Amazing but true: Travel with kids can be fun

November 26, 1996
Web posted at: 8:00 p.m. EST

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Record numbers of people are getting ready to pack up the kids and take a trip over the Thanksgiving holiday. If you've ever been on a vacation with children, you know it can be a challenge.

Eileen Ogintz, a family travel columnist and mother of three, likes to travel with her family so much she wrote a book about it: "Are We There Yet? A Parent's Guide to Fun Family Vacations." The book recently won an award from the Parents' Choice Foundation.

Gearing up for car travel

For people driving to their destination, they may find that children handle the restrictive conditions badly, even though they're for their own safety. "First of all, make sure every child has a backpack, let them help pack it themselves with some of their favorite things." She also suggest carrying along a family travel talisman. "In our house, we never leave home without a rubber snake. It's always good for a joke."

She also brings along a kids' jokes book.

Ever heard a kid whine, "She's on my side!"? Some parents have told Ogintz that a roll of masking tape helps them solve this problem. Whatever its obvious use might be to you, for those parents, it was a way to let kids mark off their own space.

For the "Are we there yet?" crowd, a laminated map is good. They can mark off the route, and see how far they've gone -- and maybe even learn to be the future navigators in the process. Time will pass more quickly with plenty of books, especially books on tape, and holiday song tapes.

If you're going to be traveling at night, bring a flashlight so children can read while you're driving. Water bottles, small stuffed animals, and plenty of colored bandages are also good gear to bring along.

"You'd be amazed how many kids insist they need a Band-Aid when there's not one to be found," Ogintz said. "And, if the going gets rough, just toss them in the back and let them throw them at each other."

But no matter how many distractions you pack, children won't last more than a couple of hours at a stretch without a break. "You can't take it, and neither can they," Ogintz said. Plan to stop every few hours to walk around -- sightseeing is OK if it's available, but do something active. Don't expect that kids will be able to go straight from sitting in the car to sitting in a restaurant.

Plan for delays in air travel

For parents, air travel has an obvious advantage over car travel: it is almost always faster. However, delays can pop up at every step of the way, starting at the departure gate. If you have to stay in the gate area, Ogintz says, bring along one of your children's favorite novels and read to them.

"It's something you might not have that much time to do at home," she said.

You can also bring along a tape recorder and have the kids play reporter, interviewing people sitting at the gate. "Just don't let them out of your sight," she said.

Should you tell children about the recent problems airlines have experienced? "I think the kids already know, I mean they'd have had to have been on Mars not to know. They actually might voice those concerns themselves," she said.

"All you can do is point out that these situations happen very far between."

You can take other steps to reassure your children. Ask pilots to show the kids the cockpit, and reassure them that you'll be with them the whole time.

"If you're calm and collected, the kids will be too. If you're nervous and wringing your hands, they're going to take their cues from you."

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