Travelling with kids: tips for planning the trip and staying safe

You'll have an easier trip if you sort the paperwork early and plan each day around naps. These travelling with kids tips run from passports to the trip home, then cover pools, sun, roads and food. Each tip names the official or medical source it comes from. For what goes in the bag, use our baby travel packing list.

How to plan a trip with kids, step by step

1. Check every passport. ICA says yours must have at least 6 months left when you leave, and children under 16 get 5-year passports, so theirs run out sooner.
2. Read MFA's travel page for where you're going and eRegister your trip. MFA uses eRegister to contact you in an emergency.
3. Book a travel health visit 4 to 6 weeks before you fly, as KKH and CDA advise. Which jabs your child needs is in our travel vaccinations guide.
4. Plan each day around naps and meals. One main outing, then back for the long nap, keeps a toddler's routine close to home.
5. Arrange car seats at the other end. Ask the car hire or transfer company, then check the seat suits your child's size and comes with its manual, as the AAP advises.
6. Check the room when you arrive. The CDC says to look for unsafe balcony or stair railings, exposed wiring, pest poisons and paint chips, and the AAP warns hotel cots may not meet current safety standards.
7. Put your phone number on each child. The CDC says children should carry contact numbers in their clothes or pockets in case you get separated.
8. Pack a health kit, plus a doctor's letter if your child has a medical condition or takes medicine, as KKH suggests. Our first aid kit checklist covers the kit.
9. Plan the trip home. ICA asks every traveller to submit the free SG Arrival Card within 3 days before arriving, unless you're a resident coming in through Woodlands or Tuas.

Holiday safety for kids: what helps

The CDC names road accidents and drowning as major safety concerns for children who travel. Here's what helps with each risk, and who says so.

Water needs the closest watch. The CDC says pools abroad may have no fence to keep toddlers out, and the AAP adds that pools and beaches may have no lifeguard. KKH's advice is to swim only in chlorinated pools and always supervise your child in the water. The AAP says floaties and water wings can deflate and don't prevent drowning. The AAP also wants your child in a life jacket on a small boat.

The CDC says UV is strongest near the equator, at high altitude and from 10am to 4pm, and that babies under 6 months need extra protection from the sun. For mosquitoes, a repellent with at least 7% and under 10% DEET meets both gov.sg's advice for babies from 2 months and KKH's 7 to 20% for children abroad. The full guide is mosquito protection for kids.

KKH also advises avoiding ice, ice cream and tap water, and sterilising bottles for babies under 6 months by boiling them or with sterilising tablets. MFA's advice is to confirm the tap water is drinkable before anyone drinks it.

On the road, hold hands at crossings, because the CDC notes children may not be used to which way traffic comes from in another country. If you hire a driver, the AAP suggests telling them you're not in a hurry and asking for no phone use. Around animals, CDA asks you to supervise children and teach them to tell you about any bite or scratch straight away.

Flying with kids, in short

• Changi has Care@Changi Priority Lanes for passengers with infants in arms at all security checkpoints. Its information counters lend strollers for free, first come, first served.
• Breast milk and baby food can go over 100ml through Changi security when your baby flies with you.
• For ear pain on descent, the CDC suggests a feed from the breast or a bottle for babies, and gum for older children.
• Settle your baby without sleep medicine, since the CDC says antihistamines shouldn't be given under 1 year old. What does help is in baby sleep while travelling.

For more by age, read flying with a baby or flying with a toddler. Longer trips have their own long-haul flight guide.

Travelling with another family or grandparents

Agree the basics before anyone books: a daily budget for meals, how you'll split shared costs, nap and bedtimes, and rest days with nothing planned. If one family has a baby and the other has school-age kids, plan some days apart so each keeps its own pace.

Settle who watches the children in the water. The AAP suggests naming one adult as the water watcher when it's easy to get distracted, such as at a pool party, and taking turns.

Travelling as the only parent? The CDC says to carry custody papers or a notarised permission letter from the other parent. MFA suggests sharing your itinerary, travel insurance policy and bookings with family or friends at home. If grandparents are coming, see travel with grandparents and kids.

