Must-Have Travel Accessory for Kids

I’ve spent the last eight years racking up more than 160,000 frequent flyer miles with my daughter during our annual jaunts from Wisconsin to Hawaii. If all goes according to plan, we can get from our home to my parents’ house in roughly 18 hours. Of course, things rarely go according to plan. Honestly, I’ve lost track of how many hours I’ve spent in various airplanes and airports with a young child who would rather be anywhere other than in an airplane or airport. What I do recall are all of the mistakes I’ve made during those seemingly endless flights. … Continue reading →

Travel Deals for LEGO Lovers

My 8-year-old is obsessed with LEGO Friends. I too am quite fond of the popular plastic building blocks, though I appreciate them far more when they aren’t stabbing the bottom of my feet. Wouldn’t it be great to have a huge area dedicated solely to the construction and demolition of LEGO masterpieces without worrying about having your feet branded? A place where kids can let their imagination soar while being inspired by gigantic one-of-a-kind LEGO structures? That’s exactly what can happen when you travel to LEGOLAND in Carlsbad, California. But, now, instead of just touring the enchanted theme park, you … Continue reading →

Relief for Parents Traveling with Kids

There is finally some good news for parents flying commercial airlines with young children. If you are planning to take to the skies during the upcoming holiday season, you will find things a wee bit easier as you make your way through airport security. Last week, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that kids 12 and younger will no longer be forced to remove their shoes at TSA checkpoints. In addition, Napolitano said that children will not have to suffer through pat downs as often, and those, who get selected for the extra screening, will do so at the hands … Continue reading →

Educational Holiday Vacation Destinations

Here’s a holiday gift any parent can appreciate: a membership to the Art Institute of Chicago. It’s the gift that keeps on giving in my opinion, and I can attest to its benefits first hand. My BFF gifted my young daughter with a family membership last Christmas and we’ve had a ball making the most of our visits. Most people would question gifting a young child a membership to such a serious “adult” art establishment, but you’d be surprised by how many child-centered exhibits the Art Institute houses. In addition to its awe-inspiring collections from masters, such as Monet, O’Keeffe, … Continue reading →

Holiday Travel With Kids: Know Before You Go

If you are loading up the kids and heading to grandma’s house in New York State for the holidays, then you might want to do some quick measuring first. Not to see if your minivan can accommodate all the extra gifts you are hauling. Rather, state troopers want you to use your measuring tape on your kids. The New York State DMV recently expanded its child restraint law to include all children under the age of eight. Meaning, kids less than eight years old must be restrained in a child carseat or booster seat while riding on state roads. The … Continue reading →

Screaming Kid Makes for Travel Nightmare

In more ways than one… Talk about a flight from hell: Not only did Pamela Root’s nightmare of flying solo with her 2-year-old son come true, but so did her fear that her toddler would not behave in the airplane. In fact, the boy’s behavior was so distracting it led to the mother and son getting booted from their Southwest Airlines flight last week. According to airline officials, the Roots were sitting onboard a flight departing Amarillo, Texas, bound for San Jose, California, when young Adam got hit with a major bout of the crankies. The boy reportedly spent the … Continue reading →

Kids’ Car Seats in Taxis

We buckle up our kids in our own vehicles, have them wear lifejackets on boats and make sure they are donning helmets while riding bikes, but what safety precautions do we exercise when traveling with children in taxi cabs? No parent wants to skimp on safety, but there are many of us who don’t plan well enough for family vacations and are left compromising our children’s well-being as a result. For example, the state of Illinois recently unveiled a new safety campaign that reminds parents that taxis are vehicles too, and holding a child on their lap is against the … Continue reading →

10-Year-Old Boy Talks His Way Onto Flight

It appears as though he has a promising career as a used car salesman, but he’ll have to get out of juvenile detention first. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen the security tapes myself. After all, with all the post 9/11 security measures in place at airports around the world it would seem next to impossible for anyone to get onto an airplane without a boarding pass… right? Apparently, not if you are 10-year-old Semaj Booker. According to police, the Seattle boy successfully talked his way onto not one, but two flights last year and a few … Continue reading →

How Do You NOT Know When Your Child has Gone Missing at an Airport?

A real life version of the big screen hit “Home Alone” took place in Canada on Monday and despite hearing the story multiple times I still don’t see how a 23-month-old boy could be “inadvertently” left behind in a gigantic airport. So here’s the deal: According to The Vancouver Sun, a family immigrating to Canada from the Philippines claims the mix-up occurred during a last minute scramble to a catch their plane. Jun Parreno, the boy’s father, told the paper he, his wife and the tot’s two grandparents were desperately trying to make their connecting flight from Vancouver to Winnipeg … Continue reading →

More Dream Trips for Kids

If you have a Harry Potter fan in your home and haven’t solidified your summer travel plans—–stop what you are doing. I just found the ultimate getaway for kids (and their parents) who are fascinated with the boy wizard. Never mind about Universal Orlando Resort’s new Harry Potter theme park that I detailed in a previous blog. “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” is not scheduled to open at Universal’s Islands of Adventure theme park until late next. In the meantime why not embark on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to the places that inspired the Potter series? The seven-night trip takes … Continue reading →