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Summer Travel Safety

All Roads Don't Lead To Rome

By Ira H. La Voe

As summer dawns upon us, many of us take time away from our all too often hectic schedules, monotonous meetings, mundane luncheons and our never ending work day. We hope to take a holiday and seek solace in the comfort of family and friends. We envision ourselves basking in the sunlight, reveling in the prolonged daylight...taking time to rest and reminisce. Warm sand beneath our feet. A book resting upon our lap. An icy cold drink with fruits stacked high and topped off with umbrellas, sit in the palm of our hand. We sip it slowly as we gaze out upon a gentle body of blue water.

Then it happens! Our drink spills out over our lap. The pages of the book are ruined. The fruit falls to the ground. A sponge football now rests on our chest as our children encircle us yelling for ice cream from the man with the hump in his back who has steadfastly walked along the shore line year after year carrying that portable fridge the size of a small Volkswagon. One cannot say no. They rant and rave until you give in so they have yet another opportunity to chip a tooth on that ice cream sandwich well preserved in dry ice from last summer. We reach into our bag and readily pay ten dollars for three sandwiches for that peace of mind we had anxiously and mistakenly assumed would be ours.

While summer is autonomy and self-determination for our children, it is just the opposite for many of us. We will take to our steel chariots and embark upon the asphalt highways to entertain our children’s requests. However, these roads--unlike that of the Appian Way--do not lead to Rome. On the contrary, our path leads to the beaches, theme parks, museums, aquariums, roller rinks, sporting and concert events alike so that we may fulfill the dreams and desires of our kids.

The countless hours in the office will pale in comparison to the eternity of the car ride to that of our destinations. Some of us will venture to the Jersey Shore or the Pennsylvania Poconos. The more courageous of us may embark upon a trek to the Outer Banks. Yet a brave few, the truly fearless, may head out onto that stretch of concrete so fondly called Interstate 95 towards Florida. For those individuals, one must allocate an extra few hours in transit time and several additional dollars to indulge our children’s fancies in that cultural mecca entitled, “South of the Border”.

Are we there yet? I need a bathroom! I’m hungry. I can hear it now. Those mundane business meetings and empty handshakes seem like a lifetime ago. Well...perhaps the following recommendations can make those summertime treks to those far and not so distant places a bit more bearable...enjoyable...and most importantly, safer.

When traveling with children, remember that their safety is first and foremost. All infants less than twelve months of life or twenty pounds should be safely secured in a rear facing car seat. Many infants may reach twenty pounds long before that of their first birthday. Nevertheless, it is strongly recommended they are placed rear facing. Some car seats can accommodate infants up to thirty-five pounds. Once a child reaches his/her first birthday, one may be placed in a forward facing car seat provided they exceed twenty pounds. They will remain in this position until they reach forty pounds. A booster seat is recommended for those children greater than forty pounds. At that time they may partake in a lap and shoulder belt. Please keep in mind that some children are the size of an adolescent or a young adult for that matter. If this is the case, you should discuss this matter with your pediatrician.

When traveling with children, it is best to have a First Aid Kit accessible. Many of the store bought kits are expensive and often have the bare essentials. It is quite simple to purchase the necessary items yourself and place them in a storage container of your choice. The contents of which should include: Tylenol and Motrin (infant or children brands depending upon the age of your child), Children’s Benadryl, Neosporin Ointment, bandages in an array of sizes, sterile gauze, betadine, alcohol prep pads, sterile saline, safety scissors, ice packs, medical adhesive tape and a thermometer. A listing of your child’s medical history such as drug allergies, medical problems and emergency contact information should be affixed in the kit as well. The phone number of your pediatrician should be in an accessible place in the kit so you can contact him/her for instruction in case of an emergency. The office should have an after hours on-call service whereby one can contact the physician on call for any emergency which should arise.

Do not get over zealous and incorporate suture materials, intravenous fluids or portable oxygen canisters. If any emergency should arise on the road, seek medical attention immediately. A cellular telephone is especially handy in times such as these. If you do not have access to a mobile telephone, one can access the emergency call boxes found alongside the interstate highways and turnpikes.

Keep in mind the contents of the kit should cater to the needs of your child and his/her medical needs. For example, if you are traveling with an asthmatic, it would be in your best interest to have a battery operated nebulizer on hand as well as additional packets of albuterol if medically indicated. A child who is prone to allergy and is followed medically for it, should have any prescribed medications to alleviate the severity of symptoms such as an oral antihistamine, inhaled nasal corticosteroid or even that of an Epinephrine pen if deemed warranted by a health care professional.

If you are enroute to the shore or Poconos, make sure the kit is housed with sunscreen and insect repellent. A variety of sun block should be placed in the kit depending upon your child’s complexion. A block with an SPF of 30 to 45 is warranted for those who have fair skin. All insect repellents to be used on children should have less than 10% of DEET.

Let us not forget that when we finally succumb to the complaints of our children and stop at that rest station for those bathroom breaks, our children must NEVER go unattended. Gender specific bathrooms have very little bearing when our children’s safety is at stake. We live in a society and time where we cannot lose sight of them for even a moment when in unfamiliar surroundings.

To ensure that the trip is an amicable one pack snacks so one can diminish the number of rest stops enroute to the final destination. Fruit cups, pudding packs, juice boxes are nice ways to keep them busy and keep their minds off the drive and focused upon filling their stomachs. Cassettes, compact discs and even VHS tapes/DVD’s for those of you with the state-of-the-art minivan equipped with the retractable roof and video cassette/DVD players, will serve as additional assets on those long treks. James Bond’s 1965 silver birch Aston Martin has nothing over some of the family cars and trucks on the road today. Who needs a rear axle rocket launcher when one has a tape of Clifford or Shrek as the cries of Brittany Spears echo from the dashboard?

Inevitably, all of us will embark this summer upon the concrete corridors that zig zag our countryside in order so that we may spend quality time with our families simultaneously fulfilling their desires and wishes. We do not look on this as a chore, but a joy, and as an act of love despite the few, unforeseen problems which will--despite all the planning in the world--inevitably ensue.

Nevertheless, whether we end up drenched and dripping wet at a water theme park or pulling our hair out at an Nsync concert, let us remember we do it for our children. Thus, no matter which road we choose, whether it be Routes 76, 80, 95, I95, 295, 476, or the Appian Way for that matter, let us all remember that our children’s safety is first and foremost.

Dr. Ira H. La Voe practices general pediatrics at Broomall Pediatrics in Broomall and West Chester, PA. He earned a BA in History at Syracuse University and pursued post-baccalaureate/graduate studies at Rutgers University in Cellular Biology. He earned his Doctorate degree from The Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, and trained at The Children's Hospital of New Jersey at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center.

Dr. LaVoe and his wife, Marcy, have a 15-month old daughter, Molly, and are expecting their second child in August.