Thanksgiving Travel: Top 3 Tips For Surviving Airport Security With Kids

Babble.com

Do TSA's new pat-downs have you scared of traveling with your kids this Thanksgiving?

If you're preparing to travel by plane to your Thanksgiving destination, you've surely heard about the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)'s controversial new pat-downs and body scanners.

Last week, Madeline wrote that some families are so fed up with the new invasive safety regulations that they're calling on air travelers to opt out of the TSA's full-body scans on Wednesday, November 24th and instead submit to enhanced pat downs - which will inevitably slow down travel on the busiest travel day of the year.

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I was also freaked out to read about the 3 year old who was patted down by TSA agents after setting off the metal detector twice, and the mom who claimed to have been sexually assaulted during the enhanced pat-down she received. Makes me glad we're not leaving town for Thanksgiving.

But if you are traveling with kids, the L.A. Times provides three helpful tips:

1. A child under 12 who opts out of the body scanner will undergo "a modified pat-down search." Children over 12 who opt out of the body scanner get the regular pat-down. Citing security reasons, the TSA has declined to say what the modified pat-down entails.

2. If an alarm goes off during a screening (as with the aforementioned 3-year-old), even children under 12 will be subject to a full pat-down.

3. To prepare kids, explain the procedures they may encounter "including the possibility that they may be touched by TSA personnel as part of a pat-down. Parents won't necessarily be with their kids as they pass through the scanner or get patted down," according to The Los Angeles Time.

Head to Strollerderby for a great resource to show your kid what the full-body scan entails that may reduce their anxiety. In addition, our parents are up in arms. You'll want to join in the discussion.

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