Roundup: Health tips for winter family vacations with babies & young children

by Shelly Rivoli December 5, 2013

written by Shelly Rivoli Published: December 5, 2013Last Updated on August 23, 2022

Your child's 3-1-1 Travel Kit for carry on made easy in this post.

Worried that a cold or the flu might botch your holiday travel plans or spoil your winter family vacation?

This is the post for you!

Grab a cup of coffee and watch these tips to help fend off flu during holiday travel and winter family vacations with your baby and the whole fan-damily, then read on for even more help and ammo as you gear up for your trip. 😉

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Going into the holiday, I was reminded how a simple virus can thwart one’s holiday travel plans–especially when a whopper cold such as the one I landed can mean canceling or postponing winter travels to spend time with those we dearly love (like a 92-year-old great grandmother) whom we wouldn’t dare expose to such things. Among the many blessings I counted last week was the slightly delayed Turkey Day we were able to enjoy with four generations and zero need for Kleenex.

For this month’s Roundup, I’m including tips to help you and your brood stay healthy during travel, and to help in case a bug catches up with someone in your family in spite of your best efforts.

What health items should you pack for your winter family vacation?

Follow this link for how to 3-1-1 your child’s Travel Kit for carry on for your winter family vacation.

In addition to the simple remedies you have in your Child’s Travel Kit (more in Chapter 3, Travels with Baby), those shelf-stable probiotics that are perfect for travel (more in this post), and a good supply of antibacterial hand wipes, you might want to pack along these items, which I’ve found can be very helpful in case one of my children comes down with a cold or other bug during travel:

Also, if you have a lot invested in your upcoming winter family vacation (money and/or miles), it’s a good idea to get travel insurance to protect your trip, especially when you consider that your kids might be covered for free (read all about the why’s and how’s of travel insurance for your family in this post).

What can you do if your child gets sick during your winter family vacaton?

I’ll end with another clip discussing what you can do if your child gets sick during your winter family vacation. And remember, Travels with Baby and Take-Along Travels with Baby are also loaded with health tips for travel with babies and young children, including the Traveler’s Guide to Ear Infections, Car Sickness Survival Guide and more.