Start Dreamin’
According to the calendar, we are just about to slip out of winter’s icy grip – the perfect time to start dreaming about summer travel, especially for us skip-genners. Do you have a grandchild reaching a certain milestone in the coming months, such as a graduation or special birthday? Do your working children need any help covering childcare during the upcoming summer? If so, and for any number of other reasons, now is the time to begin dreaming up fun skip-gen trips!
But don’t sit around dreaming too long – many trips and accommodations at key destinations are already starting to fill up, even those with dates well into summer and early autumn. In perusing Road Scholar’s skip-gen trips, which I previously blogged about here, I note that some already say “Sold Out” or “Limited Availability.”
Not the most fun part of planning but essential nonetheless, is to make sure you have all the necessary paperwork in good order before you go. You will experience great peace of mind if you take care of this well in advance of your departure.
Here’s my basic list of the paperwork every grandparent needs to have when traveling with a grandchild:
- The most basic document is a letter of permission from the parents – both parents. If your grandchild’s parents are divorced, you often need to have the signatures of both parents, especially if the trip will take you outside the country, even to Mexico or Canada. I have never previously had my parental letters notarized but many are starting to recommend this as a good step – again, especially if traveling abroad. This is simple to do (most banks have a notary; many other places do as well – even UPS!) and is usually free. Templates for parental permission letters can be found online for free; just Google “parental permission letter.” One I found online (from a legal firm!) was so sloppy and full of typos, I would never use it! I have always done my own and it’s easy to do. If you draw up your own, the letter should include the following details:
- The parents’ names
- Contact info for the parents
- Child’s full name and birthdate
- Grandparent(s)’s full name(s)
- Dates of travel – (important tip: add a few days on either end for flexibility and/or travel glitches)
- General destination(s) – less important, unless traveling abroad
- **Permission to secure medical attention for the child
- Signatures and date of signing
- Notary information (if needed)
- ID for your grandchild – this is not usually much of a concern if taking a road trip. Even for train travel, ID for a child is generally not necessary (one of the things I love about trains – much less hassle!) Flying is another matter. A certified copy of a birth certificate is recommended for domestic travel and a passport is required for international travel, even for infants – and even to Canada now. My son took his two-year-old daughter to Russia in 2015 and the little mite had to have her own passport. Passports can take up to eight weeks to receive, so don’t leave this to the last minute!
Speaking of passports: My personal recommendation is to have your grandchild get a passport for any travel other than road trips. It is a fail-proof form of ID and will, I suspect, become increasingly required for travel in the future (until we move to something like facial recognition!) Not only that, it is a thrill for most children to have their own passport – it looks so official and makes them feel grown up – and becomes a fun souvenir for them to keep.
A child’s passport is good for five years and can be renewed after that. At age 16 they can get an “adult” passport that is good for ten years.
- Copies of medical insurance cards – photocopies are fine; you do not need to have the originals.
- Lists of medications, dosages, and instructions for taking; ditto for any medical equipment.
That’s it for domestic travel. Of course, if you are planning a trip abroad, there are likely to be additional items like visas and immunizations you must take into consideration. Helpful websites for those concerns can be found here and here and here.
One additional thought on international travel: scrutiny and delays due to security concerns are here to stay, so it’s nice to see there are new Trusted Traveler Programs to help skip some of the long lines, (especially useful when traveling with a young grandchild.)
Increasingly, people are making use of TSA PreCheck. For a fee of $85 and a 10-15 minute interview, a traveler can go through a shorter line with fewer restrictions (no need to remove belts, shoes, light jackets, laptops, liquids). This PreCheck is good for five years, and a grandchild 12 or under can accompany a grandparent through the line. Not as many people know about Global Entry. For a fee of $100 and an interview, it includes TSA PreCheck but also allows for expedited customs when returning from abroad. One hitch is that you may have to travel further for the required interview, since it has to be done at a US Border and Protection site. (From where I live in Michigan, the closest site is three hours away, whereas there are four TSA interview sites within 50 miles of me.) There is also NEXUS for travel between the US and Canada. You can find the Department of Homeland Security’s comparison of the various Trusted Traveler Programs here. Another comparison can be found here.
So which of these items have I personally needed and used? I have, of course, used the parental permission letters. I have a granddaughter with asthma now, so I pay close attention to medical care permission, insurance info, and instructions for medical equipment. I had to take this grandchild to urgent care for breathing problems several years ago. Although I had written permission to secure medical care for her, I didn’t have the insurance information and had to track down her parents by phone. That won’t happen again! I also had to use a nebulizer when on a camping trip and was grateful for their refresher course on how to use it before we left.
And this summer? I have plane travel planned which includes a border crossing into Canada. I will have my granddaughter get a passport and will have my permission letter notarized – and you can be sure I will check out the Trusted Traveler Programs listed above.
It is only March and we don’t travel until August…can’t wait!