You want your children to experience the joys of international travel, exposing them to new cultures and languages.
You also want to keep them healthy and safe on the journey. While strengthening your family bond while adventuring overseas, planning ahead will make the travel as pleasurable as possible.
First, different countries have different requirements so you have to plan ahead. Some paperwork takes six weeks or longer. Travel with birth certificates, health certificates and immunization records. See if there are any shots your family will need ahead of time. If only one parent is traveling with the children, it might be wise to carry a notarized document showing the other parent has consented to the travel.
Second, give your children comfort and stress the security of the nation you're visiting. Make sure your child knows that you are concerned with her safety. Even situations like Brexit can be an educational experience.
Third, speak with your pediatrician about a medicine box for travel. Consider a fever reducer and cold/allergy medication. Your pediatrician can guide you on stocking the medicine box based on your destination.
Finally, be prepared in case you need to visit a pediatrician in another country. If your kids get sick, a local pediatrician will have a better idea of what colds and health conditions are going around. Check your insurance coverage before you travel and get supplemental insurance to be cautious.
Listen in as Naveen Mehrotra, MD, discusses smart practices for overseas travel.
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Traveling Abroad with Children
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Dr. Naveen Mehrotra is a pediatrician in private practice. Dr. Mehrotra completed his medical training from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and his Pediatric training at the University of Chicago. Practicing in Central New Jersey with one of the highest concentrations of South Asians, Dr. Mehrotra is dedicated to improving the health of South Asian immigrants. With a lack of awareness in areas such as disease prevention within the community, Dr. Mehrotra helped found the Shri Krishna Nidhi (SKN) Foundation, a community based non-profit organization to address these needs at a grassroots level which has a mission to promote well being through community based education. SKN believes that proper physical health, spiritual, and cultural health all lead to a person’s well-being. Projects of the SKN Foundation help to further this mission. To help achieve these educational goals, the Foundation also propagates scholarship programs based on merit and need. Dr. Mehrotra had also been a key person in the founding of the South Asian Total Health Initiative (SATHI), a research and education based initiative at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School where he is also a volunteer faculty.
Naveen Mehrotra, MD, FAAP AAP
Dr. Naveen Mehrotra is a pediatrician in private practice. Dr. Mehrotra completed his medical training from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and his Pediatric training at the University of Chicago. Practicing in Central New Jersey with one of the highest concentrations of South Asians, Dr. Mehrotra is dedicated to improving the health of South Asian immigrants. With a lack of awareness in areas such as disease prevention within the community, Dr. Mehrotra helped found the Shri Krishna Nidhi (SKN) Foundation, a community based non-profit organization to address these needs at a grassroots level which has a mission to promote well being through community based education. SKN believes that proper physical health, spiritual, and cultural health all lead to a person’s well-being. Projects of the SKN Foundation help to further this mission. To help achieve these educational goals, the Foundation also propagates scholarship programs based on merit and need. Dr. Mehrotra had also been a key person in the founding of the South Asian Total Health Initiative (SATHI), a research and education based initiative at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School where he is also a volunteer faculty.