Keeping children safe on a Safari
Keeping children safe on a Safari : Summer time is that time of the year where families get the opportunity to travel together, have safaris and adventures together. Its such an exciting time for families, especially those who have a lot going on during the school year, summer is the best time to take a break and catch up with everyone. Most families unwind on vacations and safaris which is a magically experience. However when families are on safaris with children, a question of safety is always arising. Parents and guardians are always wondering how to keep the children safe on a safari.
It’s for that reason that in this article we are going to detail a number of ways you can keep you children safe on a safari.
Take children in an appropriate age group to a safari. We all would want our little ones to experience the wild with us, however some age groups will not be good for the safari experiences. Children 4 years and below have not matured enough for extensive wild experiences, so we advise you vacation with them in more children friendly destinations than safari destinations. For children 5 and above, we feel they have matured and can enjoy the safaris in a safe way.
Safari destinations also play a vital role in keeping children safe. When choosing safari destinations its prudent that you choose destinations with children friendly areas or destinations that are not too remote for the sake of the children.
Choose children friendly safari activities. Safaris are adventurous, so some activities may not be as friendly to the children as they are to adults. So when you are safaring with children, you should keep that in mind. Activities like primate trekking and hiking are not children friendly while game drives, some nature walks, moderate water adventures among others are children friendly.
Health of your children. Though it’s nice for children to experience safaris with adults. Most safari destinations and deep in the wild in Africa or East Africa in particular. Being that the continent is a tropical, there are lot of tropical disease like malaria, flues, coughs etc that may attack children more quicker than adults. Hence if your child’s health or immune is not that strong, we advise either you get them vaccinated before the safari or you leave them out of the safari for their own protection.
Size of family. Travelling with children is easier done in nuclear families, here you’re able to keep an eye on the kids because of the small number. Which is not the case when you travelling as an extended families, the little children are harder to be watched when there are many people. Hence the kids may easily disappear or getting into unsafe situations without the adults noticing.
Type of accommodation; the type of accommodation you will have on a safari will also determine how safe your children will be or how possible it will be for you to keep your children safe. Hotel. Cottages or apartment like accommodations are easy for you to keep track on your children. However accommodation facilities like camping sites its harder to keep an eye on the kids, though its not impossible, its just more work.
Taking precautions: take precautions is another way to keep your children safe. When you have children on a safari make sure you very attentive to what they are doing and where they are at all times, make sure they are in the vehicle at all times they are on game drives, look for harmful things and situations, avoid them quickly. Take precautions near water bodies and swimming pools, hilly places and dangerous situations.
Also it helps if you have some professional help with you on a safari, to help you keep an extra eye on the little ones,