24. Know the fire escapes. A
good practice at any time but especially in foreign countries where the exits
and escape routes might not be as well marked.
25. Drill your kids on swimming
pool safety. When staying in a hotel with a swimming pool remind your young
kids that they don’t go in the pool without telling mom or dad. Make it the
first thing you do after you put down your bags in the room.
26. Get the necessary vaccines
and get them early. Check with the CDC or NHS and get the relevant vaccines
and anti-malarial medicines well before departure — some vaccines can require
multiple visits and can take a few months to get the entire series of shots.
Many adults haven’t had their booster shots, so get those as well. There’s
nothing worse than getting a deep cut in place far from a hospital and then
having to worry about whether your Tetanus booster is up to date.
27. Fly longer distances and
avoid the highways. Flying is the safest mode of transport. There can be
many reasons to drive instead of fly but don’t ever not fly and choose
car or bus for safety reasons alone. The attacks on 9/11 killed almost 3000
people. Unknown to many, it also resulted in the death of another 2100 in the
months that followed because people stopped flying and chose the road instead —
a much more dangerous mode of transport. And that’s in the U.S. — if you’re
traveling in a developing country the disparity in road and flight safety rates
will be even higher.
28. Play act out unusual or
worrisome scenarios. If you’re concerned about your child being lost in a
busy market, then act out the scene and what they should do. If you tell a kid
what to do when they’re lost, they’ll probably forget it. If you act out what
they should do they’re much more likely to remember it. (There’s a reason
employers do fire evacuation drills — they work!)
29. Stay Positive! Be Happy!
This can mean many things. For starters, you need a keen eye for what’s
important and what’s not. With the typical boundaries and rules turned up side
down, it’s very easy to become a “No, No, No, No” parent. Focus on the
important stuff. Things that make your day easier and keep everyone safe. Try
to hear yourself talking — you should be saying far more positive things than
negative things.
Like at home, praise effort not
results. Praise the process not the outcome. Comment on how hard they worked or
how patient they were, not how well they did a task or how good they are at
something.
And finally it means, living in the moment and
taking everything in that you can. Live it! Experience it! Try new things and
get out of your comfort zone. Become a kid again — explore, investigate, ask
questions — and your children will come right along with you