Tag Archive for: vacation with kids

The Importance of Being Kind

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We have to set an example when we travel. For them.

We have to set an example when we travel. For them.

Respect and kindness are big themes in our family these days, as we’re working with L and R to make sure they (don’t beat the snot out of each other and) always treat others the way they want others to treat them.

That’s precisely why this post, by “Mindful Dad” Josh Misner, resonated so strongly this week.

In the story, which was published on Misner’s blog and then on Huffpost Parents, Misner recounted a recent travel experience during which he behaved badly toward an airline customer service agent in front of his 6-year-old son. He then shared a wonderful anecdote about what happened next: Misner realized the error of his ways, and apologized to the customer service agent in front of his boy.

The story moved me for a number of reasons. For starters, it was a powerful reminder of the importance of leading by example, that our kids learn how to travel—and to treat others in general—by watching us. I also took comfort in reading another dad’s take on the whole notion of managing frustration when traveling with the extended family. The reality: when presented with disruptive delays while traveling with little ones, sometimes it can be really difficult to keep your cool.

Finally, the piece bolstered my opinion that the travel industry needs more families as customers.

Think about it—if Misner had been traveling alone, if he hadn’t realized his behavior was setting a bad example for his son, would he have made the effort to apologize and do the right thing? I’m guessing no. And I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have.

One could argue that responsible parents traveling with kids actually make the skies (and airports, for that matter) a friendlier place to be. That’s something from which everyone can benefit.

To what extent do you meter your behavior when you travel with kids?

Understanding a New Option for Vacation Rentals

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KCLogoSquareOnWhite-703c666b90bed46938544a8c8603a272In the world of vacation rentals, there’s a new “kid” on the block: Kid & Coe. The company, which launched in October 2013, not only lists rentals but also vets them, offering users pre-qualified references in cities all over the world. The endeavor is the brainchild of Zoie Coe, a mom who travels frequently with her kids (and who also happens to be the wife of DJ Sasha, from Sasha & Digweed). Following a small feature on the company in a recent issue of Travel & Leisure, I caught up with Coe to understand a little more about her approach.

Tell us more about your inspiration for the company.
We were on tour in Sydney as a family and were lucky enough to be checking into the Four Seasons, planning to stay there for a few weeks. Nothing against Four Seasons, but within two days we realized it wasn’t going to work for us as a family; once Luca was asleep at night, we were tiptoeing around him in the dark, whispering so we wouldn’t wake him. We realized he wouldn’t be eating any healthy home-cooked meals and we just needed more space to enjoy our family time together. I think all parents that have stayed in hotel rooms with their kids know this scenario!

When I started the process of looking for an apartment to rent, it took days. Most were unsuitable for a young child. I had to go and personally check them all out. When we found somewhere that did work, I then had to source a baby equipment rental firm to kit us out with high chairs, stair gates and the rest. It took a whole week out of our trip just getting to that point.

But then everything opened up. As soon as we were situated, it felt that all of Sydney was our Sydney: We had a base to find local fresh grocers, nearby playgrounds, farmers markets, and cafés.

That’s how it started. From that I realized that staying in a house as a family was the way to go. Spending too much time going through uninspiring websites looking at uninspiring houses that claimed they were family-friendly made me realize there was a real lack in the market for people who need the space of a home the most. And Kid & Coe is an elegant solution for traveling families.

How can a family know if it is better suited for a rental over a hotel?
I think that for anything over a few days, a self-catering property would prove to be the better option. That’s primarily because it comes down to space, unless you’re in the lucky position of taking two adjoining hotel rooms, it becomes difficult to navigate a hotel room with two young children. Homes provide the opportunity to stretch out yet still be connected at the same time. They also offer a more authentic experience—you can really get stuck into a neighborhood, with farmer’s markets, fresh grocers, etc. [Rentals] provide a great base to explore.

