Can
you imagine investing months of planning and heartfelt
energy carefully planning a long-awaited vacation with
your family - a vacation that will allow you to
escape the stress of everyday life, restore harmony,
and bring your family closer together - only to find
that you're not even at your destination yet and the
younger kids are fighting in the back seat, your teenager
is grumbling that "this trip is going to be boring"
and he'd rather hang out with his friends and your spouse
is yelling at you because you misread the map?
It's only the first day and already you wish you were
alone and everyone else had stayed home.
|
|
 |
Yet,
traveling with your children can be a great learning experience.
The children learn how far they can torment each other before
their parents explode and just how far "far" is to the next potty.
But the main advantage of traveling with the kids, particularly
if they don't live with you because of divorce, is the opportunity
to bring the family closer together by sharing time and experiences
(and three or four people in a motel room with one bathroom provides
plenty of closeness).
With a little extra planning, you can minimize the hassles and
maximize the enjoyment of traveling with children. With summer
vacation around the corner, here are five tips to help you survive
and even enjoy your next family trip.
1.
Involve the Kids in Planning
If
your children are old enough, show them a map of the places you
are going. Challenge them to trace the route with crayons
or a yellow marker. It's not only a good geography lesson, but
you won't have to listen to that constant question "Are we there
yet?" because they'll be able to tell you.
Show them brochures on your destination and ask them to make a
list of things they want to see and do there, particularly if
your kids are teenagers who have their own ideas of what constitutes
"fun". Ask them to make their own packing lists, but edit it carefully.
Otherwise you might find, as one mother did, that your child has
packed a suitcase full of toys and not a stitch of clothing. This
way, you are also training them to become good travelers.
2.
Post the Rules of the Road
Post
the "Rules of the Road" such as "No fighting," "No hanging body
parts out of the window", "Bathroom stops will be made at
two hour intervals" etc. Somehow rules written down on paper carry
more weight. In fact it's a good idea to post the "Rules of the
Road" on the refrigerator door or other high-visibility place
in the house a week before your trip. Kids tend to behave better
when they know what behavior is expected. Ask them to contribute
to the list.
3.
Keep Them Busy
Assign
tasks that are commensurate with their ages. Older kids can
navigate or read the road signs along the way, or keep track of
expenses in a diary. Younger children can count luggage pieces
when you arrive and depart to keep track of them or check under
beds and drawers at lodgings to be sure no item is left behind.
Kids can keep busy in the car with quiet activities like listening
to books on tape, or playing electronic games or even keyboards
with headsets. But don't forget the age-old games that the whole
family can play together, games like "Twenty Questions" that require
no extra equipment to lug around. Make stops along your route
at parks, pony rides, ice-skating rinks so the kids can get their
energy out. The road trip should be part of the vacation, not
just a hurried means of getting to your destination.
4.
Keep It Simple
The
easiest trip you can make, particularly with infants or small
children is to a single destination like a self-contained
resort. That way, you only have to carry the baby and all the
support systems - bottles, formula, baby food, diapers, infant
seat stroller - twice, coming and going.
5.
Choose a Destination That Is Kid Friendly
Ideally
your vacation choice would have supervised activities for children
so you don't have to entertain them 100% of the time. It would
have a family-style restaurant, kitchenette or, at least , a small
refrigerator, so you don't have to eat all your meals out. Look
for resorts with a family policy, that is, children free in the
same room with the adults, a children's play area or pool. In
other words, services that demonstrate the hotel or resort is
kid friendly.
©Copyright
Nadine Nardi Davidson
Next
month:
Tips for making sure your honeymoon is romantic!
Nadine
Nardi Davidson has spent 25 years as a travel consultant and
is currently a leisure specialist at Travel Store Inc, Los Angeles.
She is the author of Travel with Others without Wishing They'd
Stayed Home, a survival guide to traveling with your spouse, lover,
boss, friends, kids, someone else's kids, parents, in-laws and
other relatives, your pet and yourself. The book is available
through book stores or by calling toll free 888-837-BOOK (2665)
or online at Amazon.com or www.PrincePublishing.com.
Nadine has been featured on CNN/FN, Lifetime's New Attitudes,
Good Morning Texas, Good Day Atlanta, Today in Minneapolis, WGN
Chicago and over 160 other radio and TV shows. She is also the
author of two volumes of Skier's Guide to California. Her articles
have been published in the Christian Science Monitor, San Francisco
Chronicle, Bridal Guide and Woman's World.
You can email me your travel questions and, although time does
not allow for individual responses, I will try to answer as many
as possible in future columns. Please post questions for me on
"The
Salon" Discussion Board here at BeautyWalk.
|
100%
Safe & Secure
