Minor kids staying home, what do we need to do

[Havingfun2010]

You weren't very specific, about who was watching the kids. Family, or some hired person off the street.

 

The very obvious thing, is your phone number. You do have a mobile phone right? If something happens, you can be reached. The other item is the ship phone number as a back-up.

 

Personally, I would never just allow someone to make medical decisions without my consent first, unless it was an on the spot, this moment incident.

[waterbug123]

Of course it isn't, you need to leave a letter giving her permission to act on your behalf in the event of an emergency.

 

Also as far as I know the letter for permission to seek medical attention doesn't have to be notarized its no different than the form you sign for your kids school to seek emergency medical help.

 

 

First off, I am no in any way suggesting that you don't get a letter or that you don't get in notarized. By all means, go ahead and do it for ultimate peace of mind. BUT, in an actual emergency, no hospital is going to say "oops, sorry, we can't treat this child because you aren't the parent and we don't have a notarized letter from them saying it's ok." A couple of real-life examples: When my oldest son was a kid, probably 10 or 11 years old, he was staying at his grandparent for a few days one summer, tripped and fell and got a big gash in his leg. G'parents took him to the ER, got him stitched up, no problem. Another time we were camping with another family and their son brought a friend... boys were playing, the friend fell and broke his arm, the other mom and I took him to a nearby hospital, where x-rays determined he needed surgery to have pins put in so the break would heal properly.... they operated that evening. Neither of these was a life or death situation but appropriate treatment was still given, because can you imagine the PR sh*tstorm that would follow if they didn't?

[bubba83]

You weren't very specific, about who was watching the kids. Family, or some hired person off the street.

 

The very obvious thing, is your phone number. You do have a mobile phone right? If something happens, you can be reached. The other item is the ship phone number as a back-up.

 

Personally, I would never just allow someone to make medical decisions without my consent first, unless it was an on the spot, this moment incident.

You seriously think we would allow a stranger watch our children.....wow.

No, several family members will be overseeing the care of our children!

Yes we arent cavemen and have cellphones but they will be in airplane mode a majoirty of the time, so I will make sure several people have the ships emergency number just incase. And i trust in my family that they can make sound decisions for our children while we are gone otherwise I wouldnt be going.

My kids are pretty heatlhy so we shoildnt have much to worry about inless they become seriously ill or are in an accident, which I pray does not happen.

 

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[marci22]

First off, I am no in any way suggesting that you don't get a letter or that you don't get in notarized. By all means, go ahead and do it for ultimate peace of mind. BUT, in an actual emergency, no hospital is going to say "oops, sorry, we can't treat this child because you aren't the parent and we don't have a notarized letter from them saying it's ok."

 

Our friends were on a cruise and their son was injured in a bike accident. The hospital wanted permission from the parents and although the grandparents had the ship's number, they could not make contact. Their son waited several extra hours while an attempt was made to contact them. The injury was not life threatening but it made for an uncomfortable wait.

[MimiPal]

Ok thank you

 

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In some cases it will need to be notorized

[2nsmom]

We always had a medical power of attorney for the people watching the kids and them we would shred it when we got home. Enjoy!!!

[klo0315]

We used to leave a signed letter stating that whoever was watching our girls (in our case it was always grandparents) had permission to act on our behalf in terms of medical treatments etc. We also leave a copy of our insurance cards.

We also notified their teachers in case the girls seemed off at all since their routine was different for the week.

 

 

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[HHFamily]

You may also want to consider giving the schools permission to have your children picked up by their caretakers in case they aren't feeling well or anything else that may come up.

[julielouhoo]

Ok great, and thank you...we hope to have lots of fun!

 

How do I find out what the emergency number is for the ship?

 

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If they are in school, you should also send a letter to them (and copy the school nurse) notifying them who is able to pick them up and make medical decisions.

[KimA75]

Lots of great info on here. When we went on our 10 year anniversary cruise we left the notarized letter giving my in-laws temporary guardianship. I think we even extended it one week past our expected return in case something happened. This also gave them permission to seek medical attention.

 

We let my in-laws know where any paperwork was in case something happened to us and they needed to make arrangements for us.

 

I let the school know that my in-laws would have the kids and provided contact information for them in case of an emergency at school.

 

I left a notebook with quick notes of morning/evening routines. Where items could be found if needed. Dosages for medications, such as acetaminophen, etc. Phone numbers and addresses for doctors and the hospital. How to care for the dogs.

 

I think that was about it.

