If you’re the kind of person who can book a family trip to New York without singing “Start spreadin’ the news…” every chance you get, you’re a bigger person than almost everyone I’ve ever known who has planned to visit the Big Apple. To be fair, there’s a buzz around New York, almost as if you’re visiting a celebrity at their home for a personal tour and a sleepover. The reality is a busy hotel and busy tourist sights and dodging people taking selfies with everything. But still, there’s a certain magic in the air.
With over 60 million visitors per year, the so-called city that never sleeps is evidently in hot demand. Add the nearly 10 million people who call New York home to the list, and we have around 70 million people – or the population of France – passing through and using the city every 12 months.
To say that things get a little congested is an understatement. That’s why today we’re going to look at family travel safety tips for NYC (and if you are affected by an injury while travelling, see a company like this personal injury lawyer in NYC).
In the streets – walkie talkies
If there’s one thing that kids love more than incessant chatter, it’s chatting over a walkie talkie. Give them a walkie talkie and they will guard it and treasure it. This gives you a direct line of contact with your child in case of being separated by a few feet while walking on busy roads, for example – although only being separated by 10 ft, walking in the wrong direction to try to find them will waste time.
There are even walkie talkie models that come with a built in GPS. meaning the exact location of the device can be known at all times. This may seem a little extreme, and perhaps a little expensive, but as a one-off purchase that will last for all family vacations (or at least until the child is old enough to be trusted with a mobile phone), the walkie talkie option presents long term value for money.
Hotel safety – the basics
This is something that you may not wish to think about, but seasonal hotel staff may be petty thieves looking for easy access to your valuables. Tell any children not to open the door, and always use the hotel safe where possible. Lost key cards are a nightmare because unscrupulous people may see an opportunity – always change rooms in the event of a lost card.
Staying safe in the streets and in the hotel isn’t hard, but it does require a little vigilance – and we’d all rather be vigilant than stay at home all of our lives!
