA PreCheck, kids 12 and under won't need to have their own number to accompany parents through these special security lanes -- but that's not true for Global Entry, which you use to return to the U.S.

Check with your doctor

Check with your pediatrician to see when your baby can start flying.

To give you an idea, TPG talked to Dr. Jenny Yu, medical director at Healthline, to find out when it's typically safe for babies to travel. “While babies typically develop their immune system around 1 month, most pediatricians would recommend waiting until 3 to 6 months for travel,” she said. For premature babies, it might be a little longer.

Also, with international travel, it's important to factor in any additional vaccines they might need, especially if you're traveling to emerging countries. Start by checking with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for recommendations on which vaccines both adults and babies should get, then talk with your pediatrician to see what is best for your family, baby and travel situation.

Other important questions to ask your doctor should be if your baby can wear sunblock or mosquito repellent and how to keep your baby and your whole family safe from tropical or waterborne diseases, COVID-19 and any other possible infections, which can depend highly on your destination.

Pick the right destination

Whether it's a far-flung visit to Asia, a trip to visit family in Europe, a Caribbean escape or an African safari, you can travel anywhere with a baby as long as you and your family feel comfortable doing so. Choose a destination that makes you feel joy, not anxiety or stress at the thought of getting there and enjoying it with your baby.

Consider things like the activities you want to do, and if the destination is a place that feels welcoming for families. Also think about logistics, like the language barrier, climate and local transportation, when deciding if that particular destination is right for your family.

Book tickets

Depending on how old your baby is, you have some options when flying abroad with them. Here are a few to consider:

• Lap infant: If your baby is under 2 years old, they don't need their own seat. They can instead sit on the lap of a ticketed adult. For international travel, some airlines charge 10% to 30% of the adult ticket price or just the taxes and fees for a lap infant, and some airlines don't charge anything at all. This table shows the costs by airline to buy your baby a lap ticket. Make sure to check on luggage policies when traveling with a lap infant. Most airlines allow for a stroller and car seat checked free of charge. You may also be able to check or carry on additional baggage, too, but more on that later.
• Bassinet for lap infant: Many airlines have bassinet options, especially aboard larger aircraft that fly internationally. See if you can select this option while booking or call the airline for more information on securing a bassinet. Bassinets are usually free, but given to those who request them first. Ask for one right after booking to ensure you'll be assigned a seat with one when available. In most cases, bassinet weight limits max out at 20 to 24 pounds, so they're best for smaller babies and newborns.
• Extra seat with car seat or restraint for babies 2 years and up: If your baby is older than 2 years, you must pay for their seat. Many airlines have discounted tickets for children. If the child weighs more than 44 pounds, they won't need any additional restraint system within their own seat. If they weigh less than 44 pounds, see the information on a certified child restraint or car seat below.
• Additional seat with car seat or restraint for babies under 2: If your baby is less than 2 years old, you can still book them their own seat. In fact, the Federal Aviation Administration suggests that children under 44 pounds wear an FAA-approved harness (such as the CARES harness) or certified child restraint to help keep them safe during turbulence, takeoff and landing. Make sure to check your car seat to see if there is an FAA-approved sticker on it.

It's worth noting that car seat, bassinet and harness options and policies vary wildly by airline and class of service. For more information on these policies by airline, read this article on 23 airline car seat and bassinet policies around the world.

Note that when booking seats for your family on an international flight, there are areas where kids and babies are not allowed to sit, like exit rows. Malaysia Airlines doesn't allow babies in its first-class cabins on A380 and 747 aircraft. Some international airlines such as AirAsia, Scoot and IndiGo also have kid-free and quiet zones where families with babies and children under a certain age (usually 10 or 12) aren't allowed to sit.

Additionally, if your baby is closer to 2 years old, you might want to compare the price of a lap ticket to the price of getting them their own seat. Sometimes, the price difference may not be that much, and it could make the flight more comfortable for the entire family.

Organize documents, including visas and COVID-19 forms

Passports aren't the only documents you'll need for international travel these days. Check to see if you and your baby need a visa to enter whatever country you're visiting. If you're traveling without your partner, look into completing a Child Consent Form.

Have proof of vaccines, complete any health forms and entry forms and take those COVID-19 tests if required to enter the country. Be clear on if your baby or children need to wear masks during the flight and plan accordingly. While babies 2 and up need to wear masks on board U.S. airlines, international airlines have different rules. For example, Iberia only requires children 6 and up to wear masks. Presently, British Airways has made masking up for all passengers a "personal choice" when not required by international law. We expect these rules to continue to rapidly evolve.

It's worth checking what documents you need for the trip when booking and again before traveling to ensure that you have everything you need as rules and regulations frequently change, especially in this era of pandemic travel.

Understand luggage rules

Different airlines have varying rules for how much luggage you can take when traveling abroad, especially when traveling with lap infants or children/babies occupying their own seats. Most airlines allow you to check a stroller and/or car seat. Many also offer additional checked luggage, as well as a carry-on bag or item for the baby.

For example, British Airways allows both lap infants and children ages 2 and up to have a carry-on item and a checked bag in most cases, giving parents a little flexibility when bringing along all those key items babies need. Cathay Pacific allows lap infants two additional bags at 10 kilograms each when flying between most destinations.

If you aren't clear on the luggage rules, call the airline before traveling to confirm so you won't get stuck with any surprises or have to pay additional fees.

Know the rules for breast milk and formula

Thanks to the Friendly Airports for Mothers Improvement Act, all large- and medium-size airports in the U. S. now provide lockable, non-bathroom places to pump or nurse babies in every terminal and at least one men's and one women's restroom with changing tables in each terminal. This may not be the case abroad, so if you're concerned, research your destination airport to see what options are provided when it comes to these services.

