Who says you can't mix quality time with your child with business travel

Many of today's business travelers spend more time on the road or at the office than they do at home. For some working moms, that can pose quite a dilemma.

The solution often comes down to two unpalatable options: forego business trips - which often means a slower career track for women - or sacrifice quality time with the kids.

But there is a third option: take a child along on a trip. Combining business travel with a little family vacation need not be a recipe for disaster, experts say.

The first thing you need to accept is that you will be traveling at your child's pace, not your own. So build some extra time into your business schedule to avoid having to rush a child.

You also need to keep in mind that kids on business trips don't understand that they are on a business trip, warns Natalie Windsor in Industry Week. "When kids make us nuts is when they're bored, hungry or feeling pushed around, and it's totally preventable," Windsor says.

To save your sanity, remain productive and have great time with your kid, heed the following tips from travel experts:

• Involve your child in the planning. With supervision and a checklist, even six-year-olds can pack their own suitcases.
• Provide a calendar noting anticipated activities. This will help the child "emotionally" prepare for the trip.
• When making airline reservations, try to get a front-row seat so you and your child will have more space.
• Book yourselves into one of those family-friendly hotels and resorts where they offer sitters, supervised activities for children, toys and books to keep kids occupied, and children's room service menus.
• Let the child travel in comfortable shoes and clothes - save the dressy pinafore for later.
• Bring an "activity bag" packed with enough snacks, toys, and what-have-you to keep your child preoccupied. This helps guarantee that you, the child, and the people around you won't suffer.
• When traveling by air with an infant, carry a bottle or pacifier for the baby to suck on during takeoff and landing. This helps to equalize ear pressure and keeps the baby more comfortable.
• If you're breast-feeding, take your cues from local women, since cultural practices vary from country to country. However, when in doubt, try to breast-feed in private.
• If your offspring is under 16 and not listed on your passport, you must have a notarized document from the child's father giving permission for the child to travel.
• If you're travelling to another country with your child and there is a possibility of a custody dispute developing at home or abroad while you're away, talk to a lawyer before leaving home.
• Teach your child never to open the door of your hotel room to anybody. And when entering or leaving a hotel elevator, keep your child right beside you. If the doors close too quickly, he or she could be stranded.
• For emergency identification purposes, take along several recent photographs of your child. You may also wish to leave extra copies of those photographs with a family member.