Traveling with the Kids this Summer?

Summer is here and, as much as I love getting out of town with my son, it is not easy to travel with him! Julie gave me a great tip that worked really well on our last journey. She told me that I should buy a few small and inexpensive (but new) toys and gift wrap them! I went to the dollar aisle at Target and found some great stuff and gave it to him throughout the flight! As soon as he got tired of one toy, I would pull out the next one. The flight was not exactly what I would call relaxing but at least he was having fun and not fussing! There is a fantastic website called Flying with Kids that offers great tips for keeping your kids entertained during travel. You can go on the site and select your mode of travel (train, plain, or automobile) and then read up on their suggestions. It made me feel better about our upcoming travel! Here are a few of the tips they offered:

• Take a small photo album with pictures of friends or relatives that you are visiting on the trip. You can practice names and make the faces more familiar.
• Don't pack noisy toys or games. I made that mistake once and almost fainted from embarrassment as the elderly couple in the row in front of us expressed their disappointment in me! That is a mistake that is rarely made twice I imagine!
• If your child is old enough, get them a rolling bag or backpack so that they can pack their own favorites and carry their own things!