Car sickness and long drives

For a child who gets motion sick, the NHS suggests looking ahead at a fixed point such as the horizon, fresh air, breaks on long trips, and distraction with talk, music or songs. It also says not to read or watch screens on the move.

On a road trip, the AAP suggests a break about every two hours. Never leave your child alone in a parked car, even for a minute. The AAP says the inside can reach deadly temperatures in minutes.

For medicine, ask a pharmacist. The NHS says dissolvable tablets are available for children, and a pharmacist can recommend the right one. Driving across the Causeway or Second Link? Singapore's own rule is in our car seat guide.

Coming home to Singapore

ICA says all travellers must submit the SG Arrival Card, with its health declaration, before arriving. The exceptions are residents coming in through Woodlands and Tuas Checkpoints, and people transiting without clearing immigration. Submit it within 3 days before you arrive, and ICA counts arrival day as one of the 3. It's free, and ICA says sites that charge a fee aren't linked to it.

At the airport, ICA asks families with children under 6 to use the Special Assistance Lanes, which take a family group of up to 4 through together. A Singapore passport with less than 6 months left still works for coming home, ICA says, so renew it before your next trip out.

When to get help

See a doctor quickly, or go to a Children's Emergency, for any of these:

• A fever in a baby under 3 months. KKH's doctors list it as a reason for the Children's Emergency. For an older child, our fever checker helps you decide.
• A road accident, a fall from a height or a near drowning, also on KKH's list. After any water scare, read dry drowning signs.
• Persistent vomiting or refusal to drink, with tiredness and less urine, says KKH. The CDC calls dehydration the biggest threat when a young child has diarrhoea or vomiting.
• An animal bite or scratch. CDA says to wash it with soap and water for 15 minutes, then see a doctor straight away.
• Fever, diarrhoea, vomiting, a rash or jaundice after you're home. KKH's Children's Travel Clinic sees children with these at Clinic M, Children's Tower Level 1. Our sick child guide covers illness on the trip.

In Singapore, KKH's doctors say your GP or polyclinic can treat anything non-urgent. For something urgent, go to the Children's Emergency at KKH or NUH, which runs round the clock. Call 995 for an emergency, a line SCDF asks you to keep for real emergencies.

Abroad, call the local emergency number from MFA's page for that country (its Malaysia page, for example, gives 999), then your travel policy's assistance line. MFA's 24-hour Consular Response Centre is on +65 6379 8800, and its help page lists Singapore's embassies and consulates. Before you go, check your policy covers medical treatment and evacuation where you're going, since the GIA says you may need both where medical care is limited.

Frequently asked questions

How do I plan a family trip with a baby or toddler?

Start about 6 weeks out. Check passports against ICA's 6-month rule and eRegister with MFA. Book a travel health visit 4 to 6 weeks ahead, as KKH advises, then plan one main outing a day around naps.

What are the most important holiday safety tips for kids?

Watch water most closely. The CDC says drowning is a leading cause of death among travellers, and wants an adult who can swim within arm's length of a toddler near water. Car seats come next, then sun and mosquito protection. The table above covers each one.

How do we make travelling with another family work?

Agree on budget, nap times, rest days and how you'll split costs before you book. Name one adult as the water watcher at the pool and take turns, as the AAP suggests. Plan some days apart so each family keeps its own routine.

Any tips for a holiday with toddlers?

Keep sleep and meal times close to home and plan one main outing a day. The CDC suggests bringing safe, familiar snacks from home for when local food doesn't appeal. For naps and jet lag, see baby sleep while travelling.

What travel tips for families leaving Singapore should we know?

Check each passport has 6 months left, as ICA requires when you leave. Children under 16 get 5-year passports, so theirs expire sooner. eRegister with MFA and save its 24-hour line, +65 6379 8800. A new baby's passport is covered in how to apply for a baby passport.

Do kids need an SG Arrival Card?

Yes. ICA says all travellers must submit it, and exempts only residents coming in through Woodlands or Tuas and people in transit, so a Singapore child flying home needs one. It's free, and you can submit it within 3 days before you arrive.