Preparing For Your Child’s First Overnight Trip

Children tend to demand independence the older they get. They once were unable to leave your side, demanding your constant attention. However as they get older, they go off to school and began interacting with friends and other people. This adjustment is difficult for some parents, especially when a child wants to take their first trip away from home, without you. This is a necessary part of growing up and developing into a mature adult. Follow these tips to ease your worry and prepare yourself for your child?s first trip away from home alone.

Know all the details
The more details that you know, the more comfortable that you will be. Know exactly where your child is vacationing and who will be chaperoning. Know how long they will be there, and if they plan on taking any day trips elsewhere. Request exact depart and arrival times, ensuring that you are prepared for transportation. Inquire if your child will have access to electronics or any means of contacting you.

Evaluate your child?s preparedness
Some children are ready for a trip away from home before others are. You will need to evaluate your child individually, not simply based on their age. Instead, evaluate how they interact with their friends and if they have any previous experience with nights away from home. Are they simply going because their friends pressured them to, or do they really want to? These factors can save you a late night trip, picking up a child who cannot stop crying.

Medical conditions
Children with chronic illnesses may struggle with trips away from home. They are used to their parent controlling their condition. It is important that your child is aware of their medical conditions and any requirements of it, prior to vacationing away from home. Although there tend to be numerous family urgent care centers and emergency care centers all over the country, the child should be aware of their medical needs. For example, a child with abdominal pains may understand the abdominal pain causes of their condition, rather than the medical provider simply guessing. Also, consider your child?s ability to administer medications or notify others of a chronic medical condition, if needed.

This could be an important step in planning their first trip away from home. With nearly all urgent care centers in 2014 operating seven days a week (97%) and most being open at least 4 hours per day (99%), the presence of family urgent care centers may be an important step in preventing emergency in these situations.

Notify chaperones of any worries
If chaperones are aware of previous concerns, they can keep an eye out for your child. If your child has a diagnosed medical condition, the trip leader can ensure that the group is aware of local family urgent care centers, in the event of emergencies. Emergency plans should already be established, but it can be helpful to also know of local convenient medical treatments even closer by for chronic medical conditions.

There are currently 20,000 physicians practicing Urgent Care Medicine today, and the number is growing. Urgent care professionals have developed Urgent Care Medicine into an important, recognized specialty that represents this fast growing medical field. Family urgent care centers can also be extremely helpful in minor concerns, such as cuts and sprains. Emergency centers tend to fill up with these minor injuries, making it more difficult to be seen for an actual emergency.

Your child?s first trip away from home alone is often stressful and anxiety producing. You can ease your worried by planning properly. Ensure that your child is ready. Evaluate their knowledge of chronic medical conditions and notify any chaperones of these worries. Urgent care centers can further ease worries by providing a quick and convenient medical treatment option. The average urgent care center saw 342 patients per week as of 2011, according to the Urgent Care Association of America. Additionally, the average center experienced an increase of 28 additional patients per month. The increasing popularity of these centers ensures that there will be an available family urgent care center for your child?s medical needs.