Top Ten Tips For Traveling With Kids

28 June 1999

Top Ten Tips For Traveling With Kids

    HAVERTOWN, PA--June 28, 1999--

Family Travel Expert offers Top Tips for Traveling with Kids; Ideas to
    Make Getting There Half the Fun on this Summer's Family Vacation

    Survive the Drive, a company dedicated to making family road trips more enjoyable, offers the following suggestions to ease the pain of traveling with children this summer. Liz Walsh, President (a.k.a. Chief Survival Specialist), lists her Top Ten Tips, based on conversations with hundreds of families taking to the road. Walsh says, "Your goal should be to keep the children occupied, so everyone arrives relaxed and ready to enjoy the vacation."

    Top Ten Tips for Traveling with Kids
    1. Lay out your trip in advance and plan frequent stops. Get the kids involved. Have them help plot your route and let them follow along on their own map.
    2. For those inevitable spills, bouts of carsickness and other disasters, pack an easy to reach bag with a change of clothes for everyone.
    3. Kids love to wait until the last possible moment to announce they really have to stop. Don't wait. Trying to make it one more exit is always a mistake.
    4. Drive when the kids are sleeping, either early in the morning or late at night.
    5. Play Penny Ante - Give your kids twenty-five cents and then fine them a penny whenever they fight or whine. If they have all their money when you stop, promise to double their money.
    6. Although the hour to unpack may not seem long to you, it can be an eternity for kids, with the pool or beach beckoning. Be sure to pack one easily accessible bag with bathing suits and other pool gear so you can get to the water without unpacking the whole car.
    7. Have a couple surprises for the kids - games, food, treats - save them for when they get bored. If you have time, wrap them. The kids will love the added surprise.
    8. Bring along a roll of tin foil and some pipe cleaners. At the sound of strife, toss them into the backseat and let the kids create their own sculptures.
    9. When you stop - make sure there is room for the kids to run around. Bring a ball or Frisbee and let them play. If you can find one, stop at a playground.
    10. Create your own scavenger hunts. Make a list of ten items, for example: a church steeple, an original VW bug, etc. Give five points for each item found. The person with the most points wins.
    Survive the Drive offers a full range of 'Survival Gear' for family road-trips, including in-car TV/VCRs (available to rent by the week or weekend), travel activities, games and information.
    Survive the Drive has locations in Philadelphia and Scranton, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Cincinnati, Ohio.
    For additional travel tips visit http://www.survive-the-drive.com or call 800-573-6018.

    SOURCE: DigitalWork ( http://www.digitalwork.com )
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