Nothing derails a vacation faster than an emergency. Having to go to the hospital or having your wallet or purse stolen can be extremely stressful, both emotionally and financially..
Unfortunately, no one is 100% safe from an emergency. However, you can drastically reduce the risk of an emergency ruining your vacation if you take a few simple steps.
Protect Your Children
One of the most important aspects of traveling as a family is making sure your children are safe. However, that can be pretty challenging, especially when you’re trying to do other things like check in for your flight or going to an event. Fortunately, there are some parenting hacks that will make keeping an eye on your children easier.
One of the easiest steps to take is to make sure both you and your partner know who is watching your children at any one time. You can always volunteer to look after your children, but if you need to use the bathroom or step away to check on something, make sure your partner knows that they need to take over the kid watching.
If your children are old enough, make sure they’ve memorized you and your partner’s names, as well as both of your telephone numbers. If you want to be extra safe about this, you can give them a laminated card with your contact information on it and let them know that they can give this information to a trusted adult like a police officer if they get lost.
Of course, once your child becomes a tweenager or teenager, they might want to wander off by themselves for a bit. While you can let your teen wander off for a bit, be sure to check in on them periodically.
While you can call your teen or text them if they’re old enough to have their own phone, but remember that smartphone batteries can run down, so you should also make sure that they periodically meet up with you in person. The best way to do this is to set up a meeting spot for all your children, like a hotel lobby or a fountain at a park, and set a time where you and your children will meet up. You might even want to have your teens set an alarm for that time.
Finally, be sure to have recent photos of each of your children. If anyone does get lost or go missing, you’ll be able to share this with authorities to make finding a lost child easier.
Reduce the Risk of Theft
Nobody likes getting robbed. Getting robbed on vacation, though, can leave you stranded far from home.
The good news is that you can deter a lot of thieves just by being more aware of your belongings. If you have a purse, for instance, put it on your lap instead of setting it on the ground or draping it over the back of your chair. If you or your partner carries a wallet, put it in a front pocket instead of a back one.
You should also split up your cash, as well as your credit and debit cards. That way, even if you do get robbed, you’ll still have some resources to fall back on. You can keep your emergency cash in a travel wallet or buy special traveler’s clothes that have hidden pockets.
Pack a First Aid Kit
You never know when a first aid kit will come in handy, either for you or the people around you. It doesn’t have to be too fancy, either. You just need some basic supplies, such as:
- Pain relievers, like acetaminophen or ibuprofen
- Space blanket
- Bandages
- Petroleum jelly
- Antacids
- Gauze pads
- Rehydration salts
- A small pair of scissors
Keep Copies of Your ID
Finally, make copies of your personal identification, as well as ID for every member of your family. If your actual ID gets lost or stolen, you’ll be able to use the copy to prove who you are. This can be especially important if you and your family traveled by plane.
Pack Your Family’s Health Information
It’s no secret that COVID has wreaked havoc on the healthcare industry. As a result, if you, your significant other or your children have to go to the hospital during your trip, you’ll be dealing with doctors and nurses who are likely still pretty stressed
The upshot of all this is that you’ll want to keep you and your family’s health information readily available. It will make the healthcare staff’s life easier and help you and your loved ones get the best possible care.
According to the American Health Information Management Association, you should always have the following information with you when you travel:
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- Your emergency contact information
- Your doctor’s contact information
- Any past medical conditions
- List of vaccinations
- Any current medical conditions for which you are being treated
- Your current medications, including dosage
- Allergies, especially allergies to medicines such as penicillin
How you store this information is up to you. Many people keep this information on their smartphones, while others put their information on a USB drive. Some people even print out these documents and laminate them.