Where is the line in terms of what you should expect a rental owner to provide? For instance, if an owner doesn’t offer outlet covers, should you look elsewhere?
From a host perspective, we’re looking for properties that tick a few boxes. Is it in a fantastic location? Does it provide any family amenities? Is it safe and spacious enough to accommodate a family comfortably? There are many variables that we take into consideration when evaluating a property—we wouldn’t turn one down for not having outlet covers!

Our aim at Kid & Coe is to present the specific information that a family needs for their own unique needs. What’s child-friendly for a parent of a 2-year-old is very different from what’s family-friendly for a parent of an 8-year-old. We don’t try to make the decision for the family, but we aim to present all the information clearly so parents can make the right choice for their family.

What do you consider to be the must-haves for an ideal family rental?
For my own family, we take into consideration the location. If we’re in a city, we want to be right in the thick of it, if we’re by the beach, we want to be very close to the water. Location is key. I’m personally less concerned about the level of toys that a home might provide because I have older kids now and we want to be out exploring the destination. But when I traveled with my 1-year-old, I was definitely concerned about stairs, high chairs and cribs etc. So again, it comes down to what those family’s unique needs are at the time.

We’ve had a range of requests, from a mom and teenage daughter wanting to explore London, to groups of families holidaying together. Families come in different shapes and sizes and we hope to provide suitable accommodation suggestions for all of them.

How many rentals currently are in your program? How do you evaluate them? Do you see them all in person?
We have about 200 live on the site [spanning international destinations from Oakland to Umbria]. More are being added every day. The first step is that we ask hosts to fill out a quick application and a paragraph detailing why their property would be a good fit for our family community. We request photos so we can get a feel of the space.

Once they’ve been accepted, our team takes a lot of time working with the host to make sure all the information provided is relevant and clear. We currently don’t see them all in person—those that we do, have a yellow ‘verified’ stamp on the page. We work so closely with the hosts we accept that we feel we really get to know them that way.

To what extent do you pre-qualify family customers?
We’re working hard on building out more community features on our website. For example, I’d love to be able to see the Instagram feed of the family that’s coming to stay in my home, if they want to share that information. From what we’ve seen so far, it’s very much a case of like-minded families sharing with other like-minded families and we’ve seen the idea of community really taking shape. We’re working hard to develop more features on the site that really grow that community.

Tell me a little about yourself. What did you do before Kid & Coe?
I worked in various jobs, the most recent was that I managed my husband’s music business which granted me the opportunity to travel extensively, both before the kids and after. I’ve been working on this concept full-time for the last year and a half.

Why You Should Travel with Preschoolers

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Little R, enjoying downtime in London.

Little R, enjoying downtime in London.

It’s been a busy few weeks here at Wandering Pod headquarters. First we surfaced for another story on the “Have Family Will Travel” blog from Four Seasons. Then, earlier today, we hit the Google Alerts again, this time with a service piece for Scholastic Parent & Child magazine.

The latter story, titled, “Sanity-Saving Tips for Traveling with Preschoolers,” presents eight reasons why parents *should* travel with their kids when their kids are between the ages of 3-5. Some of my tips: Kids actually will remember it, flying with kids is easier than you think, luxury hotels are doing nice stuff for families, and public transportation is your friend.

Originally, the goal of the story was to give parents who are hesitant to travel with their preschoolers reasons to put their minds at ease.

Along the way, however, I learned a lot, too.

This was the story that led me to Michelle Blume, a child psychologist who blew my mind with some of the data she shared about how much 3- and 4-year-olds actually remember. It also was the piece that enabled me to meet Raquel Anderson, a behavioral health specialist affiliated with Bundoo, a great reference site for parents.

For both of these reasons, I’m excited to share the piece. Hope you enjoy!

Another Sighting on HFWT

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Little R, watching carolers in Farnham.

Little R, watching carolers in Farnham.

Regular readers of this blog might remember a post I wrote late last year about our amazing Thanksgiving stay at Four Seasons Hotel Hampshire, England. It was one of the best trips we’ve ever taken. And now, I’ve written about the experience again—this time for “Have Family Will Travel,” the family travel blog from Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.

