If you missed my first class at the Rick Steves Travel Center, you're in luck. I have a second class scheduled on Saturday March 28th from 12pm to 1:30. Free registration is required, and you can register here
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Posted on February 4, 2009 |
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Here is a reader question from Lil, a mom from Charleston, SC who asks:
I've recently discovered your valuable site and just in time too: my husband and I will be taking our 13 month old to England in early February. I love all the helpful advice you give and have already put lots to good use in my planning! However, I have one question I can't seem to answer through my own research and thought you might be able to help.
What are the rules for bring food into the UK? I know in one article you mentioned that you needed to eat all your snacks while on the plane so as not to run into problems declaring them, which I get, but I am wondering about jarred (or plastic-packed, more likely) baby food. My son will eat most anything now, but his comfort food is jarred sweet potatoes, so I wanted to bring a few bottles along to have something familiar on hand while we traveled. Do you know have any experience with this issue or know where I can turn to find the answer? I'd really appreciate the help!
Thanks for all you do and your adventuresome spirit! Your site has made my trip better before I've even left the house!
With thanks,
Lil
Charleston, SC
Thanks so much for your nice note! I hope you have a lovely trip to the UK. Rules and restrictions regarding what fresh fruits, vegetables and animal products may be brought across an international border vary by country, and may depend on how the item is packaged, it's size, or where it originated. The US and Australia tend to be more restrictive than most countries, while the UK is relatively lax.
In general, a good rule of thumb is to eat or discard any open packages or fresh items before your deplane at your destination, but to keep any food that is still in its original packaging (e.g. jarred baby food). You may be asked to list food items at the border, but packaged goods in reasonable quantities are almost never a problem. I have brought jarred baby food with me into Italy, France, the UK, Spain and Canada without any trouble.
If you want to bring something specific with you on a trip, you can consult the local customs regulations to make sure that it is allowed. For the UK, you can find the regulations here DAEFRA: What Food May I bring into the UK. It's interesting to note that infant food and formula (in reasonable quantities) are specifically exempted
A limited quantity that does not exceed that which could be reasonably consumed by an individual of powdered infant milk, infant food and special foods required for medical reasons in personal luggage is permitted. Such items must not require refrigeration before opening, and must be proprietary brand products for direct sale to the final consumer in unbroken packaging unless in current use. A reasonable amount for the length of stay and the number of infants involved will be allowed.
Jarred baby food (including organic) is widely available in the UK, but you are right that sweet potatoes might not be, so you are smart to bring along a few jars! In order to avoid having the baby food confiscated by an overzealous TSA officer before you even leave the ground, consider packing it carefully in your checked baggage. Extra baby diapers make a great cushion for fragile items without adding unnecessary bulk to your luggage.
Good luck! I hope you have a wonderful trip.If you have a question about traveling with kids, send me email at Debbie AT DeliciousBaby DOT com
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Posted on February 3, 2009 |
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I want to welcome my new sponsor, Tots On The Go, an online store with a great selection of strollers and other travel gear designed to make traveling with young kids easier. Tots on the Go will is sponsoring our Product Guide. That's a great fit, because the company sells so many of the products I recommend for family travel.
You might remember that the company generously sponsored our Sit N Stroll Giveaway back in November. They also carry the popular GoGo Kidz Travelmate and the Baby Sherpa Diaper Bag Backpack
Best of all, when you shop at Tots On The Go you are supporting a small, mom-owned business. Please take a moment to check out their website!
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Posted on February 3, 2009 |
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This product has been reworked and renamed as the Diono Radian RXT Convertible Car Seat
This is an unpaid review of two Radian 80 Convertable Carseats
In 3 1/2 months, I will have three carseat aged children. Mostly that's exciting, but when it comes to the actual carseats, it has been a little bit stressful. I drive a small station wagon that I absolutely love and don't plan to replace, yet the two car Britax Roundabout Carseats
Why the Radian? I've been talking with friends, reading the car-seat tech newsgroups, and searching the Internet. The Radian 80 is the seat that everyone seems to recommend for three-across installations. Buying two brand new carseats when we are perfectly happy with what we have was painful, but not as painful as buying a new car would be.
The Good News
The Bad News
Traveling With The Radian 80
We have not yet flown with the Radian, but I wanted to cover this topic because experts often recommend this seat for travel. The seat folds, meaning that it is less likely to be damaged in transit than a traditional seat, and that it will fit more securely on a luggage cart. Sunshine Kids manufactures both a Radian Car Seat Travel Bag
Weighing (literally) against those helpful features is the 22 lb heft of the seat. I would not want to carry this seat through the airport. If we were traveling with carseats, I would have my husband drop me, the kids, and the seats off at curbside checkin before parking the car.
Update: A reader pointed out that the Radian works with the Go Go Kidz Travelmate
Conclusion
Overall, I like this carseat. The huge versatility in age range, and the fact that I will be able to keep the kids in a five-point harness as long as possible is a plus for me. Even if we weren't on the verge of having a third child, I probably would have chosen to upgrade to this carseat (instead of a booster) when E outgrows his Britax in a few months.
on Amazon
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Posted on February 2, 2009 |
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I am on an ongoing (and completely unsuccessful) mission to teach my kids to fall asleep in the same bed when we travel. Before each trip, I enjoy delusions about the kids drifting quietly off to sleep together while my husband and I sit in the suite's living room sipping tea or watching a movie.