You shouldn't have any issues flying with breast milk or formula on your outbound trip from the U.S., as regular Transportation Security Administration liquid regulations don't apply to these special liquids. According to the TSA, "reasonable quantities" of these liquids are allowed, but you must take them out during screening for the security officer to test.

You can look up rules to see what's allowed when returning from your destination. For example, the United Kingdom allows breast milk past security in containers up to 2,000 milliliters. You can also take formula, milk and bottled water for the baby, but the baby must be present. In the European Union, you can take breast milk and formula through security and when flying as long as your baby is traveling with you.

Your airline may also provide clarity on these types of rules. Cathay Pacific, for example, states that breastfeeding is allowed during all phases of the flight, using an electric pump is allowed once electric devices can be switched on and travelers can even bring along suitably packed dry ice to refrigerate expressed milk, assuming it's declared during check-in.

According to some airlines, if you're taking a large breast pump along, this may count as a medical device and not be part of your carry-on allowance, but these regulations often aren't very clear. Contact your airline for more information and print out the rules in case you have any issues during security screening or boarding.

If you're traveling from a very obscure destination within an emerging country and you can't find answers about bringing breast milk, it may be best to have a Plan B in place, such as bringing along enough formula in powder form to last you for the flight or planning to pump or breastfeed in flight.

Should you want to ship your breast milk abroad, options are available for you depending on your destination, such as Maven Milk and Milk Stork.

Book accommodations

When booking accommodations in your destination abroad, take things into account like baby necessities, baby-friendly items, the option to do laundry and the availability to heat, cool and store milk and formula. Choosing a vacation rental instead of a hotel may be the right idea if you need more space, a kitchen and laundry facilities.

If your baby is eating solid foods, make sure there are restaurants or supermarkets nearby where you can get exactly what you need. Doing a little pre-trip research can help you feel confident and comfortable when traveling with your baby regardless of which hotel or home rental you choose to stay in.

Pack strategically

Packing with a baby can seem precarious, but it doesn't have to be. Just make sure you have enough of everything you need to get through the flight, plus a bit extra in case of delays or cancellations. For an exact list of everything you need to pack, see this article on how to pack -- and prepare -- for travel with a baby.

For extra-long flights, try to have everything to help your baby comfortably nap on hand, like a lovey, blanket, pacifier and more. Have changes of clothes on hand for the whole family in case of a messy situation, and enough layers for a plane that may be hot or chilly. A baby carrier can be key, too.

When packing for a trip abroad, the most important items to remember are everyone's passport, visa and key documents, plus anything essential that you know you can't get in another country. Babies live all over the world, so you can easily get items like diapers, wipes, formula and more anywhere. However, you may not find the exact brand you want, or if you're going somewhere rural or far-flung, like on a safari in Africa, you may want to bring enough for your entire trip.

For example, Enfamil, a popular baby formula brand, is found all over Europe and even in the Caribbean and Latin America. However, it may not be available in Africa or Asia, so do your homework.

If you're traveling with items that need to plug in to charge, like a breast pump, baby monitor or nightlight, bring converters if necessary. You can always rent baby items abroad, too, rather than lugging everything along with you. It's possible to preorder diapers and wipes in many destinations, as well.

Strongly consider travel insurance

Things happen. While getting the flu abroad may not be a big deal for an adult, a sick baby can be scary and stressful, especially if you're in a foreign country. Having travel insurance that covers accidents and emergencies -- and COVID-19, too -- can set your mind at ease and save the day if something happens.

Before travel, note where the nearest hospital or health care facilities are, as well as any international hospitals where staff may be more likely to speak English. Know exactly how to use your insurance, like what numbers to call or what to do if a situation arises. Check if any of your credit cards have travel insurance that may cover you and your family if things go awry.

Plan for jet lag

Jet lag stinks. Jet lag with a baby might be even worse. There are things you can do to make jet lag a little less stressful, though, especially when traveling abroad to very different time zones.

First, give yourselves a few days to adjust, planning big events later in the trip. Limit your baby's naps when possible. If your baby takes a five-hour nap, they definitely won't be sleeping through the night.

Shift mealtimes, naptimes and bedtimes to the new time zone as quickly as possible, getting daylight during the day and darkness at night, so internal clocks begin to adjust for the whole family. If the time zone difference is small, you may want to keep your baby on the original time zone to minimize disruption, especially for a shorter trip.

For more tips on combating jet lag with a baby in tow, read this guide on surviving jet lag with your baby.

Bottom line

Planning and taking an international trip with a baby can be simple and create memories for a lifetime if you prepare just right. With a little bit of extra research, you'll be armed with everything you need to know, do and bring to make your trip abroad smooth and hassle-free.

Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

9 Tips For International Travel with an Infant

Thinking about going on a vacation overseas with a young baby? Your friends and family will say, “You’re crazy.” We say, “Go for it!” International travel with an infant isn’t easy, but it’s simpler than you think. Although your little one won’t remember the experience, you’ll always treasure your memories of baby’s first trip.

Get a quote for the OneTrip Prime travel insurance plan, which can cover children 17 and under for free when traveling with a parent or grandparent.

1. Travel before your baby becomes mobile.

Many new parents think they should wait nine or even 12 months before going on a big trip. But traveling with a squirming, crawling baby, or a toddler, is much more challenging than with a babe in arms. At three to six months, your baby is less fragile than a newborn, but is still easy to wrangle and sleeps a lot. Plus, airline seats are free for infants in laps.

2. Consult your pediatrician before planning a big trip with your baby.

Your doctor can advise you if your baby’s old enough and well enough to travel, and if any extra vaccinations are suggested. Your doctor can also offer suggestions for keeping your baby healthy on the trip, including medications to pack. Don’t listen to well-meaning friends who advise dosing your baby with Benadryl or similar medicines to get them to sleep on the plane. In many cases, these medications make babies restless, instead of drowsy.