The more recent article, titled “Hampshire, England Resort Family Holiday,” published today. It spotlights six of our favorite things about the resort. On the list: the kids’ club, the playground, our afternoon tea, and, of course, Oliver, the resident dog.

(Not on the public list: The hotel’s proximity to Farnham, a market town which we visited by taxi.)

Personally, my favorite part of the HFWT post is the artwork—for the first time in a long while, they published a TON of my photos, including a bunch of L and R.

From a family travel perspective, neither of these blog posts suffers from hyperbole; the Hampshire property really is THAT cool. Considering that you can get there in less than one hour by train from London, definitely consider it for a weekend getaway from the Big City the next time you find yourself in southeast England.

All about Peppa

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Peppa, peeking out from her new playhouse.

Peppa, peeking out from her new playhouse.

Our girls brought back a number of souvenirs from our four-month stint in London: handmade fairy dresses, silly British accents, handfuls of two-pound coins and Nutella. They also returned with a completely maniacal obsession with an animated swine, Peppa Pig.

While the intensity of their interest in many of these British treasures has waned over time, their love for Peppa has not.

To be blunt: My kids are still just as hog-wild for the old gal and her pig peeps as they were over there.

At first, this passion was a problem; though Peppa is HUGE in England (heck, there’s even a Peppa Pig World) she wasn’t nearly as popular here in the U.S. Now, however, it appears Peppa has arrived: We’ve spotted Peppa cartoons on cable here in Northern California (Nick Jr., to be exact) and have started seeing Peppa books and merchandise everywhere.

Naturally, then, then the girls got their hands on the Peppa Pig Peek ‘n’ Surprise Playhouse, they practically snorted with delight. When they got the Peppa Hug ‘n’ Oink Talking Plush, they couldn’t put it down. And when we managed to score some Peppa books, the kids practically were ready to burn just about everything else on the shelves.

What is the appeal? I will admit: The damn pig is funny.

For starters, she loves rolling around in muddy puddles, which rules. Second, she always gets herself into “I Love Lucy” type scenarios. One particular episode, about a parrot named Polly who learns to snort, almost always gets me chuckling—a reality that, in turn, gets L giggling uncontrollably. Another episode, about a cuckoo clock, triggers laughter that has sparked asthma attacks. (Seriously.)

But Peppa is genuinely good, too. She’s the perfect mix of sassy and proper, snobby but kind. Her baby brother, George, his hilarious in his affinity with dinosaurs (he says, “dine-sores”). And her parents, Mummy Pig and Daddy Pig, are brilliant in the way they caricature most of the British parents we met.

I’ll stop myself before this post becomes an essay on Peppa and the postmodern picaresque. Bottom line: The show is worth watching, and we’re stoked that it followed us home. SNORT.

What sorts of “souvenirs” do you like to bring home from a faraway family trip?

What’s in a Name?

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Didi Dragonfly Weath-Weath, running like a maniac.

Didi Dragonfly Weath-Weath, running like a maniac.

We’ve been taking a lot of road trips lately, and L and R have come up with a fun new game for the occasions.

The premise of this exercise is simple: The morning of a big drive, we each pick new identities to assume for the duration of our trip. From that point forward—at least until we reach our destination—we must refer to each other by these assumed names and personas.

Not surprisingly, because our girls are, well, girls, most of the alter egos revolve around princesses.

This weekend, for instance, on a drive from our home north of San Francisco to see friends who live south of the city, L declared she was “Princess Tulip,” while R assumed the name, “Didi Dragonfly Weath-Weath.” On a separate road trip, to see a fish hatchery nearby, L was “Princess Sunny” and R was “Princess Boomer.”

(In case you’re wondering, for both instances Powerwoman was “Princess Ladybug” and I was “Balaenoptera Dadificus,” or “B.D.,” for short.)

Generally speaking, the name game is a great exercise in creatively passing time.

