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Safe & Sound offers Sound Advice for Parents

By Kathleen Ganster

Traveling can be stressful enough without children, but throw a couple of little ones (or not so little ones) and you may just decide to stay home.

Dr. Marlene M. Coleman, a pediatrician with more than thirty years experience, wrote Safe & Sound: Healthy Travel with Children (The Globe Pequot Press, 2003, $16.95) to help wary parents. “I have seen so many traveling problems with children. I wrote the book  to assuage parents' anxieties before and during travel and bring them (the children) back safe and sound.” said Coleman.

Coleman’s book is full of travel advice for parents, grandparents and others traveling with children. Quite honestly, I think this worthwhile book is mistitled. While you think it is just about health and safety issues – and there is a wealth of information about these issues – it also covers other topics such as choosing a destination, documents you will need, and what to pack.

As a parent of three children myself, I did, however, particularly utilize the health information from Dr. Coleman. I traveled once with a sick child and while I never want to repeat the experience, Coleman’s information helps prepare parents for such incidents while also helping them to prevent it.

Chapter 3: Health Guidelines to Follow has information about what information to take with you, what diseases to be aware of, vaccination advice and even information on jet lag. The section on “Assembling an Effective Travel Medicine Kit” in Chapter 4 was just what I needed as reminder for me to get one together for an upcoming Caribbean trip. Valuable, valuable advice.

The book is also useful for any traveler. I often find that travel guides and books focus on so many issues, skirting and skimming health concerns. Not only does Coleman have years of experience as a pediatrician, she now works at Caltech and said, “As a college physician at Caltech, I give travel medicine advice because its students and faculty travel world-wide teaching and researching.” Everyone can use this advice.

Kathleen Ganster can be reached at ganster@connecttime.net.

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