WanderMom » Family Travel

Handheld Video Games, Kids And Travel

wandermom — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 05:28:29 +0000

My kids travel with their Nintendos I'm not particularly proud of this fact, but that's because I have a love-hate relationship with video games in general. I love the way they keep my children entertained - sometimes for hours at a time - but I can't stand the way they keep my children occupied to the exclusion of everything else that's going on around them. That said, there is no doubt that in today's world of over-booked flights, flight delays and other such traveling silliness, I have personally experienced how a good Nintendo game can be a parental life-saver. We were flying from Seattle to Puerto Vallarta via Phoenix. Our two-hour layover became four, then six hours. We boarded and de-planed twice. We shuffled on and off the plane through dinner time and the kid's normal bed time. They were completely unfazed. CAM, at 10, had a new game for his Nintendo DS. BigB, at six was utterly fascinated watching his big brother play. We just lugged our baggage (carry-on only) on and off the plane and let them at it. Managing video game use while traveling The uneasy bargain that I have with my children with respect to their beloved Nintendos and my love of immersing them in new cultures and new places is that I try to enforce a "video games are for playing while we're in transit" rule. There are subtle nuances to this rule: I'd prefer if they only used their Nintendos on the flights to and from our destination; they'd prefer if they could use them every time they sit in a plane, train or automobile. You can imagine the ensuing negotiations. But, even though CAM once exclaimed "Of all the moms in the world, why did I get stuck with you?" specifically because this particular rule, it does work most of the time. I have been known to hide the Nintendos once we arrive at our destination. Ssh, don't tell my kids. They always magically reappear when we're about to board our return flight. And in the time in between, I pay for my choice by being soundly beaten in Scrabble and Set by CAM but also having many raucous games of Uno or Rat-A-Tat-Cat with both of the boys. Managing video game accessories while traveling The games are tiny, the power cords have an annoying habit of being left behind in our rented accommodation and the devices themselves are frequently rescued from pockets just in the nick of time - barely escaping the over-sized washing machines of laudromats all over Europe. (I have discovered that Nintendo games can survive the washer and the dryer and still function quite well). We've lost way too many games while traveling. To me, this is one of those parental trade-offs which we make in the hope of teaching life lessons: if my children are responsible for their own games the benefit is that they will learn to look after their own games. The risk, of course, is losing games and the expense of replacing those games. Unless there's really special circumstances, if CAM or BigB lose a game when we're on the road, they chose whether or not they want to replace it out of their own savings or pocket-money. No discussion. So far, consternation and lamentations aside, that's also worked out pretty well. I find that game cases such as the CaseLogic Nintendo DS Game Case are a great tool to help your child keep track of his games, his DS and all the other DS paraphernalia while traveling. What do you think? Do you have a rant or rave about handheld video games for kids in general? Have you allowed your children to use them at home or while traveling? Do you perhaps allow them for traveling but not at home? And if so, how do you get your child to go along with that?? Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts, opinions and ideas. RSS, email or follow me on Twitter.

