Family trip tips

-- Steve Smith

* Leave all personal music players, videos and video games at home. A

family vacation should encourage family interaction along the way. That’s

hard to do when someone is wearing headphones.

* Start your trip at your front door. Alter your goals so that the

journey becomes as important a part of your trip as your arrival at your

destination. Doing so will help you slow down the pace of your travel and

prevent children from asking the dreaded “Are we there yet?”

* Feed the kids along the way. Kids are always hungry. Whether you’re

traveling by car, plane or boat, be sure you have some snacks and drinks

for them to quiet their stomachs.

* Establish a “travel day.” Our kids know that the days to and from a

destination mean certain duties for each family member. Establishing a

“travel day” lets everyone know that teamwork is needed to make the trip

a success.

* Establish a “travel bonus.” Travel is often tough on younger

children. We started a travel bonus a few years ago and it works. Each

trip, the kid are rewarded on the way home if their travel behavior is

good. The gift may be something as simple as a T-shirt from a stop along

the way.

* Take the long way. If you’re going by car, get a good, detailed map

and get off the freeway once in awhile. Doing this, we’ve discovered many

fabulous places and had some of the best fruit ever.