Traveling with your children is a great idea with wonderful benefits to both them and you. They get to see and otherwise experience life in other societies, cultural rituals and social mores and customs, which would not otherwise be available to them. And longer term travel opens the opportunity for language learning that will pay off for a life time. The fellow who said travel was the best school of all knew what he was talking about.
The benefits for parents, too, are immense. Only those who have had the experience can really understand how magical it is for a parent to experience the wonders of an exotic world through the enchanted gaze of their own children. Before you get there, though, we have to face the reality that parents do tend to worry; it comes with the territory. Certainly excessive and irrational worry is only a shame that deprives both you and your children of wonderful opportunities. That though doesn't mean that there are not constructive and wise forms of worry which can enhance such travel experiences. The best protection for your children is not only a benefit to their well being, but to your peace of mind.
So, while the tendency to over-shelter your children is a counterproductive one to which you should not surrender, your parental responsibilities do require the optimum preparation for the healthiest and happiest trip abroad possible. CDC travel vaccines advice should be part of that preparation.
At the website for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention some fascinating statistics are provided about the travel of American children. It turns out that approximately 1.9 million of them travel abroad annually. And the tendency has been on the rise. This concern for the safety of traveling children is not only a pressing personal concern; it has as well larger social implications.
Children are confronted by the identical illnesses that face traveling adults. However, in the case of children, these same risks are given an additional wrinkle or two that requires forethought on your part. Understandably, children of a young age will be less dependable reporters of emerging symptoms. They will less reliably recognize and express the onset of the signs of illness. This increases the difficulty in identifying illness in early stages, when some treatments will have the best effect. Additionally, of course, kids have a way of getting into stuff (as well as getting stuff into their mouths) which tends to heighten their illness contracting risks.
There are many considerations for addressing the good health of children about to travel internationally and in general parents should research the health risks of their intended location. A core part of such a protection plan should be a well thought out vaccination strategy.
It is preferable for children to complete their full set of shots, including standard childhood vaccines, in accordance with a safe and cautiously paced schedule prior to overseas travel. This is important as many diseases to which children are not frequently exposed in the U.S. or other developed countries, due to herd immunity, can be much more prevalent and virulent in many less developed areas of the world.
If circumstances demand it, accelerated vaccine schedules are possible. It is recommended to consult on such an accelerated schedule with your family physician or pediatrician.
Also, of course, we have to take into account the vaccines targeted for potential illnesses unique to our travel destination. Information on CDC travel vaccines for children in the full range of such travel options can be found on the organization's web site. Bear in mind, that in some instances, these more intense vaccines may not be given to children. You should consult a travel medicine specialist about the best options for protection of your children. Also, be sure to put your specialist in early contact with your children's pediatrician so that the soundest plan, tailored to your own children's unique dispositions, can be implemented as early before departure as possible.
You know the old line about an ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure. Well, the currency of prevention is education and preparation. Your fears for your children's safety should not stand in the way of the marvelous opportunities that travel will provide them, nor the memories of a lifetime you will have as you see them learn about this great, diverse world of ours. A little planning opens the window upon a world of wonders for the both of you.
The benefits for parents, too, are immense. Only those who have had the experience can really understand how magical it is for a parent to experience the wonders of an exotic world through the enchanted gaze of their own children. Before you get there, though, we have to face the reality that parents do tend to worry; it comes with the territory. Certainly excessive and irrational worry is only a shame that deprives both you and your children of wonderful opportunities. That though doesn't mean that there are not constructive and wise forms of worry which can enhance such travel experiences. The best protection for your children is not only a benefit to their well being, but to your peace of mind.
So, while the tendency to over-shelter your children is a counterproductive one to which you should not surrender, your parental responsibilities do require the optimum preparation for the healthiest and happiest trip abroad possible. CDC travel vaccines advice should be part of that preparation.
At the website for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention some fascinating statistics are provided about the travel of American children. It turns out that approximately 1.9 million of them travel abroad annually. And the tendency has been on the rise. This concern for the safety of traveling children is not only a pressing personal concern; it has as well larger social implications.
Children are confronted by the identical illnesses that face traveling adults. However, in the case of children, these same risks are given an additional wrinkle or two that requires forethought on your part. Understandably, children of a young age will be less dependable reporters of emerging symptoms. They will less reliably recognize and express the onset of the signs of illness. This increases the difficulty in identifying illness in early stages, when some treatments will have the best effect. Additionally, of course, kids have a way of getting into stuff (as well as getting stuff into their mouths) which tends to heighten their illness contracting risks.
There are many considerations for addressing the good health of children about to travel internationally and in general parents should research the health risks of their intended location. A core part of such a protection plan should be a well thought out vaccination strategy.
It is preferable for children to complete their full set of shots, including standard childhood vaccines, in accordance with a safe and cautiously paced schedule prior to overseas travel. This is important as many diseases to which children are not frequently exposed in the U.S. or other developed countries, due to herd immunity, can be much more prevalent and virulent in many less developed areas of the world.
If circumstances demand it, accelerated vaccine schedules are possible. It is recommended to consult on such an accelerated schedule with your family physician or pediatrician.
Also, of course, we have to take into account the vaccines targeted for potential illnesses unique to our travel destination. Information on CDC travel vaccines for children in the full range of such travel options can be found on the organization's web site. Bear in mind, that in some instances, these more intense vaccines may not be given to children. You should consult a travel medicine specialist about the best options for protection of your children. Also, be sure to put your specialist in early contact with your children's pediatrician so that the soundest plan, tailored to your own children's unique dispositions, can be implemented as early before departure as possible.
You know the old line about an ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure. Well, the currency of prevention is education and preparation. Your fears for your children's safety should not stand in the way of the marvelous opportunities that travel will provide them, nor the memories of a lifetime you will have as you see them learn about this great, diverse world of ours. A little planning opens the window upon a world of wonders for the both of you.
About the Author:
India is now a major destination for American travelers. If you're thinking of going, you need to read Mitchell Jones' great article on CDC travel vaccines for India . See also his rankings of the best zoos in America .
