Galley Gossip: Best invention for kids on the airplane – CARES

by Heather Poole on

After reading all the responses to my post, Ivana Trump Harasses two little kids on a flight, I can not believe how many people think that kids do not belong on the airplane. Some people even suggested that airlines create a kid section, like a smoking section in a restaurant. While I, too, get annoyed when there’s a little stinker sitting behind me screaming his head off and kicking the back of my seat WHILE the parents do nothing, not all children (just like not all adults) are trouble makers in flight . In fact, I’d say most children do just fine at 35,000 feet. I know my little one is a fantastic traveling partner. Can’t say the same thing about other people I know.

The kid, my kid, and I just flew from Los Angeles to Honolulu. That kid, the one up there in the photo, the one that causes worried looks during the boarding process, only to be complimented for being such a good boy while deplaning, has traveled about once a month since he was three months old. The kid loves going to the airport with mommy. Mommy hasn’t always loved going to the airport with him, not with all the stuff that has to be dragged along on the flight. Until now.

If you have kids you already how difficult it can be traveling, especially when everyone aboard the aircraft is giving you the evil eye, and your kid hasn’t even done anything wrong! Taking along the little one can be very stressful, especially when you’re lugging all that stuff that’s going to entertain the kid. (stickers, crayons, books, the DVD player, all of it!) Trust me, I know it’s a lot to carry, along with a kid and a thirty pound car seat, but you need it! Please tell me you didn’t forget it?

Good news, people, traveling with children doesn’t have to be so bad. Move over Sit-N-Stroll (the worlds best invention ever for kids under two years of age) there’s a new product in town – CARES. CARES stands for child aviation restraint system. According to the Kidsflysafe website…

it’s designed specially for airplanes and is FAA certified as having an equivalent level of safety to a car seat for all phases of flight. CARES is manufactured by AmSafe, the foremost manufacturer of airplane seatbelts and other safety restraints. Best of all, CARES weighs only 1 lb, fits in a 6″ carrying case, fits all airplane seats and takes a mere 1 minute to install.

Now I’ll admit, I had used CARES once before, when my son had just turned one (the age you can use CARES), and that flight from Los Angeles to Dallas did not go so well for us. In fact, I swore I’d never travel again – with him. The kid kept scooting all the way down in his seat so that his head was the only thing leaning against the seat back. When he did finally straighten up, the last twenty minutes of flight, he didn’t look too comfortable sleeping with his chin against his chest, so it was back to the SIT-N-STROLL for us. Man oh man, I loved that thing, while it lasted.

Now that my son is two, he’s bigger and stronger and can walk by himself. That means I can ditch the stroller. And he listens when mommy tells him to sit still, to not kick the seat in front of him, to not bang on the tray table, to not touch the call light, to not run around the aircraft, to not act like…well…those kids sitting behind us! Since he no longer needs to be in “lockdown”, like the kids sitting behind us, CARES works magnificently.

I used to dread traveling with my son. It didn’t matter where we were going. The whole packing the diaper bag, getting to the airport, carrying the car seat through security, getting situated on the airplane, just so we can do it all over again routine just about killed me. Thankfully things have changed. Let me tell you, it’s so much easier to travel with a young child when all you have to do is bring along a few toys and a pair of straps that come in a bag that the kid can carry, that kid actually wants to carry all by himself!

“That’s my bag,” he says, the lightweight blue bag dangling over his shoulder.

“That’s right!” I say, as we zip through the airport, onto the airplane, no problem.

Duct tape: A traveler’s friend

by Jamie Rhein on

A few months ago I “waxed” poetic about the uses of dental floss. Duct tape can also be a traveler’s friend when it comes to fixing things that need fixing, or making the passage of time more interesting when you hit the road. The following ideas came from Debbie who writes Delicious Baby, a blog about traveling with babies (older kids included).

Debbie, a frequent traveler with her two young ones, doesn’t leave home without a small roll of duct tape tucked in her gear. Colored duct jazzes up the options. She suggests:

  1. Repair broken luggage with duct tape. (I actually had a zipper break once. Taping a suitcase closed is a great idea.)
  2. Outside of the U.S., and its regulations, tamper proof your suitcase by putting duct tape around it.
  3. Use duct tape to create a design on your suitcase to make it stand out on the conveyor belt so you can find it more easily.
  4. If you’re in a hotel room and the curtains won’t quite close to make the room dark, use the duct tape.
  5. Make an inside label for your suitcase by cutting a piece of duct tape and writing the label information in permanent marker on it.
  6. Seal a drain without a stopper with the tape so you can do laundry or take a bath.
  7. Make a hopscotch board or some other game with duct tape to keep yourself or kids entertained. Duct tape could be used to represent a highway for cars. ( I have a 6 year-old son. Great idea, Debbie!)
  8. If there is a fire, use the tape to seal the cracks around the door. Chances of this happening are less than in your own home, but good to know.
  9. Duct tape is a terrific addition to a First Aid kit. If you don’t have band aids, duct tape can work if you have cotton , some tissue, or a paper towel. (I actually made a band aid this way about a month ago, but with regular tape). You can get a splinter out with duct tape too. And you can make a splint with two Popsicle sticks.
  10. Check out baby proof your hotel room for some other ideas.

