Holiday Travel With Kids

I f there were every two           to explain gifts to a child while  words that went together,       you are really playing with them.  they are "holiday" and          Everyone looks forward to these    "travel". They can be a pain in       family gatherings.                 the neck during the holidays if                                          you travel with kids.                 Nobody looks forward to actually                                         going through the process of       Holiday Travel                        traveling to family gatherings.                                          Travel by airplane, and you have   I happen to be a big fan of the       to sit in crowded airports,        Christmas televisions shows. I        suffer through connecting          happily admit that I am still a       flights, pray the weather doesn't  fan of the Grinch, the island of      act up and, of course, wedge       toys and, of course, Rudolf.          yourself into a seat made for a    Alas, one can't help buy notice       super model. There is also that    none of these shows make any          moment of apprehension when the    mention of holiday travel. While      plane is loading and you hope not  we occasionally see Santa in his      to get stuck to "drunk guy",       sleigh, he certainly isn't            "gonna get sick guy", "cute,       sitting in a depressing airport       hyperactive child" or an           lounge waiting for a four hour        insurance salesman. All of these   flight delay to pass.                 downfalls are multiplied when you                                        travel with your kids.             Holidays are a great time because                                        they give you a chance to loaf.       Being a child is about having fun  If you're traveling out of town       and exploring your surroundings.   to a family home, you can             Sitting in an airport for 5 hours  anticipate spending a few days of     is not conducive to such things.   eating too much, sleeping a lot,      The old Stapelton Airport in       watching football and pretending      Denver used to have a giant        waiting room that was painted in                                         dark red. When the weather acted      A better solution to your child's  up, it was like getting a 10 hour     boredom would be to get them       preview of hell. As miserable as      engrossed in something that        you might be with delays, your        actually helps their minds grow.   child will be ten times worse         Books are great, particularly the  off. So, what do you do?              latest installment of Harry                                              Potter which is sure to keep them  In this age of the gadget, there      engrossed for a few hours.         is always the video game. There       Another option is to give the      problem, however, is there            writing journals, and tell them    something disturbing about            to write down things such as       watching a child's eyes glaze         their impressions of the trip,     over as he digitally kills            all the important things they      monsters, other humans or             experienced during 2005 and so     whatever happens to be on the         on. Both of these options will     screen. One has to wonder what        keep them from being miserable as  society will be like in another       well as develop a skill other      20 years or so when these video       than pressing a button as fast as  game experts come to the              humanely possible.                 forefront.                             About the Author: Rick Chapo is with http://www.nomadjournals.com - makers of writing journals for keeping diaries of personal experiences, travel, trips and outdoor activities. Visit http://www.nomadjournaltrips.com for more travel articles, travelogues and travel stories. Source: www.isnare.com