3. Get a travel insurance plan that covers children for free.

Chances are you’ve experienced that nightmare moment when your baby wakes up screaming at 2 a.m. with a 103-degree fever. Now imagine you’re in a hotel overseas when that happens. What should you do? Who do you call?

If you have travel insurance, you don’t have to panic. Call the Emergency Assistance hotline from anywhere in the world, and our multilingual experts will help you obtain emergency care, medication or whatever else you need. Emergency medical benefits and emergency transportation benefits can cover the cost of a medical evacuation or medical care if your little one experiences a covered medical emergency while you’re overseas. And last but not least, trip cancellation and trip interruption benefits can reimburse you for your non-refundable, pre-paid trip payments if you have to cancel or interrupt the trip for a covered reason.

Best of all, you don’t have to pay any extra to protect your little one. Both the OneTrip Prime Plan and the OneTrip Premier Plan cover children aged 17 and under for free when they're traveling with a parent or grandparent.

4. Choose a baby-friendly destination.

One of the hardest parts of traveling with an infant (or young children) is that insidious feeling that people are judging you. Are plane passengers annoyed by your baby’s babbles? Is his crying going to wake up the people in the hotel room next to yours? Avoid the stress by picking a destination where you know you’ll be welcomed.

Possibilities include resorts that advertise family-friendly amenities, like Club Med’s Baby Club Med with activities geared for infants. Key things to look for: vacation nannies, rooms with kitchenettes, baby pools, baby- and toddler-friendly food, and baby gear (like bathtubs and bottle warmers) provided on-site.

5. Don’t forget your baby’s passport and paperwork.

If you’re traveling internationally with your baby, she needs a passport. Make an appointment at your nearest passport acceptance center for a time when your baby will be calm and alert, because for the passport photo she must be looking at the camera with eyes open – and not screaming. Read the passport requirements for minors first.

Also, if you are traveling as a single parent, or with a grandchild, niece or nephew, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) strongly recommends carrying a notarized letter from the child's other parent(s) that gives permission to travel overseas with the child.¹ Other countries may require that you carry this letter, a birth certificate and/or proof of guardianship in order to gain entry.²

6. Pack more than you need.

When it comes to international travel with an infant, there’s no such thing as over-packing. If you think you’ll need 10 outfits, pack 15. Remember that basic baby items such as formula or diapers may not be available where you’re staying, or may be prohibitively expensive. The Transportation Security Administration will let you bring bottles on board, but read the guidelines for traveling with children first.

Now, you do have to set realistic expectations for the amount of gear you can carry — especially if you’re traveling solo. A simple baby wrap might be better than a bulky backpack carrier. And if you just can’t schlep the stroller, car seat and luggage, look into renting baby gear at your destination.

Read more: Packing Checklist for Flying With an Infant

7. Pack clothes and toiletries for

True story: My husband and I took our 4-month-old on a short vacation to Rio Bueno, Jamaica. We made it through two flights, a long customs line and a bumpy bus ride, no problem. Then we arrived at the resort and made a beeline for the pool bar. Traveling with an infant’s not so hard! we thought, clinking our Red Stripes. Then, I looked down and saw a big, damp stain on my navy dress. Yep — I was the victim of an unnoticed diaper blowout.

Fortunately, I was able to dash to our hotel room for a quick change of clothes (me) and diaper (her). But what if I’d been on the plane, or otherwise in transit? Try to anticipate your possible needs as a parent, so you can avoid baby-caused disasters. 

8. Defend your baby from germs — but don’t freak out.

The thought of your baby crawling around on an airport floor or touching a plane tray table probably makes you squirm. But that’s just what babies do — you can’t stop them! What you can do is carry appropriate defenses. Pack a blanket for floor playtime, wipe down hard surfaces on the plane, and wash baby’s hands as often as you can. In fact, one parent found hand-washing to be the magic distraction for an 11-hour international flight with a toddler: “He pumped the foamy soap, squealed with delight as he lathered up, rinsed and walked back. Walk, lather, rinse, walk back, repeat.” 

Read more: How to Avoid Germs on Planes

9. Ask for help.

A friend was traveling solo to England with her infant son when he got violently airsick on the plane. She felt awful, but the Virgin Atlantic flight attendants were as kind as could be. They helped her clean up her baby, get him the fluids he needed, and even arranged for assistance with her luggage when she landed.

Now, you can’t expect flight attendants to solve all your problems when you’re taking a long international flight with baby. “We do not have diapers, wipes or extra clothes on the plane,” writes flight attendant Leisha Poage. “The best we can do as flight attendants is to provide you with trash bags for the dirty clothes.”³ Nor can you expect them to hold your baby, serve baby food or have special snacks. But flight attendants, gate agents and hotel staff will do their best to help in a pinch — you just have to ask. You’ll be surprised by how gracious most people are when they see you’re traveling with a baby.

Related Articles

• The Essential Packing Checklist for Flying with an Infant
• International Travel Insurance Benefits
• Travel During Pregnancy: What Does Travel Insurance Cover?

"The little one just crawled along the beach and ate sand.

Recently, more and more young parents are traveling the world with their young children. They are not afraid of either the cold, or unsanitary conditions, or the vagaries of the child. To show people with a different worldview why it's not scary, we talked to brave moms and dads and found out how and why they decided to travel many kilometers with a child.

