Traveling with children, especially infants and toddlers, puts special demands on the adults responsible for their well being. Based on analyses of dozens of aviation incidents and accidents involving children and on my own experience as a traveling parent, here are ten tips that can make the trip safer for the child.

1. Plan ahead: Ask yourself what supplies you will need to have on hand to take care of any normal or special needs for the child. Remember, it is the airline's responsibility to carry passengers to their destination, but it is the responsibility of the parent or responsible adult to take care of any children.

2. Use a child restraint system for children under 40 pounds (18.1 kilos): The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration strongly recommends that children weighing less than 40 pounds be put into a child restraint system appropriate for their weight. Children under the age of two may be carried on the lap of an adult, but the lap child should have some kind of restraint system.

For small children, consider the following recommendations:

* Find a way to conveniently carry an appropriate child restraint system through airports and into and out of aircraft.
* If the child is over the age of two and less than 40 pounds (18.1 kilos), follow the FAA recommendations for using child restraint systems.
* If the child is under two, consider buying a separate seat for the child and use an appropriate restraint system for the seat.
* If the child is under two and will be traveling on the lap of an adult, consider using an appropriate in-flight child restraint. Also, bring along an appropriate child restraint system for a seat just in case you happen to be next to an unoccupied seat.

AirSafe.com has further information about using child restraints on aircraft.

3. Prepare for possible emergencies: Make sure you are aware of emergency equipment or procedures that would apply to your child:

* Pay attention to the standard preflight emergency briefing
* Ask a flight attendant if that particular aircraft has emergency equipment like life preservers specifically designed for small children
* If your child has a medical condition that may become an issue during the flight, make a flight attendant, counter agent, or gate agent aware of that possibility before the flight

4. Take all essential items for the children in carry-on luggage: Take enough food, diapers, medicine, and other items to last through possible flight delays and lost luggage. Carrying all the child's essentials with you is especially important if your child is on a special diet or on medication.

5. Keep your children under control at all times: YOU and not the flight attendant is responsible for supervising your child at all times. An unsupervised or unrestrained child could quickly wander way into dangerous areas such as galleys, especially if the responsible adult falls asleep. During a very long flight from Australia to the U.S., I observed a parent traveling alone with a child fall asleep and then saw their toddler wander down the aisle. You should also be careful when walking about the aircraft with your child so that they don't reach for cups of hot coffee, silverware, and other hazards.

6. Seat your child away from an aisle: Small children enjoy reaching out and exploring, but if they are on the aisle they could get hurt if their little arms get bumped by a person or serving cart passing down the aisle. Ideally, two responsible adults should sit on either side of the child. Also, one can seat the child on a row with a window on one side and a responsible adult on the other.

7. If emergency oxygen masks deploy, put your mask on first: This advice may seem cruel, but there is a very practical reason for it. If the brain is starved of oxygen (hypoxia), one can get confused or pass out and be unable to help themselves or their child. By putting on their mask first, the parent or responsible adult will reduce their chance of falling victim to hypoxia.

Travel Planning for Safety
Before you even leave the house, try to be sure you've thought through possible scenarios.

* Carry medical records for everyone in the family, particularly for children the elderly or anyone with health issues.
* Have a first aid kit small enough to keep on you at all times.
* Have a common medications bag, with things like children's medicines for fever and colds.
* If anyone takes prescription medication, be sure you carry enough for your trip and have a copy of prescriptions just in case.
* If your trip will be extended or out of the country, check into family travel insurance.
Travel Transportation Safety
Whatever your method of getting from home to your destination, the transportation part of your trip could be the time when you need to be the most cautious.

How to Keep Kids Safe on Your Next Trip
No matter what the mode, air, bus, ship or the family car, certain basic child safety rules should always be in place for the traveling family. First of the top ten, and probably most important, can simply be called the buddy system. It's similar to what most kids experience in summer camp.

1. At all times, night and day, each person under age 15 should be paired with another child or adult. It is the responsibility of each to look after the other, including walking on streets, anywhere within hotels, using public bathrooms, restaurants, in entertainment events and just about every other situation.

2. While leaving or entering transportation facilities, children under age five should be held by the hand by an older child or adult. This will minimize dangers from stairways, elevators, train cars, buses, escalators and other potential hazards.

3. Before the family starts traveling, parents should put together a kit containing all of each child's potential needs. This includes adequate supplies of diapers, clothing, prescription medicines, anti-diarrhea pills, band-aids, salves and liquids. If flying, check with the airline in advance on what kinds of bottles and other containers are permitted on flights.

4. If the trip involves considerable swimming and exposure to sunshine, take along sunscreen and apply it liberally. If the child will be out in the sun for the first time of the season, limit sun exposure to 15 minutes or less the first day. Then allow a few minutes more a day, but never more than an hour total each day. Use a sunscreen product that has at least an SPF (Sun Protection Factor) of 15.

5. Of course, swimming is where the buddy system for kids is most necessary. In hotel and other public pools, where there are lifeguards on duty, it is not as difficult as it is when the family swims in river, lake or ocean front waters. However, each child must be in sight of a buddy at all times in every swim situation.