Of course it never works out quite that way. The evening starts with the kids super excited about the prospect of sleeping in the same bed, so excited that they can't settle down. The kids promise to avoid a litany of funny sounding behavior that will get them separated "no shenanigans, hocus pocus, dilly dally, or chitter chatter" and then proceed to break every rule. When one settles down, the other suffers from renewed energy. I'm so desperate that I give them about 1000 chances to clean up their act (which only makes matters worse). Finally I separate them, sulking in a darkened room with D until both kids are asleep and I can move her back in to the bedroom.
Sometimes, like on this trip to Chicago, we have only one room, and the kids are awake until they finally can't hold their eyes open for another minute & then I sneak in to take a picture of them sprawled out on the bed -- fuel for renewed optimism on our next family vacation.
Photo Friday: Please Share Your Photos:
Share a favorite travel photo by adding your link below. First timers, here is
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Posted on January 29, 2009 |
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One of my favorite audience questions when I presented this weekend at the Rick Steves travel center was how I take safety and security into account when choosing a travel destination.
Like many parents, my answer is very different now than it was pre-kid. Before we had children, we traveled to many developing countries, but were cautious to avoid those with widespread political unrest - there are so many places we want to see in the word that we felt no need to take a risk.
With young kids, I also worry about food safety and good quality medical care. My bottom line? I won't take the kids to a destination where the tap water is unsafe For such young children, the consequences of a water borne disease can be much more devastating than for an adult, and for us, eating local food is an important part of every trip. Our prohibition won't last forever. As the kids get older and sturdier we'll be able to visit a wider variety of destinations, and there are so many places that I want to see in the meantime, that I don't really mind the limitation.
This is one of those questions with as many different (and valid) answers as there are parents. I'd love to hear your perspective - where would you, ( and wouldn't you travel with your children. What makes a destination feel safe or unsafe?
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Posted on January 29, 2009 |
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We are planning a quick weekend getaway to Vancouver, BC.
I've visited enough times with the kids that we have the major attractions covered (and believe me, I can't wait to take them back to the Vancouver Aquarium), but I'd love any tips for great indoor play spaces, local restaurants, and hidden gems that are great with kids.
Have you been to Vancouver? Do you live there? What secret locals-only spots should we visit? Do you have favorite activities on a rainy winter day?
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Posted on January 28, 2009 |
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Chris Elliott wrote a great article for MSNBC this week called 7 tips for blogging your way to a better trip. The article is about travelers who used their blogs to hold travel companies accountable for poor or unsafe service -- and succeeded in changing corporate policy.
I was flattered that Chris included a quote from me about how my blog posts on Unsafe Car Seats at Advantage Rental Car forced the company to change its corporate policy, and even caused the State of California to revisit how it enforces child safety seat requirements for rental car agencies.
If you are a new reader, you might be interested in reading some of the original stories:
Danger For Rent: Rental Car Agency Puts Infant at Risk (again)About DeliciousBaby
DeliciousBaby is about Traveling with Young Kids. We have lots of tips and helpful advice to make your family vacation easier and more enjoyable. If you are new to DeliciousBaby, you might want to check out some of these useful links and resources:
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Posted on January 27, 2009 |
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When we travel, one of our challenges is finding a great playground close to the major tourist sites. There's nothing better than 30 minutes of running to help a long museum visit go smoothy (or to run to if we need to make a quick escape). City run "Parks and Recreation" websites like this one for Santa Fe can often be helpful, but it's sometimes tough to match the street names up with the neighborhoods you will be visiting.
I thought I'd share our latest trick for finding playgrounds when we travel... Google Maps Satellite View.
Before you leave home,
If you happen to have a phone that supports web browsing, you can even try this while you're on the road.
Here's an example where I search for a park near a local toy store. Zoom in a step and look north - you'll see "Bobby Morris Playfield. If you zoom in enough, you can even see where the playground is!
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Posted on January 27, 2009 |
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When I started blogging, one thing that seemed particularly glamourous to me (besides the boatloads of money I was sure to make within months) was all the freebies. It's interesting to look back at those heady days now -- wow, has my perspective changed!
Like most parents of small children, my house is over-full. The toys, the art projects, and all that tiny clothing seem to take over. Some days I want to packs what I can in a backpack and move out. New products, free or not, no longer seem so glamorous. These days I turn away about 3/4 of product review requests, but when someone sends me email about a product that has potential, I often give it a try.
On very rare occasions I'm sorry before I even leave home...
A few months ago I received a product that promised to detangle the jumble of carry-on items I drag along one every trip. I have yet to find a system for stowing our snacks, toys, books, sippies, laptops, cherished lovies and spare clothes that satisfies me perfectly, so I agreed to take one along on a trip.
Even as I was packing, I could tell that this product wouldn't work well for our particular mix of gear, yet I powered through because I had promised to give the product a full review. No big deal, right? Wrong. E fell absolutely in love with it. In his mind the bag was his personal briefcase (pronounced Boreefcase), just like Daddy's. He didn't mind that it was too heavy to carry for more than a minute, dragged on the floor, sometimes dropped his stuff, and was otherwise completely impractical. 3 year olds rarely value function over form.
When we returned from the trip stowed the bag with the rest of the luggage, assuming that we'd return to our old system next time.
Wrong again... as we were gathering our bags for the trip to Phoenix, E realized something was amiss. His beloved briefcase, where was it? To avert the meltdown on our horizon, we spent our final moments frantically helping him transfer his gear from our reliable but un-glamourous old carryon bags to the new one.
So now I'm stuck with a carryon bag that is more hassle than help, but that's not enough... midway through the trip the bag's zipper broke! E was devastated, and to stop the drama, an we made an unplanned trip to the hardware store, and bought pliers we don't need to fix a free product that I don't like!
Does this sounds glamourous to you? Let me know... I have some freebies I'd love to send you.
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Posted on January 26, 2009 |
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