PR-manager Anastasia Zaitseva: “Europe is adapted for children even more than Belarus”

Anastasia Zaitseva

“After the birth of my son, I never considered the option of traveling only with my husband: I think it is wrong to leave a small child for a long time with grandparents. The thought that I went to “recover my health” and left the child in the post-Chernobyl zone would simply gnaw at me. At a young age, children are a priori more attached to moms and dads, to their habits, well, grandmothers often unjustifiably pamper their grandchildren, and then you have to re-educate (smiles). In addition, I myself was taken on trips from a very early age, now I don’t remember much, but I look at the photos and thank my parents for not leaving me at home like an unnecessary suitcase. When I was pregnant, I read Masaru Ibukim's book "After 3 It's Too Late", where it was said that the more emotions a child experiences at an early age, the more neural connections will appear in his head. Probably, because of this statement, we went abroad with the child when he was only 11 months old: we went to Belgium to watch and taste real chocolate. After that, there were already eight times at sea. You experience simply unreal feelings when you see how your child is surprised by the waves for the first time, trying unfamiliar food. I really like to look at this childish delight.

I understand that due to frequent travels, the son is not afraid of people of other nationalities, he does not have questions like “why is my uncle black?” or “why does my aunt have narrow eyes?”.

He grows up as a cosmopolitan, a man of the world, our generation was very different at his age. Everyone is still very worried about food. Firstly, no one forbids you to throw as many dry Belarusian children's cereals into your suitcase as you like and ask the hotel to put a kettle in the room to brew them. Secondly, the same Europe is maximally adapted for children, probably even more than Belarus, therefore, in principle, problems with food never arise there. After all, this is not Vietnam with its exotic cuisine! In addition, the rotovirus, which everyone is so afraid of catching on trips, can be easily "picked up" in our country - who said that other travelers do not bring it here?

I used to take with me only those medicines that can help a child in the first hours of the virus, and then I was convinced from personal experience that in any European country the level of pharmaceuticals is much higher than ours. I remember that the kid fell, broke his knee - they bought some kind of gel, anointed it, and after two days the crust was gone from the wound. So now I don’t drive, but take medicines out of vacation. And the last thing: many people are worried about temperature changes. Tell me, is there a country in the world where these very changes happen more often than in Belarus? In general, for me, all these reasons are not so important as to miss the first impressions of my son.

Kansas City Mayor’s Innovation Department employee Yaroslav Bekish: “My wife and I have a life hack for flights”

Yaroslav Bekish

“We always made tent outings with our smallest children. And with the grown-ups - those who are more than five months old - already allowed themselves to go on long-distance business trips, after which they stayed on vacation. Were in Thailand, Peru, Morocco, and in less exotic countries too. Six months ago, when the children were already five, six, three and a half and one and a half years old, we went to the USA for a year, where we are still staying. Just recently we went with tents from Kansas to Mexico. The problem in such trips is only in the case of flights, but we also have a life hack: you need to get the cub hungry before takeoff and before landing, give him milk at this time - and he does not scream. And most importantly, the ears will not be blocked and the risk of atitis will disappear. For some reason, many do not know this.

In general, there are few specific problems for children when traveling. Everything is extremely simple: you need to walk wherever there is a swing, but sometimes they don’t want to or it’s scary to climb into the water or jump over stones with you. Well, their evening and night life does not provide for an adult format (a couple of times I managed to find trusted nannies, and then you could get out somewhere in the evening). Otherwise, you simply have more people in your team, which means more risks, expenses for insurance and food, and so on, which is also the case in ordinary “home” life. My wife and I have already forgotten how it is to travel without children. ”

PR manager, ex-editor of the City of Women magazine Maria Stolyarova: “The main thing is more ice cream”

Maria Stolyarova

Our son Gleb went on a trip with us for the first time when he was 3.5 years old - it seems that he is not such a baby, but, nevertheless, far from being an adult child. We flew to Italy for two weeks on a super-saturated program. Gleb saw Milan, and Bergamo, and Verona, and visited Cinque Terre with us, even made a small climb in the Ligurian park, about one kilometer in height. And he did it himself! I remember how at the top we met a couple of Englishmen, and they exclaimed: “Oh my god! This is baby! Impossible! We reacted very emotionally to a three-year-old who climbed with us and did not whine in the heat that his legs hurt, although it took a lot of work for adults to climb this kilometer up. On that trip, Gleb had ten crossings on domestic trains in Italy, two trips by sea on a boat and one boat trip on Lake Lecco. Of course, there were whims, and in the middle of the square in Bergamo, we had him lying in hysterics, and the Italians gave him ice cream to calm down. I think it was just fatigue that took its toll. It's great that we have a big tall dad - part of the trip Gleb sat on his neck, this made it very easy for everyone to move around. But in general, the son was a great fellow, he was able to become a full-fledged participant in all our excursions.

The fact that we will go to Italy and leave him at home with his grandmother was out of the question. We want to show our son the same world that we see ourselves: the same museums, lakes, cities, ships, islands, people. Yes, any trip, even a small outing from home, is plus a backpack with a change of clothes, food and medicine for the child. And I won't say it's inconvenient. It is so. We did not give birth to him in order to make our lives easier or more difficult, we really wanted him, he is a full-fledged participant in all family affairs. I remember that at the age of four he was with us in Crete. We traveled almost the entire island. If your luggage allows, you can take a scooter with you, then everything is easy: it rides, you go. At five we again went to Italy, to San Marino, to Urbino. He goes everywhere with us. The main thing is more ice cream.

ARS Communications Managing Partner Viktor Yelistratov: “We didn’t even think of leaving our son to grandmothers”

Viktor Yelistratov

“A child is a full-fledged member of the family and should share happiness and joy along with other household members. Therefore, there was no thought of leaving one's own home. The first time we flew on a trip with a child when he was five months old. They didn’t even think about leaving him to his grandmothers, if only because the child was very attached to us, the parents, and was completely breastfed. As our experience has shown, the younger the child, the easier it is to travel with him: you can safely sit in a cafe, walk around the city while he sleeps in a stroller, and he can oversleep the whole flight. The older the baby becomes, the more he requires attention, and not only parents. I won’t say that it’s difficult to relax with a child, it’s just a completely different type of trip, and you need to thoroughly prepare for it. Previously, we could book accommodation at the last moment, travel with transfers, several flights a day, we liked to stay in a hotel. Now we are trying to fly direct flights, rent apartments with a kitchen, a washing machine and a large veranda. However, once again, this is an amazing experience. And joint trips give a bunch of positive emotions and impressions that would not be possible without the participation of a small and beloved traveler.”

