Traveling WITHOUT Children

You can find lots of advice from various online support groups about traveling with your FA kids. However, what about when you travel without them? Meaning what do you need to prepare when leave you them with Grandma and escape with that stranger of a spouse. I hear you laughing now. How often does that really happen? Well, it is happening to me this week, we are going to Spain! Grandma has arrived, our flight is this afternoon and my five year old is running a slight temperature and is complaining his ear hurts. But that's another story.

I know many of you have trouble with family members understanding and taking your childrens' food allegies seriously. I am lucky to be blest with parents and in-laws that understand the severity my kids allergies and want to do everything they can to insure their safety.

Here is what we have been working on the past week so that Grandma can take over:

1. I have always believed my house is the safest place for my food allergic kids. However, I went through all the cupboards to make sure all unsafe food was either tossed or clearly labeled. This was actually a request by my Mom. She doesn't want to make any mistakes. (I told her she could get cow's milk yogurt and milk for herself but she doesn't want to take any risks so even she is going soy for the week). So out went the crackers my husband bought for him and I but contain sunflower oil. Labeled was the box of Ms. Grass's soup which I bought when I was sick and wanted some comfort food. I was actually surprised how little in our house was unsafe. We keep a pretty clean home!

2. I pointed out the pan which I had been using for eggs. "Well, put it somewhere where I won't use it. I don't even want it in the cupboard." as my Mom's reply.

3. Provide lists of routines, meal ideas, things to do and of course emergency contacts and numbers and instructions. We went other where the almost half a dozen epi-pens are, how to recoginize anaphalaxis and how of course to use them.

4. But most importantly we filled out and had notarized a medical release form. A friend of mine told me a story about how she was in the ER with one of her children this past year and a man came in with his nephew. The child's mother was in labor at another hospital but the child was running a high fever and needed medical attention. The hospital refused to treat the child because the uncle wasn't the legal guardian and didn't have a medical release. So whenever you leave your children, food allergic or otherwise, always leave a notarized medical release form.

So we are off! I'm nervous but I know my kids are in good hands.

Addendum: Red Dog wanted me to add the medical release form. Here is where I printed a free form