[bubba83]

Lots of great info on here. When we went on our 10 year anniversary cruise we left the notarized letter giving my in-laws temporary guardianship. I think we even extended it one week past our expected return in case something happened. This also gave them permission to seek medical attention.

 

We let my in-laws know where any paperwork was in case something happened to us and they needed to make arrangements for us.

 

I let the school know that my in-laws would have the kids and provided contact information for them in case of an emergency at school.

 

I left a notebook with quick notes of morning/evening routines. Where items could be found if needed. Dosages for medications, such as acetaminophen, etc. Phone numbers and addresses for doctors and the hospital. How to care for the dogs.

 

I think that was about it.

Yep, good info...i think I will be set to make sure everyone is prepared :)

 

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[VaTech8912]

In addition to previous suggestions, we normally get the internet package which allows our sitter easy access to us for any and all questions that may arise. It gives us comfort to know we are easily reached as you cannot think of every single potential question or situation that might need you. It has not interfered with our trips but gave us extra comfort.

[ACEMommy2008]

My husband and I are also taking a cruise for our 10th anniversary! We are leaving our 5 and 3 year olds with my sister and brother in law. I posed this question on Facebook and multiple people told me I needed to give my sister and BIL limited power of attorney. I was able to get a template online and we will have it notorized before our trip. It is very specific in that I was able to put the exact days this POA would be in effect. I've also filled out a medical POA that gives them explicit consent to make any and all medical decisions with regard to my children.

[topnole]

Our pediatrician has a form you fill out to give others permission to make medical decisions for your kids. This is good for normal routines like grandma and grandpa babysitting if something were to happen. Ask your doctor about this so you have all the bases covered.

[happymanitee]

I didn’t read all the replies, so someone probably said this, but my advice is to pay for the internet package. My kids were able to iMessage me on their iPads when we left them with my parents for a cruise. I could even FaceTime them. The picture on FaceTime didn’t really work, but we could still hear each other clearly.

 

There were no emergencies during the week, but I still enjoyed talking to them. And, they tell me things that my parents didn’t. Like, they missed the bus one day and my dad broke a lamp :)

[bubba83]

I didn’t read all the replies, so someone probably said this, but my advice is to pay for the internet package. My kids were able to iMessage me on their iPads when we left them with my parents for a cruise. I could even FaceTime them. The picture on FaceTime didn’t really work, but we could still hear each other clearly.

 

There were no emergencies during the week, but I still enjoyed talking to them. And, they tell me things that my parents didn’t. Like, they missed the bus one day and my dad broke a lamp :)

 

 

I had to chuckle at them telling you what your parents didn't. We don't have apple products so we could use messenger app I suppose. Our first full day is at sea along the east coast and then the next day is in Florida so we could maybe use texting the first sea day and then definitely call when in Florida. Then the next 2 days are in the Bahamas, then a full sea day back....

[travelinmoma]

Our local hospital has something called a Fast Pass. It has all of my son's medical info etc. When my parents are watching him, they can just hand the hospital or urgent care the card.

[bubba83]

Our local hospital has something called a Fast Pass. It has all of my son's medical info etc. When my parents are watching him, they can just hand the hospital or urgent care the card.

Thays a good idea...i haven't heard of ours having those but i can check

 

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[horsegal]

If you haven't and can consider travel insurance. We are hopefully leaving my 16 month old? (Not born yet) and almost 4 year old with grandparents for our 10 year anniversary cruise (one way to Hawaii). I am planning to get trip insurance that has cancel for any reason in case something happens last minute to the kids or grandparents. Also in case something big happens whole on the cruise and we need to fly home early. It will also be our first time leaving the kids home. I think we will get the social media plan so we can answer questions the grandparents might have during the 5 sea days in a row and just to check in.

 

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[bubba83]

If you haven't and can consider travel insurance. We are hopefully leaving my 16 month old? (Not born yet) and almost 4 year old with grandparents for our 10 year anniversary cruise (one way to Hawaii). I am planning to get trip insurance that has cancel for any reason in case something happens last minute to the kids or grandparents. Also in case something big happens whole on the cruise and we need to fly home early. It will also be our first time leaving the kids home. I think we will get the social media plan so we can answer questions the grandparents might have during the 5 sea days in a row and just to check in.

 

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We do have the travel insurance :)

 

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[pkay414]

The only thing I can think of that wasn't mentioned is maybe a list of allergies, medical procedures done in the past (like if they've had surgery to remove appendix or something) -- anything that an ER doctor would ask that your caregiver might not know or remember in a stressful situation.