For starters, it inspires the girls to draw pictures of who they’ve just become—these art sessions usually take place at the breakfast table, while Powerwoman and I furiously dash around to pack up snacks and load the car.

En route, the game also is a great conversation starter; we encourage both girls to tell us stories about their characters. (Often, they tell the stories simultaneously. Go figure.)

Still, the exercise has its drawbacks.

L is incredibly serious about all of us calling each other by the assumed names, and forgetting to do so can really piss her off. What’s more, even though I’m the only male human in the family, apparently I’m not allowed to pick a “Prince” name because there’s only one prince in the family, and that’s our cat (the girls call him, “Prince Coomer”).

These negatives are minuscule. The Name Game is a great (kid-driven) activity for road trips, and I recommend it without reservation. And if you’re worried about forgetting the names in your family (or if your family is bigger than ours), there’s always the option of name tags.

What are some of your favorite ways to pass time on a family road trip?

Making Up for Lost Time

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Back in action here in California.

Back in action here in California.

Eating Fro-Yo at our neighborhood sweet shoppe. Climbing rocks at the playground with the fossilized ammonites. Listening to the wind chimes on our back patio. Winding up the butterfly music box.

These are just some of the activities our daughters talked about when they longed for home during the four months we spent in London.

They also happened to be some of the first things we went and did upon our return.

We’ve been home more than six weeks now, and the must-do’s are still flowing freely. Every morning, L insists on donning one of the princess dresses she had left at home, just because she “missed them.” Every afternoon, R likes to do the same with those of her bead necklaces that didn’t make the trip.

On one level, these rituals are as much part of the re-acclimatization process as they are touchstones; by reconnecting with the stuff they loved most before we left, the girls are getting more and more accustomed to the notion of being home.

On another level, L and R simply are rediscovering their stuff, a process that is, at the same time, comforting and fun.

(R, upon “finding” a stuffed Pooh in her room last week, exclaimed, “I got Pooh!”)

If you think about it, we grownups engage in some of the same behaviors. The entire time we spent in London, I (literally) dreamed about coming home and eating a giant burrito; when we finally got back to our home in Northern Sonoma County, that’s exactly what I did. Powerwoman had her fantasies, too; four months of anticipation made a massage from her local masseuse even more relaxing.

The lessons here are to give in to these very natural longings, to let our kids miss their stuff.

You’ve heard the (British) phrase, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder,” right? Well IMHO, the best ways for us parents to help kids return to “normal” after a family trip are to encourage them to miss their stuff back home and indulge them with the chances to make up for lost time.

If we’re doing things right, effects of the process will be twofold: relief in the short-term, followed by a renewed desire to get away again down the road.

What do you look forward to doing or eating upon returning from a long trip?

New Entry on the Family Travel Wish List

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Doc + Sofia = Heaven, for my kids.

Doc + Sofia = Heaven, for my kids.

Believe it or not, my daughters keep their own version of a Bucket List—a running list of places they want to go (or go back to) over the course of their lives. The list has entries such as “Cats” (a make-believe land that L has created), and “HBG” (a local bar that R loves). It also mentions Hawaii (a destination they love). And Las Vegas (because Daddy writes about it so much).

After this past week, the list also now includes Disney Junior Play ‘N’ Dine at Hollywood & Vine at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando.

The reason for this latest addition: News that two of their all-time favorite Disney Junior characters—Doc McStuffins and Princess Sofia (from “Sofia the First”)—have joined the star-studded cast.

According to a blog-post release from the Disney Parks Blog (which kicks ass, by the way), the two characters, along with Handy Manny and Jake from “Jake and the Never Land Pirates,” interact with kids and sing familiar songs. The post goes onto say that Doc and Sofia actually have special roles in the musical revue.

Word on the street is that Doc and Sofia debuted on Sunday. From my perspective, the move represents another aspect of a growing effort from the Walt Disney World Resort to appeal to preschoolers and toddlers—an age group that’s often glossed over when creating immersive experiences for kids.