Editor-in-chief of GreenBelarus Yanina Melnikova: “We completely got rid of potty addiction while traveling”

Yanina Melnikova

My daughter and I travel constantly - this is our conscious parental choice. For the first time they went far from Belarus when she was 1.2 years old, to Palanga. A year later, there was a trip near Odessa to Chernomorsk, a year later - to the Iron Port. Traveling was a lot of fun. For example, when we went to the Black Sea, my daughter had just learned to speak, so she greeted everyone all the way and introduced us, her parents. It would have been ordinary and unfunny, but she, like in a cartoon about a polite dog, tried to quickly say hello, introduce us and say goodbye right on the go from the car.

At the age of three, she went to the sea to save dolphins, "because they are bored."

It's funny that my daughter saw dolphins on the very first day of the trip: they swam literally fifty meters from the shore. Delight so far. And it was on trips that we completely got rid of potty addiction. It was uncomfortable, so I just stopped taking it with me, replaced the potty with a special children's toilet seat for an adult toilet. The child is so used to this "gadget" that I completely got rid of this unpleasant mother's duty - to take out the pots.

We travel by car all the time, we never had any problems with this transfer. The only thing, it should be noted that the younger the daughter was, the easier it was to travel: the child sleeps a lot on the road, or eats sweets, or plays. Therefore, my main conclusion from all trips (including around Belarus) is that you need to carefully organize your baby's leisure time. It’s good to take a new toy or even two with you - the child will definitely get carried away, and at the same time get fresh impressions. Albums, pencils, felt-tip pens are also required on the road. On a long journey - a tablet and headphones, we never do without these gadgets, so we specially bought a holder in the car to fix the tablet and not spoil children's eyes. We also download songs, sometimes we sing in the car.

Food is also important, of course. We constantly fill the lunchbox with all sorts of dried fruit nuts - it turns out both a snack and an activity in one bottle. You can choose by color, count and so on. Another important thing in our case: we have been carrying our daughter in a car seat since the very first day. She is trained to be safe and right. To make it comfortable to play or draw on the road, they bought her a separate special and soft table, not traumatic, but quite strong. On it you can lay out toys, albums, books, or, say, a box with Lego parts that can be assembled for several hours in a row. With a child, it is important not to rush anywhere. Do not be nervous if you need to stop once again, take a walk, smell the sunflowers, take pictures in a field with poppies. If there are settlements along the way, schedule a stop for a normal lunch and a walk in the playground. In general, when traveling with children, there are more far-fetched fears than real ones. Children are calm and happy next to calm and happy parents. Trite, but true."

Impresario, founder of MuzzicDom Alexander Chakhovsky: “With the advent of the third baby, only one rule remains in the family: if a child eats from a cat’s bowl, it’s a cat’s problem”

Alexander Chakhovsky

“I will not call myself an avid traveler - rather, I just often travel abroad. I remember once flying to Singapore with a transfer: I was simply shocked when I saw two or three weeks old babies at the Dubai airport. All problems related to traveling with young children exist only in our heads. It is possible to take even the youngest children on vacation, the main thing is to do it wisely. I would not call my first experience as such: when my daughter was one and a half years old, my ex-wife and I decided to go to Egypt for ten days. The advantage of the trip is obvious - the child received a powerful boost of vitamin D, which, it seems, cannot be obtained in Belarus at all. Well, fresh fruits and the sea had a good effect on the children's body. Minus travel - we went in the winter. From minus weather we got into very warm weather, and when the child had just acclimatized to the sudden summer, he had to be taken back to minus. Not every adult tolerates such a temperature difference well, suffers from herpes upon arrival, and so on - what can we say about a small person. Therefore, with the second child, for the first time, we flew on a trip in the summer. As expected, they waited for the sanitary period and, when the son was five months old, they went to Crete. We could have gone even earlier, but we were waiting for the tourist season to start on the island. And everything was fine: the little one did not walk then, only crawled, sometimes he ate sand on the beach. The only thing is that during the trip our tour operator went bankrupt, so we had to leave the hotel two days earlier (smiles).

As for sand, it might sound tough for people who don't have kids, so here's a philosophy I try to stick to. In most countries of the world, when the first child is born in a family, parents go crazy: twice a day they do wet cleaning, boil jars, a bottle, God forbid, the toy falls on the floor, wipe it with alcohol and, to be sure, heat it in the microwave to kill all bacteria in the world. When a second child appears, sanitary standards are weakened, only one rule remains: the main thing is that your child does not eat from the cat's bowl. With the advent of the third baby in the family, one rule, but another: if the child eats from the cat's bowl, this is the cat's problems. Of course, I'm exaggerating a little, but in general, everything is exactly like that. There are no special rules or life hacks. You just take your child into a car/airplane/train and drive, preferably without worrying that your son or daughter will accidentally do something wrong along the way and suffer. I remember we were driving to Kyiv, the car broke down not far from the Chernobyl zone, well, we stood, fixed it and drove on. All the members of the trip are doing well. It is clear that I am unlikely to dare to take the children to Somalia or Donetsk, but, for example, to Cuba or Thailand, it is easy, however, I will plan the trip for at least three weeks so that the child does not experience total stress.

