Traveling with kids..make it easy!

Often people believe life comes to a standstill after the arrival of a baby. They can’t go out, can’t travel, can’t have fun anymore! That’s not true! Of course, after the arrival of a child all programs or outings need to be accommodated and planned according to the child.

Me and my husband love traveling. Since my husband loves driving, we have taken many car trips too. These trips have included our kids as young as 7 months old!

When to take out a baby for travel is totally each parent’s choice. There are no hard and fast rules for parenting as every parent is different.

What I am sharing is my experience of traveling with kids at various stages and how to make the traveling fun and easy. These are just general tips and parents can modify according to their parenting styles and preferences:

1. Don’t panic before your travel starts. Just go with the flow.
2. Be flexible with the child’s food and food timings. One of the most common fears when traveling is not able to give the child his food on time or the regular food that he eats. Just relax. Your child will be absolutely okay if for a few days the timings go a bit haywire or if he has his milk twice instead of thrice. I believe that kids are pretty flexible that way.
3. Carry extra clothes, diaper, bottle, nappy rash cream, wipes, few over-the-counter medicines for stomach issues handy in a bag when traveling with a baby. Just change the diaper every few hours. You can feed him at your will.
4. Carry water, snacks, chocolates, etc. when traveling with slightly older kids. Don’t bother about the “junk” during holidays. After all holidays are meant to be break from the usual routine.
5. When traveling in a car make halts at frequent intervals so that the kids can run around for some time, eat some meals, and enjoy the trip!
6. Once my kids turned a year old, I never carried any food with me when traveling. They had the regular rice, dal, veggies, eggs, chicken, etc. that was available in the hotel. Of course, they wouldn’t eat too spicy things. They would even at the dhabas!
7. Always book hotels which have kid-friendly activities. Kids have the best fun in the swimming pools. Most hotels have activities for the kids too depending on their age. Explore the surroundings too.
8. Set yourself and your kids free once you travel! Let your kids also explore the new place. Don’t worry about when they wake up or when they sleep! We all follow a set routine throughout the year; vacations are meant to be “life without rules.”
9. Always carry medicines for nausea and vomiting, headache, fever, antiseptic for injuries, chewing gums, Band-Aids. Keep a pair of clothes, a jacket handy for the children.
10. Carry few board games when going for a long journey. Also for that time give some leeway to the gadget time.
11. Tell them about the significance of the place that you are traveling. Also, talk to them and know about their perspective about the travel and the place.

Traveling is a lot of fun with kids, of course not without some crankiness or vomiting at times! But these are the memories that the kids do cherish for a lifetime.

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Glow and How!

A healthy and glowing skin adds to the confidence of any woman.  I am often being asked as to how I still don’t have any wrinkles or sagging skin!  It’s not that I spend thousands of rupees or 4-5 hours a day taking care of my skin.  It’s just a routine that I follow which helps me.

There are a lot of factors which affect the skin, especially women.  Hormonal issues, stress, exposure to sunlight and pollution, erratic eating schedule, lack of sleep, spending a lot of time in front of the screen, lack of a proper skin care regime, etc.

One needs to invest some time daily and follow a proper ritual to have a good skin.

Sharing a few tips which might help you to have a healthy skin.  Of course, any medical issues like acne, psoriasis, eczema, etc. needs medical attention.

 

1. Eat well. Never go for crash diets.  All the food groups are important for our health.  Totally banishing carbohydrates or fats from the diet takes away the glow from the skin.  Daily have meals which are healthy with lots of fruits, vegetables, proteins, some amount of fat, carbohydrates.
2. Try to get a good sleep. Of course, women as moms, balancing work and home, taking care of everyone are the ones who get very limited sleep or sometimes disturbed sleep.  This also affects the skin’s health.  Try to meditate, have a glass of warm milk, or a good bath to get a good sleep.  This will help your skin.
3. What helps for me is washing the face with a mild face-wash first thing in the morning, which removes the excess oil and dirt accumulated in the night. I have an oily skin, so I use a face-wash meant for oily skin.  You can use a face-wash based on your skin type.  After that, I apply a good moisturizer to replenish the moisture.
4. This is oft repeated but generally most neglected part of skin care, using a sunscreen. Invest in a good sunscreen with high SPF to protect against the harmful UV radiation of the sun.  The ultraviolet radiation damages the skin a lot.  Use sunscreen even if you are at home.
5. The ritual of cleansing, toning, and moisturizing works wonders for the skin. One can definitely invest in a few minutes to do this, which will help in having a healthy skin for the lifetime.
6. Always use good make-up products. Use products which suit your skin but don’t go for very cheap and harsh products.  They damage the skin.  So, better spend a few bucks more which will ensure that your skin is safe in the long run.
7. Exercising helps to flush the toxins out of the body and improve the blood circulation. This automatically adds a glow to the skin.  Do any form of exercise daily like brisk walking, yoga, gymming, dancing.  This will keep your skin healthy in a fun way!  This is the least expensive form to ensure a glowing skin.
8. Remove your makeup before hitting the sack every night. This is very important as makeup will not allow the skin to breathe and hence damage it.  Do remove the makeup no matter howsoever tired you are.
9. Invest in a good day and night cream. Night creams are specially formulated to work on night time when our skin is resting.  It replenishes and rejuvenates the skin.
10. Our kitchen is an excellent source for scrubs and masks. Simply mix gram flour, honey, and rose water and apply for a firm and glowing skin.  You may also add egg white, which works excellently on tightening the skin.  Mix papaya pulp and honey.  This will give an instant glow.  Use oatmeal, sugar and honey as a scrub.  For oily skin, fuller’s earth and rosewater paste works wonders.
11. Consult a dermatologist if you have persistent skin issues. Consult a gynecologist or endocrinologist if you have hormonal issues.  Do not self-medicate.

These are few pointers from me to have a healthy and glowing skin.  Ladies, glow and how!