TEHRAN –The Touring and Automobile Club of the Islamic Republic of Iran has formulated day-long educational courses focusing on safe traveling of children and young adults with an eye to challenges, hazards, demands, practical tips, and the threats of vehicle crashes.

A pilot project of the online courses was held on October 3, during a national tourism week, for target populations selected from the southern neighborhoods of Tehran province. The audiences were reached via a homegrown mobile application, called SHAD, launched by the ministry of education to cater distance learning programs in the coronavirus era.

Teamwork skills; deepening the sense of responsibility; financial management during travels; emergency measures and situations; the weather, natural conditions, cultural heritage of a specific travel destination; as well as traffic safety measures and regulations were amongst topics discussed during the outreach program.

The educational content included two separate brochures (for the parents and children), and eight video clips in which instructors explained a sort of well-selected issues.

The ‘child safe tourism’ approach in working with government bodies, communities, and the tourism sector seeks to advise at-risk children to build a more protective tourism environment through education, training, and public campaigning, fostering the culture of tourism, driving, riding, and car racing accentuated on children aged eight to ten.

The tourism industry is booming globally as visits to distant destinations and countries are being easier than ever before. This way the tourism industry could make growing impacts on children’s lives.

Below is 14 tips, provided by Y Travel, for keeping kids safe before we set off on a road trip:

Be diligent

It’s so easy to take your eyes off your child, anything can happen in a blink of an eye.

Keep your children nearby, scan ahead, and around for potential dangers. Set the safe boundaries wherever you are and ensure your children know where they can and can’t go.

Don’t be all freaked out about scary strangers, allow your children to develop those social skills and lovely interactions, but still be stranger danger alert.

Make smart choices

Don’t take a 10 km hike in the middle of the day. Know your child’s limits and capabilities. Don’t travel to countries that are high-risk due to war or political situations. You’re smart enough to know what’s safe and what’s not. If in doubt, research and ask.

Know your risks

Watch for danger, understand what the risks are for anything you do and if it’s too great to protect your child’s safety, then don’t do it.

Don’t go crazy about it and let unwarranted fear get in the way of life lessons and fun.

But, we make sure there are plenty of safety precautions in place and we always triple-check that children of their age can do it safely.

Buy travel insurance

Get travel insurance. It’s not worth the risk. Anything can and will happen.

Make sure you’re adequately covered in case of an unfortunate accident or emergency. Be sure to read the fine print. Some activities may not be covered by travel insurance; you may want to purchase extra coverage to ensure adequate protection.

Drink plenty of (filtered) water

In many countries, bottled or filtered water will be your only option. This includes brushing your teeth and keeping your mouth closed when you shower. Train your children to practice this before they leave for the holiday.

Keep up their hydration while traveling so ensure they are constantly drinking, especially on hot days. Water is always the best option. Skip the juice and soft drinks.

Be careful of food choices

This is especially important in countries where health regulations may not be as prevalent. Still get into the culture, and enjoy the street food, but make sure it looks fresh, healthy and it’s frequented by the locals.

Be prepared

Children at different ages require different things to keep them healthy and safe.

Ensure you have enough water and food for your journey packed in your bag, along with any required medication. If your child requires a certain diet, research ahead of your family holiday to ensure you can adequately provide for that.

Watch the heat

The heat can quickly wipe a child out and cause them to feel ill. Protect them from the sun, keep them cool, and explore early morning and late evening on hot days.

Seat your child in the middle

Sit your child in the middle or next to the window on public transport, just in case you fall asleep and they don’t wander off.

This will also keep them from sticking their legs and hands out into the aisle and potentially grabbing hot coffee or something dangerous.

Take a safety child restraint

Research ahead to know the child safety seat requirements for cars in your destination. It’s a good idea to either take your own child safety car seat or rent one when you arrive at your destination.

There are some regions where this won’t be necessary – neither are seat belts! Sit them on your lap, hold tight, and do not let them get up and wander around in a mini-van, as much as they want to.

Don’t overload your prams

Travel Prams can be brilliant for helping you carry extra bags and luggage. Just be careful you don’t load it too much and the pram falls over. I’ve heard of babies dying as a result of this. It’s an important travel safety tip with kids you may not have considered.

Childproof your room

Accidents can so easily happen in your accommodation. Check the height of the balconies and windows and keep them locked. Move anything that can fall or looks dangerous.

Check for exposed electrical cords around protruding bits of metal or sharp objects. Remove chairs from balconies as children love to climb on them.

Take a medical kit

Don’t forget your travel medical kit with baby paracetamol, band-aids, anti-itching lotion, sunscreen, bandages, bug spray, oral rehydration preparation and anything else you feel is valuable. A thermometer is a really important tool for your medical kit.

Get your travel immunizations

Ensure you know what immunizations your child needs and get them. Prepare in advance as some have to be given x amount of days before you arrive at your destination.

AFM/MG