 |
|
|
Bringing the Baby Gear |
|
|
|
If you have younger children who are still in car seats and strollers, you need to decide whether or not to bring the strollers and car seats along on the trip. If you are traveling by plane, you’ll need to decide if you want to check the baby gear along with your luggage, or if you want to gate-check your stroller so you can use it in the airports, and haul along the car seat to use on the aircraft.
If you decide against bringing along your own stroller or car seat, rentals are available at several (though not all) locations once you have arrived. The rental strollers, however, in many instances tend to be made of hard plastic, with no cloth lining or padding for comfort, making napping much more difficult. While they work well enough for older toddlers who spend more time walking than riding, they are not as appropriate for younger children who may spend much of their time sitting in them. Another minus – there is generally little or no storage space for the gear you will inevitably be bringing along. Yet another disadvantage should you decide not to bring your own stroller is that you won’t have access to a stroller should you find yourself outside of the theme parks.
If you have a smaller child, especially a child not yet able to walk, a stroller can be invaluable at restaurants, shopping centers, or smaller attractions that don’t provide rentals.
The Pros and Cons of Bringing Along Your Own Stroller
The Pros
-Having a stroller - especially if you’re traveling with active toddlers - will help you check in, get to your gate, and generally retain your sanity.
-It frees up your hands to carry any necessary luggage and provides a place to help hold all the gear that goes along with traveling with children, such as diaper bags and bottles.
-It’s helpful at airport stopovers on the way to your final destination. You can gate-check your stroller so that it will be available for you right as you depart the plane either at the next airport or at your final destination.
-It offers even children who have “outgrown” their strollers a place to rest after hours of walking around the parks in the heat of the day.
-It provides great storage space for the gear necessary for the day’s adventure and for all of those souvenirs you will be accumulating.
-It provides a reasonably comfortable place to rest, relax, and nap for your child wherever you happen to be at the time.
-It doubles as a highchair at restaurants and in your hotel room.
-The cost of the average stroller or travel stroller (unless it’s an extremely high-end model or brand) is generally far less than renting one for 5 or more days through most rental companies (whether a car rental or baby gear rental company).
The Cons
-It creates added work at the security checkpoints. It needs to be folded up and put through the X-ray machine, which means taking out your child, sleeping or not, along with all the gear packed in or on it.
-It’s one more item to drag along If you’re bringing a stroller, be sure you bring the right one!
-It should be quick and easy to set up and if possible with only one hand
-It should be easily folded down, again with one hand if possible
-It should have a hood or cover of some sort in order to protect against the hot Florida sun and its UV rays
-It should have ample storage space for all of the gear and souvenirs you will find yourself hauling along with you throughout the day - to be sure if your idea of ample is truly adequate; grab a jacket or two, a diaper bag filled with gear, a small blanket, a couple of stuffed toys, and a handful of additional items - can you fit it all in and still have room for the kids?
-It should recline and be comfortable enough for napping, resting, and relaxing The average everyday umbrella stroller doesn’t follow a single guideline listed above so if that’s all you have, consider investing in something a bit more substantial (though only if you intend to bring a stroller along). Now, you certainly don’t have to go out and spend a fortune on the fanciest model on the market, but you should adhere to the guidelines listed above to ensure that you don’t find yourself spitting and sputtering about the model you did purchase. If you still want an umbrella style stroller, there are plenty that meet the guidelines listed above, all of which are lightweight and relatively compact.
Just be sure to choose one that has both a hood as well as built in storage space. If you prefer a sturdier stroller, make sure that it’s travel friendly (meaning that it doesn’t weigh as much as an SUV, it doesn’t require an instruction manual as thick as the phone book, that it folds up into a relatively compact position, and that it has wheels capable of maneuvering any type of terrain you may encounter).
Car Seats
Provided that your children are still of car-seat or booster-seat age, you will need to consider whether or not you want them to sit in their own seat (which they can easily get out of) or if you prefer them to be seated in their car seat. As a note - booster seats are not approved for use on airplanes. These will need to be checked along with your luggage.
Car Seat Pros
As with strollers, there are pros and cons to bringing them along:
- A car seat provides the safest seat for your toddler.
- Holding an infant on your lap for an extended (or even a short) flight is both extremely demanding and very restrictive. And if you are thinking that your soft front baby carrier is the answer, think again - slings or front baby carriers are not allowed for use during the majority of the flight. Having your own car seat along will enable you to enjoy a bit of freedom, with your child safely buckled in.
-It’s readily available for you upon arrival.
-There are no costs involved in bringing it along.
-You can check it through if you don’t want to carry it with you through the airport.
Car Seat Cons
-It’s one more bulky item to drag along with you through the airport.
-It takes extra time and effort to properly secure the car seat on the plane.
-There is always the possibility of damage or loss (though after 12 years of hauling one along myself, I have never experienced a problem) if it is checked with your luggage.
Many car-rental companies rent car seats if you don’t want to bring your own along, but keep in mind that they can be costly. Depending on how long you are vacationing, the cost of renting one could actually add up to the cost of purchasing a new one. It’s also a risky proposition – the rentals are generally (though not always) available only on a firstcome, first-served basis, so if there isn’t one available at the time of your arrival, you’re out of luck.
|
|