Editor and journalist Anna Makota: “We will go to the mountains and explore the ruins, go to the theater and ride the tram”

Anna Makota

“My son is six years old and an avid traveler. He is constantly on the move - he does not sit at home. Maybe the reason is that, not having yet learned to walk, at the age of nine months he set out on the road for the first time - to Vilnius. We went specially by car to check how the child will behave on the way. It turned out to be great. And already at the age of one and a half, we dared to go further - to Kyiv, but also by car. The child spent almost a day in the car with a bang. And then it started: in September, the first flight by plane to Greece and acquaintance with the sea and turtles. Six months later - a flight to winter Rome with long walking tours and unwillingness to feed the pigeons, climbing stairs and meeting the locals. Then hot and stuffy Dubai, where the water temperature is 38 degrees, and the air temperature is 40. A pleasant Mediterranean cruise, festivities in Marseille, party Barcelona, ​​a bus tour to Andorra. The travel list is huge. But most of all he remembers Turkey with its huge slides in the pool (he asks to go there every summer) and a trip to Santa in Finland, where he studied at the school of elves and now conjures at every step. And everywhere, everywhere we go, wander, study.

No trip is complete without long excursions. We will go to the mountains, and explore the ruins, and go to the theater, and ride the tram. The son gladly rushes into adventures without whining, sniffing, yelling. I remember our six-hour drive from Barcelona to Andorra. My son was 3.5 years old. He is the only child on the bus, the rest are adults. After the tour, he said goodbye to every adult as if he were his own, and everyone was touched and surprised that his son was so calm and quiet. Indeed, no matter what happens, the child is calm, does not interfere with anyone, is patient and inquisitive. Maybe it's character, or maybe love for the new and unknown, respect for others. It was my personal initiative to take him with me. There are no difficulties in traveling with Misha. But just in case, I always take a first aid kit with me. And not in vain: I needed it a couple of times. In Greece, for example, the son drank sea water, he had a fever and developed allergies several times, despite the fact that all the child’s vaccinations were done. ”

Advertising Manager Ilona Monid: “Shuttle operators specially take small children with them so as not to stand in lines at the border”

Ilona Monid

“When you have no one to leave your child with, you take him and go, adapting to what is happening along the way. Otherwise, you will just sit in Belarusian dullness all the time. For the first time we went to the sea when the child was 5.5 months old, we drove to Kyiv by minibus, then by plane to Egypt. The son endured the transfer very well, I was more worried and nervous than he was. Now I understand that that journey was one of the easiest: a baby is a small eggplant that almost always sleeps. He wakes up, you smiled at him twice, and that's it. Older children require more attention and activity, recently my one-year-old son and I went to Vilnius by train, we had to walk around the car with him for the entire three hours of the trip, and this is not so easy.

The worst thing about traveling is the chance that your child will get sick. Therefore, on the first flights, my suitcase was packed exclusively with first-aid kits and diapers (I didn’t want to rely on foreign diapers). Plus, I always give my son pribiotics when traveling - children have very weak stomachs, which are most often accustomed to certain foods. It is better to play it safe in advance so as not to pick up an intestinal disorder. Plus, kids are always putting things in their mouths - on a trip, you never know for sure what he might lick. When the guy grew up, diapers are a thing of the past, the time has come for the potty, toys, pencils and other entertainment. Fortunately, all this can be bought where you are going (except for the pot - sometimes you have to take it out of the house). Now I travel with a backpack, where there is only a first aid kit and clothes. In this sense, it is very cool to fly on airplanes - almost all airlines have coloring pages and other things that can distract the child.

Some airlines even provide special children's food boxes, which is also nice.

By the way, children under two years of age do not need to pay for air and railway transportation. The only thing is that fees are paid for aircraft, which are sometimes more expensive than a full-fledged ticket from low-cost airlines. In addition, you can order a seat for a child on an airplane at a discount, just notify the company you are flying about in advance so that a child seat is placed there.

It is even easier with cars - small children are allowed to skip the line at the border, such a system definitely works with Ukraine and almost the entire European Union. There was an experience when we went to Slovakia for the November holidays, we went there through Ukraine, and back through Poland. So, we reached the Brest border, and there was a queue for four hours. I approached the border guard, they say, we are with a child, he did not miss it, he sent it to the general queue. I had to drive another 250 kilometers to the Grodno border, and already there, through long disputes with customs officers, I managed to get through. I know that some shuttle workers take small children with them on purpose so as not to stand in lines at the border. Bottom line: I do not experience discomfort from traveling with my son, and he and I feel good. I am sure we will continue the tradition of family vacations.”

KrasA brand owner Anna Kulakova: “People often look askance at Slavic mothers with babies on airplanes. And I respect them wildly”

Anna Kulakova

“I took the risk of traveling with my child for the first time when he was three years old. We went to Palanga by car. I specially thought out a plan for a night transfer - they say, my son will sleep all the way. Alas, it failed already at the initial stage - we live outside the city, so the child is used to driving a car, that is, he was awake all the way, looking at his favorite road signs (smiles). Since Lithuania is a country with unpredictable weather, instead of the sun promised by the forecast, we got rain and cold +14 degrees, so upon returning home, the child was found to have bronchitis. Then I was on antibiotics for a week and a half - so I remember the first trip with a shudder and now I practice family vacations only in probably warm countries.

Another one of my parental blunders: objectively, it is easier to travel with babies up to a year old (despite the oohs and aahs of grandmothers) - in fact, you just need breasts and diapers. Or you need to go with older five-year-old and older children. 2-3 years old is the age when a child wants everything and does it very actively (smiles). Still, they remember Slavic mothers who fly in airplanes with such babies and experience extreme discomfort from the fact that they are looked askance at, and the child cries and makes noise. For example, on the contrary, I wildly respect them, I consider them heroines - I would never have dared to do such a thing. Therefore, I always try to help entertain even other people's children.