My idea: When I backpacked through Europe the first time, I had pitifully old sneakers and one of them ripped. I duct taped around the rip to hold it together. They were the only shoes I had and it was winter. So sad.

Greyhound bus line expands its priority boarding system

by Jamie Rhein on

Back in November, Catherine wrote a post about Greyhound’s $5 extra per ticket priority boarding, seat assignment system. After a month of trying it out, the system must be working well because it was expanded in December to include a large portion of Greyhound’s departure cities. (see news release) Not all trips from the departure cities are elibible for priority boarding, however.

The main purpose, I think, from the passenger’s perspective is to help allieviate the stress of wondering if you’ll get a seat on the bus at all, or have to wait for another. Also, you have more likely a chance to get your choice of either an aisle or window seat. Since the system lets you pick your actual seat, say goodbye to the risk of getting stuck next to the bathroom. If traveling with kids, it helps guarantee that you’re not going to need to ask a passenger if he or she would move so you can sit with your child.

Less stress means you’ll be more likely to take the bus which can be a real economic deal. For the bus company, $5 for a passenger isn’t all that much, but put all those $5 together and you have a money boost.

However, as Catherine pointed out, you can’t get the priority boarding over the Internet. It’s only available at the bus station which does mean waiting in line at some point unless you head to the bus station during a non-busy time. If you happen to live in or near a town or city with a Greyhound station, you can go 30 days in advance or less to purchase the priority boarding. If you want to take your chances, you can purchase priority boarding 20 minutes before your trip.

In order for your priority seating to be honored, you need to be at the gate 20 minutes before your departure time.

If the bus station is as packed as it was when my dad attempted to take the bus from Columbus to Cincinnati, having priority boarding would have assured him a seat if I had gone to the bus station a day or so earlier to get it. The day of the trip would have been too late, although he was traveling the day before Thanksgiving so bus travel was at a high. If you’re traveling in the summer, I bet it’s a similar situation.

The thing is, you can’t get priority boarding yet out of Columbus, but all buses out of Cincinnati and Cleveland have the option. Still, if there’s a smoother way out of those two cities, it should translate to an easier time in Columbus. My dad’s bus was delayed for hours in Cleveland which is why he never managed to actually take the bus.

For a list of all the available priority boarding cities, click here.

Mahalo on How to Fly With Kids

by Justin Glow on

Mahalo has been cranking out lots of travel-related how-to articles lately: how to book a cheap hotel room, book a cheap flight, successfully bid on travel, fly with pets, and their latest on how to fly with kids.

I don’t have kids, but I used to be one. I remember a trip to England with my Mom when I was 4 or 5 years old. Before we boarded our trans-Atlantic flight, I got lost in JFK airport. I can only imagine the pace at which my mother’s heart raced when she turned around to see her 4-year-old out-of-sight in one of the nation’s busiest airports. Luckily I was a smart little kid, and I wondered back to the women’s restroom where we had just came from. She found me waiting patiently inside the doorway, but by that time the airport staff had already been alerted. One of the gentleman who was in the search party gave me a NASA-branded Matchbox car to celebrate. I remember the strangest things.

One of the most useful parts to Mahalo’s guide is tips on keeping your kid entertained during the flight. Nobody likes a screaming, out-of-control kid, especially when they’re locked in the same tube as you at 35,000 feet. I usually feel bad for the parents… as long as they’re at least attempting to settle the child. It’s a weird feeling: I hate you and your child for giving me a headache, but I understand that kids are kids, they’re going to scream and cry from time to time — especially when locked in a tube at 35,000 feet. So it’s okay.

I was easy to entertain, apparently. I spent the majority of my time on that first flight to England untying and re-lacing my saddle shoes while drinking ginger ale.

Mahalo: How to Fly With Kids

More Road Trip Games

by Jamie Rhein on

Martha recently wrote in a post about road trip games inspired by her 5 day trip across the Canadian praries.

Here is a game that we play on trips. This is a version of the alphabet game. In this version players search billboards and road signs for letters of the alphabet starting with the letter A. A sign can only be used once. Once you see the letter you need, you call out what it is and the sign where you saw it. You have to go in alphabetical order. Once a sign is used you move onto the another letter on another sign. Whoever gets to Z first wins.

And here are three road trip games you can buy. Kevin Joy, a writer for the Columbus Dispatch pulled together suggestions in an article I’ve culled from. These particular three appeal to me because they don’t require technology to play.

Conversations to Go—If you want to think of things to talk about, here’s a solution. This game doesn’t seem to have winners or losers. According to the description there are cards with questions that center on travel. If you’re creative, why not think up your own questions? On the otherhand, pulling questions from a box have a certain random appeal tha breaks down trip monotony.

Miles of Smiles: Travel Games & Quizzes to Go. This one is published by American Girl so the cover looks “girlie”. Hopefully, the games inside would interest boys as well. I like these game books because they provide many options from which to choose. When stuck in a car for the next 50 miles until there’s a highway exit, it’s great to have some control over something.

Are We There Yet? – This one looks like it might be my favorite of the bunch. It’s a card game, scavenger hunt where players are delt five cards with items on them. Whoever finds their items first wins. To speed things up (like in Wyoming it could take hours to see something new) you can put a time limit or within a mile limit on this one.