As the father of two kids in this age group, I welcome this push with open arms. Now Powerwoman and I just have to figure out when we can get to Florida to check things out!

Dublin State of Mind

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R investigating pebbles at Newgrange, outside of Dublin.

R investigating pebbles at Newgrange, outside of Dublin.

Nearly three months have passed since our pod surfaced in Dublin, Ireland, as part of our 4-month stint in London. Thanks to scheduled delays in the publishing world, however, some of my articles about the experience were just published this week.

The first story, for Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts’ “Have Family Will Travel” blog, spotlights the specific experiences the four of us had as guests of the Four Seasons Hotel Dublin.

The second piece, for the Expedia ViewFinder blog, is more a general look at Dublin for families.

Both stories feature text and photographs from yours truly. Both pieces include colorful references to the specific experiences the four of us had in Dublin—the first stop on our 10-day family vacation to Ireland.

It’s always a treat to have my work published, but these types of pieces are particularly fulfilling. For starters, they offer unique perspectives on our experiences in faraway places. Second, the posts give me the opportunity to mix anecdotes and narrative with service—a mash-up that, IMHO, is what makes travel writing fun. Finally, the articles appear on two of the blogs I respect most.

Anyway, to reiterate, you can read the pieces here and here. Enjoy! Spread the word! And please, keep reading.

What Young Kids Remember About Family Travel

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Will L even remember tracing this ammonite?

Will L even remember tracing this ammonite?

For our family, travel is a mix of experiences, good and bad. We bond. We oooh. We aaah. We negotiate who sleeps where at bedtime. We fight over who gets to sit in the buggy. We weather meltdowns. And we never stop seeing new stuff.

Inevitably, however, Powerwoman and I ask ourselves: How much of all of these experiences will L and R remember?

It’s a question I’ve heard often—both from friends and foes. Those who share our commitment to family travel ask the (rhetorical) question in the context of how worthwhile the effort really is. Those who oppose it? They just blather on about how children only care about themselves, never the things they experience in the outside world.

This past week, on an assignment for a client (story coming soon!), I got to dig a little deeper into the issue during an interview with a child psychologist. And the answers shocked the hell out of me.

The expert, Dr. Michele Blume, basically said that, biologically speaking, kids don’t have the capacity for explicit memories until they reach 3 years old. She added that even after that, kids usually don’t retain more than “flashbulb memories” (memories of very brief snippets of an experience, individual moments) until after they turn 5.

Thankfully, before I nearly choked on my coffee at the notion that we’ve been going about it all wrong, Blume added that there’s more to memories than biology.

“What’s overlooked [in the case of kids and family travel] is the importance of implicit memory, the sensory experience,” said the psychologist, who is based in Hermosa Beach, Calif. “The sights, sounds, tastes and smells of being in a new place with mom and dad, interacting with the new environment and having fun as a family has an impact later on; affecting how they feel about themselves, how they feel about themselves in the world, their curiosity in new situations, and how they adapt to the world.”

Blume went on to say that far too many parents use family travel as a teaching experience—a situation that could overwhelm young kids. While sharing knowledge is important, she argues that moms and dads should make it a secondary aspect of a vacation, not the main event.

“Learning doesn’t have to be about the Eiffel Tower or something specific like that,” she noted. “When you ask them questions about what they’re seeing around them, it should be more about the experience of being there with mom and dad, together, and less about something [to which] they might not even be able to relate.”

Finally, Blume noted that the very best thing a parent can do for his or her child on a family trip is to make the new seem familiar.

“At a young age, children are learning about the world and how to regulate themselves in it,” she said. “Parents operate as an external modulator of their child’s nervous system. If parents can create constancy and predictability externally, then a child can take in the new environment because it seems safe to do that. Knowing your child and being attuned to [his or her] needs can go a long way to making [family travel] more fulfilling and enjoyable [for everyone involved].”

To what extent do you feel your kids have remembered family trips from their younger days?