My son, I remember, also gave out: we flew to Georgia, we get on the plane, a Georgian with a very big belly comes after us, and the child screams all over the board: “Mom, look! Uncle will have a child.

Of course, all the passengers laughed together, the Georgian himself laughed the loudest, so the situation, fortunately, leveled off. In general, Georgia is one of the coolest countries where you need to travel with children, I recommend it to everyone. They have a family cult, a cult of children, so in all restaurants kids are often given presents and entertained. I remember we dined in one Georgian institution, in the hands of different waiters there was always someone's one-year-old child. Everyone was touched by him, smiled, and so did I. As a result, the waiter mixed up something and solemnly handed the child to me, then it turned out that it was the child of another visitor. Everyone laughed again - in Georgia, such situations are normal, since everyone loves children. I understand that the older my son gets, the more interesting it is to travel with him: the first and last trips are just heaven and earth. When my son was three years old, I would definitely not call traveling with him a vacation. And now he has grown up and can already walk around the city with me longer, talk, we are interested together. I think I started to enjoy these events.”

Traveling with a child to China: a blogger tells the whole truth

While some people only think how, where and why, others are already conquering this big world of air travel, new cities and interesting acquaintances. Minsk blogger Alexander Kulbachko, with his beloved wife and one and a half year old sweet daughter, has already traveled around many countries, and today he talks about how he will go to distant Beijing on his own.

A lot of incredibly useful tips for traveling couples with children, tried and tested life hacks on traveling to hot countries and the main answer to the question “Why can't Belarusians sit still?”.

• Actual tours to China from Belarusian companies

- Tell me, how did you decide to go on such a long journey with a small child?

- It so happened that we wanted to go somewhere for a very long time. We did not have Schengen visas at that time and we chose from non-Schengen destinations. Considered, for example, Vietnam, but saw a profitable offer for China from Moscow. They quickly got tickets and flew. In general, when budget proposals are encountered, the decision to travel must be made very quickly, because, as a rule, they do not last long. We decided in just half an hour. I always think like this: “The world is big, but I’m small,” so if I haven’t been to some city, it means that they are definitely waiting for me there. With my wife and child, I travel on principle. It's not that - I went, and you are sitting at home. This, of course, is much more expensive, much more difficult, but why not - difficulties harden and make nails out of people. We went on our own to conquer Beijing for 10 days.

- Have you decided to stay only in Beijing for all these days?

- At first the idea was Beijing plus something else, again Beijing and home. But then we decided to cancel something else, after all, traveling with a child is a very specific matter. When you travel alone, you only need a backpack. But with a child, I will definitely have two bags on wheels, and they will contain baby food, because we don’t know what they feed in China, there will definitely be a bunch of “dressing rooms”, something for children. This has its own peculiarity. As a result, we stopped only in Beijing. The city is huge and interesting. To an unprepared tourist, it may seem monotonous, because all the main attractions that the guidebooks talk about are very, very monotonous, but if you approach it correctly and do not just look at the house as a building, a pagoda, but look at the history that is hidden behind this house, you open the whole history of China. It turns out that you can walk endlessly and everything around will be interesting.

- What were the main requirements for you when choosing a hotel with a child in mind?

- If you are traveling with a child, you must have a bathroom in the room and preferably a kitchen, but you can also do without it.

- How did you survive the climate change?

- It so happened that during the days of our stay (late May - early June) in China, the heat was simply incredible. +31 - it was the coldest day. Very high humidity - you go and you are hot all the time. But from the pluses - there is no sun: very often in Beijing it was smog and therefore the sun is practically invisible. It saves a little from the heat.

- How did the child cope with this heat? What did you do?

- We didn't do anything special. We wore light clothes, dresses and drank a lot of water. I always had two bottles in my backpack, plus I also took hot tea with me. We saw that all Chinese drink tea in any heat. Almost every Chinese carries a thermos or a small bottle of tea leaves with him. Almost everywhere in the cafe you can just pour boiling water - there are tanks with hot water everywhere. Green tea helps a lot in this situation. It removes excess moisture, and the required amount remains - it turns out that you are not so thirsty. Europeans, for example, often drink a lot of water in the heat and in the end only sweat - and at the same time they want to drink even more. The Chinese mix drinking water and tea. It is interesting, by the way, that the Chinese do not wear shorts in the heat, girls do not have short dresses or skirts. Men and women are all in trousers, in long-sleeved shirts. Moreover, it can be all synthetic. You stand there “melting”, and the Chinese walk briskly and drink hot tea, this is the norm for him. They hide their faces and hands from the sun.

By the way, another local salvation from the heat is yoghurts, which are sold everywhere. Yogurt cools very well and, by the way, is similar to bottled Soviet yogurt.

- Tell us about the child. It's still a long flight. How did you prepare for this? And what surprises can lie in wait for parents?

- My baby has been traveling since the age of five months. First it was Vilnius, then Palanga. Back then it was just sitting quietly in the car. During sleep - everything is fine, but wakefulness was not easy. After that there was Sweden, Greece, Spain. We were a little afraid of flying to China, but, on the other hand, we learned the biggest secret of children's flights - children endure the flight much easier than adults, because it is easier for them to adapt to environmental changes, including pressure. If the child is healthy, then there should be no problems with the ears. During takeoff and landing, we gave ordinary water to drink. In general, if you are calm, then your child will also be calm. This is the main secret.

- They say that in Asia, children are especially warm.

