Traveling WITHOUT Kids
My husband and I were recently blessed with the opportunity to take a trip to Niagara Falls in Canada; without our toddler son. My mom, bless her heart, offered to fly out from Texas to stay with our son so that my husband and I could go just the two of us and recharge our batteries a little while spending some much needed time together. Some friends couldn’t believe that we would consider leaving our son not just overnight, but for 5 days but I had no doubt that he was in good hands with my mom and my husband and I were really looking forward to the chance to get away. That said I DID have some anxiety about leaving our son as I had never left him overnight before. A friend, who had taken a similar trip a few months ago, recommended creating a binder that would contain all of the information that my mom might possibly need and it worked so well for us that I wanted to share the tip with all of you!
This project does NOT have to cost a lot of money. I actually went to the dollar tree and bought a soft cover binder and some dividers. The entire project literally cost me $2 plus the cost of the paper and ink that I filled the binder with. Best of all, I can reuse it in the future should we ever need (or want) to leave our son overnight again. Below, you will find a list of the sections that I included in my binder. I hope that you find them helpful and that you too have a chance to take a fun trip sometime soon! If not, this binder can also be used for daily babysitters and just for emergency reference, not a bad tool to have.
Emergency Binder Contents:
- Contact Info: This was the very first page of my binder. I started with “where you are” info because in the case of an emergency your caregiver may not be able to recall under pressure the exact address of your home. If your child is being cared for at someone else’s home this could still be useful. Either way, I don’t see harm in including it. I also included on this page cell phone numbers, email addresses, and hotel info for where were would be staying. In an emergency you want your caregiver to feel confident that they will be able to contact you. I also included a few names of close friends/neighbors in our area that my mom could ask for help if she needed to. She said she thought that was a nice thought.
- Insurance info: Page two, included all of our insurance info. If relevant you may also find it helpful to have a copy of your insurance cards. List the company, plan number, and any other info that your caregiver could need if a situation where your child might require medical attention.
- Emergency Rooms: Page three listed all of the emergency rooms in our area and an explanation of which to use in which situation. For example, we listed the closest ER but also listed the Children’s Hospital and an urgent care a bit further away which we have used in the past depending on the severity of the incident.
- Medical Providers: The next page in my book consisted of a list of my son’s medical providers. I listed his primary care pediatrician, his dentist, and our eye doctor along with the addresses and phone numbers of each. I also listed the business hours of each so that my mom would know if she could call should something come up. I also listed the pharmacy that we use for prescriptions and the hours and contact info for it. This is also an ideal place to list and explain any medical conditions or allergies that you child may have since this information could prove critical in an emergency situation and your caregiver may not know it off hand.
- Technology FAQ: My mom found his section particularly helpful. She has a tough time with our multiple TV remotes, never mind our son’s toddler clock! In this section, we explained each piece of tech in our house that she might have a reason to use with step by step instructions. We also included passwords for our garage key-less entry and wireless internet. Before we left we also made a point to go over all of this with her and give her a chance to practice a bit. We know firsthand what happens if our son is having a bad day and we don’t have access to Mickey on TV!
- Bedtime Routines: Bedtime in our house can be a struggle and we have found that having a routine helps us quite a bit. For you this section could also include other routines that make your day easier or if your child is school aged, it would probably be a great idea to include a school schedule and information about times for pickups and drop offs. I’m of the school of thought that more info is better than less. I think it’s better to over explain than to assume that something is known only to discover that it wasn’t. Things to include in this section could also be where to find extra sets of sheets if a bed happens to be wet or even where to find special loveys or a spare tube of toothpaste. Remember, if your caregiver is coming to you, they aren’t familiar with your home or how you run it. If you have an older child, he/she can likely help with this a bit but younger children may not be as helpful or able to effectively communicate the answers to a caregiver’s questions.
- Suggested Activities: This category ties into what I mentioned above about school schedules but in this section I included a list of possible activity ideas for each day that we would be gone. On one day I suggested that my mom could take our son to the library. I included the address and hours for the library so that she would know when and where to go. I also included suggestions for things that my mom could do with our son at home, for example play-dough or puzzles, and where they were located in our house. Obviously I left it up to her to decide what to do each day, I didn’t want to completely micromanage things but I did want her to feel like she wasn’t going to run out of ways to entertain our son and have no idea what to do with him. I also chose to include a list of nearby grocery stores in the event that she needed something.
- Tips for Going Out: This section was not originally included in my binder but was requested by my mom when I told her about it. She asked me to include some tips for leaving the house with my son such as what to bring and what times of the day to avoid (like nap time). I included a list of “emergency supplies” that I usually grab on my way out the door such as snacks, a water bottle, an extra pull-up, and of course my travel wipes. If your caregiver doesn’t spend every day around little kids, it’s easy to forget these essentials!
- Food Ideas: I have to admit that this last section was also a last minute addition at the request of my mom. I have been blessed with a picky eater and she asked me to please include a list of go to foods that my son will eat. If you have a picky eater, you know that food battles are terrible and having a list of tried and true favorites was helpful to her. I also made sure that all of the items that I listed were in our house and readily available.
Our trip went great and my mom told me that she ended up taking the binder with her everywhere she went. If a situation had arisen where she had needed the info it would have been with her. Luckily everything went smoothly. In fact, I have to admit that when I got home, my house was far cleaner than when I had left it AND my mom even got him to take naps! I feel so lucky to have my mom. She truly is amazing. I love going places with my son but sometimes getting some quality time with my husband is equally important and if you have the chance to get away I would encourage you to do so. Your children will be fine while you are gone and you may just return with a fresh perspective which makes you an even better parent. Safe Travels!
Niagara Falls 2019