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Traveling with Teens The protracted screech of a braking train is perhaps the only thing less pleasant than the thought of a no-escape vacation in close quarters with a teenager. Travel can bring out the worst in people and if you are going through a rough patch with your teenager, don’t expect a family vacation to bring out the Waltons in you. … But like a lot of things in life with kids, if you look at children as an opportunity rather than as an obstacle, you can find things to do together that are made even more special because you are seeing things through their eyes.
Category Archives: Travel
Must-read advice for a weekend adults-only mini-vacation
February 4, 2009 – 5:25 pm
You might get a cheaper room (if not a business hotel), the kids will be focussed on school, an you’ll benefit from that illicit feeling that you’re cheating the system and playing hookey. … If you can limit your destination to just 1-2 hours away, you’ll be able to maximize the feeling putting distance and minimize the stress of too much travel. … A little gift left to be opened after you leave will also help ease the pain of separation, or at least distract them a bit.
For Oregon dads – Crater Lake snowshoe trek
January 3, 2009 – 8:32 pm
If you’ve never been snowshoeing, you probably imagine you’ll crunch effortlessly atop acres of snow in your tennis-racket-like snowshoes, just like Yukon Cornelius, the blustery prospector who subdues the Abominable Snow Monster in “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” But when my husband and I took our three children to Crater Lake on a squally Saturday in December, we grown-ups sank into the snow, flipping the powdery stuff into the faces of those who walked behind us. … All three leapt up after falling, threw themselves down to make snow angels and buried themselves as if the snow were sand at the beach (brrr).
Guess Who Travel Game
November 2, 2008 – 1:09 pm
Guess Who Travel Gam e – Our kids loved this simple game that teaches kids deductive reasoning as they eliminate suspects to find the last person standing. By asking questions of their competitor like “does the person where glasses” or “have blond hair,” kids can easily play the game even before they can read. … $10.45 (a bit more expensive than you would think for a game built like this, but we did get our money’s worth.)
Giving up your seat on the plane so families can sit together
September 6, 2008 – 7:11 am
As I settled into my tiny seat on a recent flight, a woman asked me if I’d trade my aisle seat for her middle so she could be, as she said, ” with my girls.” … After all, it was just a short 90 minute flight and for the sake of a beleaguered mom, I could afford to be chivalrous. … My wife and I have traveled all over the world with our kids, and many times, have relied on the courtesy of strangers to untangle the twisted airlines’ seating plans.
Why you teach them to read
August 18, 2008 – 5:15 am
We are starting a ten day summer vacation and, like millions ofnpther families, we’re spend the first day in the plane. My daughter, age eight, is happy though. She has four books and is just discovering Lemoney Snicket. She’s been asking for a Nintendp DS, but we are holding fast against that. I did give [...]
Product review – Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W120
July 3, 2008 – 6:06 pm
My wife’s camera takes an SD card, which also fits directly into a Palm Treo, so I was hoping to eliminate one memory card and simplify our lives just a tiny bit. … Luckily, a 2 Gig card was enough to get me through about 320 photos and a few small movies with plenty of room to spare, but I was unable to send any email photos home along the way. … I wish they had built a tiny tiny pocket into it to keep an extra memory stick or battery, but otherwise, it’s a very practical addition that I’m sure helped me take more pictures.
Ten trips for dads traveling with teenagers
May 22, 2008 – 6:56 am
Traveling can be very stressful, and traveling with teens doubly so, for reasons that are completely different than for traveling with smaller children. Teens are developing their own interests and more than ever, you have to plan around how best to incorporate their needs, however exotic or seemingly selfish into the program. Here are ten ideas to help the trip go smoother this time.
- Remember who your fellow travelers are. Just as you wouldn’t take your sports-ambivalent wife to a week of baseball training camp, try to figure out destinations the whole family can enjoy. That doesn’t mean it has to be Disneyland or the least common denominator. Think instead, of places that will have real highlights for all members of the family. New York City for example, can satisfy many many different types of people with museums, sports legends, nightlife, theatre, and even great parks. But pick a single-interest destination, like say, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the entire family better be into rocking out, or have other reasons for being in Cleveland.
Five stuff-free games to play in the car during long trips
May 6, 2008 – 9:13 am
So spelling H-O-R and adding an S might lead to forming “Horse” for the next player unless they could form a word that starts with H-O-R-S but does not have an E next…. License plates – This is an old chestnut, but can keep kids busy for a few minutes at least while they realize that license plates come on cars from all over the country.
Of traveling with babies and spouses
March 30, 2008 – 11:48 am
I’ve traveled alone with my kids (together at about six months and four years) and found the experience to be challenging but not overwhelming. Maybe because it’s because I’m a dad and not supposed to be used to this kind of thing, but I found everyone to be very helpful.