- Yes, it is. With our baby all the time they asked to be photographed, touched, held on the handles. It can be from a request to some kind of ugly behavior when a person just comes up and grabs your child in his arms. I was very struck by the attitude of the Chinese towards young children. For them, this is something like a deity and children can do anything - they can yell, run, jump, ruffle someone's pants and all this will be perceived with a smile. Children live in a different world and no one touches them. In restaurants, children are smiled, in the store they can give a candy or a bracelet. Yes, little kids get to know each other. And we have never been against the communication of our Emilia with other children, on the contrary, we believe that the more a person travels, communicates, the more he develops. Travel changes a person, and it changes a small person very much. I am for the child to be open to the whole world, to be able to travel freely, so that the child does not belong to those 75% of Belarusians who have never left the country.

- Tell me, do you have a fear of bacteria, acclimatization, microbes? How does the child experience it?

- The smaller the child, the better he acclimatizes. Everything is simple. The more you change the place where he lives, the easier and easier it will be for him to endure all this later. About bacteria. Yes, we were afraid of unsanitary conditions. And in China, it can be found in different places. For several days we lived in a poor area, there are some houses one on top of the other, where a person can easily live on the street, there is garbage around. Standard advice works here - wash your hands and take plenty of coal with you.

- What about food? They say that in Asian countries, even an adult cannot always adapt to the local cuisine.

- My daughter has a lot of allergies. At the same time, there is also some kind of atypical allergy to milk protein - you can’t eat beef, you can’t eat cheese, you can’t eat rice. Only in China, upon arrival, we realized that they did not speak any language other than Chinese. I am sure that in other countries any local resident knows 10 basic words in English and, in principle, can explain himself. The Chinese do not know a single word, so it is very difficult to explain what is made of what is drawn in the picture on the menu. But we managed to explain ourselves so that there was no chicken and beef in the dish. I mean duck and pork, some varieties of tofu soy cheese, some greens… There was a problem in getting around rice, getting around some spicy food. As a result, despite the language problems, there were no cases when they brought us something wrong. To the point that I always had a notebook with me, and I drew a pig in it. And we also had a Chinese translator on our phone. Sometimes I had to explain myself with the help of pantomime and dances.

- Did you take some of our baby food with you?

- Only because of the nutritional needs of our child. In the morning there was always cereal porridge, which you can simply pour boiling water over. We added some fruits there. We even took water from Minsk, because we were afraid that the water would not go, but in the end everything was fine. We took our children's canned meat with us. Based on two jars per day. They also took peach, apple, pear puree. We tried so that the child had both local food in the diet and his own. Plus we took bread, cookies.

- Traveling with a stroller?

- We always travel with a stroller so far. It seems like a child walks, but babies sleep during the day. You put your child in a stroller and at the same time do not slow down your speed, and this is a big plus when traveling with children. You do everything to make the child feel comfortable and that you feel comfortable. If you want to sleep - please, eat - eat with you. A stroller also helps a lot on long hauls. The mileage of our stroller is probably already 300 kilometers. We always prefer to walk a lot. Because the more you walk, the healthier you will be.

- Did your expectations from the trip coincide with reality?

- Before that we traveled a lot only in Europe, in different places. There are a lot of cities - why return to the same one? We always visit new ones, mark with a tick. We came to the cities of Europe, where I was approximately ready for a certain model of people's behavior. In China, this model of behavior was violated - this trip broke my idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe model in general. I cannot say that I really liked China, I can say that it surprised and amazed me. This is probably one of the brightest impressions that I have received so far. Other people live there, who live in completely different categories, consider everything from a different point of view, and they live in some kind of alternative environment in which there is no need to rush, no need to strain. This is a huge city of many millions. Beijing officially has 10 million. And really, probably, all 20.

- What advice would you give to parents with children who want to travel?

1. The first and main advice is to travel! If you have the opportunity - travel, if you do not have the opportunity - travel. If you don’t have a vacation or you, for example, are very hard to get up, start with Belarus. It must be remembered that a journey of a thousand kilometers always begins with one step. Wanderlust develops – Lithuania, Poland. You can immediately go to a country that you will understand. Let it first be our neighbors.

2. If you are traveling with children, be sure to think over the wardrobe, because the child's wardrobe will not consist of one or two things, you will have to change clothes two or more times a day. Take a few hats to a hot country. As experience has shown, hats can quickly get lost - a gust of wind and no hat.

3. Be sure to think about food if you go to an unusual country. Going to Europe, there is no special meaning in this, everything is familiar there. For hot countries, you can focus on the usual food - breakfast is a must and it's good when it's porridge. Breakfast tends to take a very long time, so it's convenient to find either a hotel with breakfast or porridge is the easiest option. Good porridge energizes almost the whole day. You need to have a snack for the child with you.

4. If the child is small, take a stroller with you.

5. Don't be afraid of planes, ships, or something else. Remember in the Soviet cartoon the kitten Woof said, “Where are you going, trouble awaits you there,” and the puppy answered, “But how can I not go, because they are already waiting for me.” If you are able to entertain a child at home, in the same way you can entertain a child in the same plane, steamboat and somewhere else.

6. Always smile, a smile often helps - it opens more doors than a tank. If you need something, ask. No one will ever refuse a child, in any country in the world.

Traveling with a child is natural and there is no need to be afraid of it at all. For example, my mother believes that a child can travel only from the age of three, that he does not remember anything until the age of five - why take him with you? Perhaps the baby will not remember the walk on the Chinese wall, but he will remember the feeling and be ready to experience it again. So you will make the child open to the world, and not only open to the Gomel region. According to statistics, 75% of Belarusians have never left Belarus, and 36% of Belarusians have never left their own region. It's scary.

- Why is it scary?

- The world is huge and the world is constantly changing. Airplanes, ships - everything for you. They have already been created. People at the factories of Boeing, Airbus, Tupolev have already assembled these planes for you, someone has already made kerosene from oil, the Turks have already baked their delicious bagels, the Swedes have prepared their shops for you - everyone is just waiting for you to come, you are already everywhere are waiting.

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