Traveling With Children: How To Avoid Being Driven Insane

For many people, the simple thought of having to travel with a kid is enough to give you nightmares. Plane tickets are very expensive for a traveling family, and this generally leaves the family car as the only method of travel. And with the economy doing its best to restart itself, many people have completely eliminated vacations from their budgets. This doesn’t need to happen to you. Some of my best childhood memories are from family road trips. Mexico and Canada, since they are so close, provide a close vacation that feels like it’s worlds away, and with the relatively new U S passport card id, you and your family can go on a great adventure.

When I was little, my absolute favorite thing to do on car trips was the craft sets and coloring books. Armed with a Barbie coloring book, a zoo animals coloring book, and some washable markers and crayons, I would go to work for hours. Also, big felt pieces in all sorts of shapes with holes in them, along with some shoe laces, made the best little girl “sewing kit.” My little brother, on the other hand, loved the big building blocks. The best part of these blocks is the amount of assembling and disassembling possibilities.

My mom would bring along these “worksheets” that had little puzzles on them. As we were driving, she would give me one that I would work really hard to complete, and I would give it back to her to “grade.” I always got A’s, although I doubt I got everything right, but this fostered in me a love of learning. As I got older, she would give me whole books of puzzles that taught basic addition and reading, and I definitely felt so proud of myself after I completed a page. These trips really do present a great educational opportunity.

Technology has been making so much progress, and one of the best things I’ve seen that keeps children busy is the Leapfrog Leapster. It is a little hand-held electronic device that plays video games that are not only fun, but educational as well. Although it’s not as electronically advanced, you could get a tape recorder and record yourself reading your child’s favorite stories. You could even change the names to include him or her in her in the story! Don’t forget to include indications as to when to turn the page as well.

In order to get your passport card, you can either visit a American passport office or apply on the internet. These cards are dramatically cheaper than regular passports. They allow you to travel by land or sea to various destinations, but they won’t be good for a plane trip. This way, you and your family can go on vacation and not have to worry about dropping half your travel budget on investing in new passports.

If you are thinking of taking a vacation, you don’t need to waste any time worrying about what to do with the kids. Whether you want to take a Mexican siesta or explore some beautiful Canadian landscapes, you only need to visit your passport agency or go online and get your United States passport cards. Some of my best memories come from traveling with my family, and you can give these memories to your very own children with an awesome family road trip.