New York Resident

by Victoria Pericon

Traveling together is a wonderful experience for the entire family, especially for children, for whom family travel provides a chance to build life-long memories. Most parents know that it can also be quite a challenge to travel with children who may become irritable, bored or even ill on a trip. But a successful spring vacation with the family is possible with careful planning.

Whether you plan to travel by plane, train or automobile, it is a good idea to involve the whole family in the preparation of the trip. Older children can be helpful by researching on the internet the place the family intends to visit. They can share their findings with the entire family and describe the area to the younger children. Discuss the attractions of the area your family will be visiting and encourage your children to ask questions.

If traveling by car, pack an activities bag with your children filled with crayons, coloring books, stickers, games, snacks and a change of clothes. Include in the bag your child’s favorite action figure or stuffed animal. Or, for a more shared experience, you might consider investing in a portable DVD player, which can be extremely useful on long road trips.

Kas Vaughn, spokesperson for COMM Group, Inc. (www.commgroupinc.com), the parent company for several online travel companies that provide travel products and services to leisure travelers, reminds parents to pack a first aid kit that includes the child’s medication, over the counter cold and fever aids and motion sickness medication.

Once you are on the road, take out items from the bag whenever you sense boredom or irritability creeping in. You can also play games to keep the children distracted. Vikki Kobasic, spokesperson for TravelCenters of America Inc.(TA) (www.travelcentersofamerica.com), a full service travel center with locations nationwide, believes that rest stops must be carefully planned. “A carefully planned trip with stops at TA locations will make traveling with kids a whole lot easier,” says Kobasic, pointing out that TA centers now have WiFi capability for the family to check e-mails while on the road. In addition to fast food chains, each TA center has a sit-down restaurant, a children’s game room and a place to replenish DVD tapes.

If the trip requires travel by plane, keep in mind that you will not be an opportunity for periodic rest stops. It’s a good idea to pack some new toys in the activities bag to surprise your children if they become irritable on the plane. Vaughn suggests scheduling the departure flight as early as possible in the morning of departure. He also advises bringing breakfast snack for “airport survival.”

Vaughn also believes that the day of the week the family travels by air is significant. “Try to schedule departure and return dates for weekdays,” he says, “[It’s] cheaper. But, more importantly-almost-is [that] better seat choices [are] available.”

This article was written by Victoria Pericon.
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