Traveling with their little ones can be enjoyable for many parents, but the lack of education about how to travel safely with children can quickly turn a joyful trip into a nightmare.
On May 6, a post surfaced on Chinese social media where a father wrote about the death of his 7-year-old son on their trip to the Tibet Autonomous Region. His son died unexpectedly of altitude sickness.
"When we reached the summit, my son felt short of breath and his face turned purple, and then he sank into a coma," the father wrote in the post. "It wasn't until that moment that I realized how serious the situation was."
Although the authenticity of the story is yet to be confirmed, the negligence that many parents have when traveling with children was brought to the spotlight through the father's highly popular post.
"I firmly advise parents not to take children under 14 to a plateau more than 3,000 meters above sea level," said Zhao Xingzheng, a professional climber and experienced outdoor guide. "This is dangerous and could have a negative influence on a child's brain development."
Zhao said one risk children may face when traveling at high altitudes is high-altitude cerebral edema (HACE), a medical condition where the brain swells with fluid and stops functioning normally.
Ways to prevent altitude sickness include ascending slowly, drinking more water, eating a light diet, avoiding strenuous exercise, and taking vitamin C, Zhao said.
"As children don't know the dangers of traveling to these places, it's irresponsible for parents to make travel decisions for them," Zhao said.
Aside from the fact many Chinese parents do not have sufficient outdoor travel knowledge themselves, Zhao said children being too young to clearly articulate their discomforts also leads to bad results.
"Children don't know their body well and when they fail to report their illness accurately, parents may not have a clear judgment of how serious the child's situation is," he said.
Other reports of tragedies revolving around family trips surfaced earlier this year. The news portal huanqiu.com reported in January that a 4-month-old child fell overboard in her mother's arms on a Disney cruise, as well as listed the life-threatening risks of taking children to a dozen different destinations, including Africa, where children have been attacked by animals.
Fu Lihua, a 39-year-old full-time mother with a 10-year-old son, told Metropolitan she values the companionship her son provides during trips, and she chooses their destinations carefully.
"I don't choose challenging places. Safety is the ultimate concern." said Fu, who has traveled everywhere from Harbin in Heilongjiang Province and Sanya in Hainan Province to Malaysia and the US with her son.
Fu admitted she did experience a dangerous short trip to Yunmeng Gorge in Miyun county last June, when she took her son to camp with other families guided by a local tourism agency.
It was raining heavily with thunder and lightning that night, and some tents were blown away. "Luckily, the guide was experienced and we transferred to a higher location," Fu said.
Wang Bin, a tour guide with Youchuang Study Tour which specializes in providing trips for children and parents, said, "Parents should be fully prepared with knowledge about their destination. They should know its climate, culture and the distribution of wild animals."
Wang said parents should consider creating an emergency card for every member of the family. Wang's final piece of advice is critical: "Don't give children medicine you are not familiar with. If something happens, get the child to the hospital as quickly as possible."