Free Range Kids On The Road

wandermom — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 05:00:39 +0000

I read Lenore Skenazy's blog Free Range Kids for the first time last month. Seriously, I cannot believe that I missed last year's media furore when she let her then 9 year old son ride the New York subway home alone - but then again, I'm a working mom and I admit, there are days (weeks even) when don't have time to either read the newspaper or listen to NPR. At any rate, when I found Skenazy's blog , I was excited. I mean truly, jumping-up-and-down excited. I've lived my parenting life in the U.S. where the shadow of being an outsider butts into my interactions with the moms of my children's friends all too frequently. It's not something that keeps me awake at night, but it's an annoyance I struggle with since, like any mom, I appreciate that my kids want to fit in and my "no, I don't like peanut butter and jelly" oddities are a distraction they'd rather not have to deal with and I'd rather not saddle upon them. On Free Range Kids I've found a group of people who, at least on one parental dimension (i.e. freedom and independence in childhood), think as I do and act as I do. I grew up in a small Irish town. I don't remember ever locking the door or turning on a house alarm (in fact, we didn't have one). I do know that I and my younger siblings walked everywhere and were pretty darn self-sufficient from a very early age. Such were the practicalities of my life. We didn't have scheduled playdates instead our friends just dropped by. We were regularly told to "go outside and don't come back until..." (at which point I would usually take a book and go read in the garden). Growing up in Seattle, my children have had a very different experience and frankly I have failed miserably at managing their social calendar. It's like meal planning. Really, I want someone to show up at my house daily with an expertly prepared repast. Instead, I avoid thinking about dinner until I have to and then I regret not having planned in advance. I have the best of intentions in terms of scheduling playdates for both of my children, but by the time I remember to call it's too late and Johnny or Jane or Jim is already doing something else. The net result of this is that I have two pleasant, but not very socially adept children. They don't even realize it. However, when it comes to travel, I think my kids are better prepared than most of their peers. This may seem counter-intuitive. I mean, you might think that a parent would be more rather than less protective of a child when traveling. And it's true, I was - with my first child. He's challenging in many ways, but not when we travel. He'll sit by me in an airport and bemoan the fact that he's leaving Seattle again, but he's never wandered - unlike my younger son. I've never been in such good shape as I was the year BigB (the younger guy) turned two. I chased him everywhere we went. He doesn't run any more, but he does have a streak of independence a mile wide and the self-confidence to pick himself up and go follow his interests -wherever we are. He's not yet NINE people! BigB has disappeared out of sight multiple times: in big cities and small towns, in airports and shopping malls, in the U.S. and in random other countries we've visited. When he was two, as we walked down a Parisian street, he decided he was hungry and found himself a cafe - we found him pretty quickly. At four, he insisted on riding the (admittedly beginner) ski lift with his brother but without parents. At six, with much cajoling, my older son (the cautious one) proudly ordered his own glace (ice cream) in a French cafe - while we waited outside. At the same age, my younger son explored the shops around the town square in Albufeira, Portugal while his dad and I ate lunch. I'd be lying if I said that I was totally calm every time he disappeared into a store but each time he reappeared, he confidently waved to us and ran to the next set of trinkets without a care in the world. When we were in Rome last year, rather than insist that my boys sit quietly in a restaurant while their Dad and I finished dinner, they ran off to explore the Piazza Del Parthenon. With lights and music and street hawkers on every corner they were in kid heaven. They came looking for us before we had even left the restaurant. As I walked through the square after dinner, a Bangladeshi street hawker stopped me an congratulated me on my son's bargaining skills (who knew?). This may sound like my parenting is a little too "hands-off", negligent even. That would be an incorrect assumption. We've developed a strategy which we use when we're exploring a new place. We always carry cell phones and require that our children know the numbers - thankfully we both have phones which we can bring with us outside the U.S. and we subscribe to AT&T's plan which allows us to make calls at reduced rates while traveling. We agree on a meeting place or a place where Mom and Dad will wait while the children explore. We insist that they stick together - and then we hope that they don't have a sibling quarrel and part ways. So far that hasn't happened. All children are individuals and some are born with a desire to explore. As Lenore Skenazy suggests, it is worse to constrain a child like that than to let him (safely) roam. My son craves more and greater independence every day. My parenting decision was to recognize where my children's respective personalities sit along the spectrum of independence and to provide the individual support needed - and then to encourage each of them to spread his wings - in whatever form that takes - based on the relevant individual starting point. And if you travel, the opportunities to do so are endless. Current Giveaways: Win a GoGoBabyz Infant Cruizer

What the Travel-Blogging-Moms Are Saying

wandermom — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 15:54:08 +0000

I found Minnemom's Toilet Art just hilarious and her Rules for Parents at Children's Museums is definitely worth a read. I'm thrilled to introduce a two moms who are blogging about travel right here on Wanderlust & Lipstick: Elizabeth who'll be blogging about her life and travels in Hong Kong on DimSumDiary and Beth who'll be blogging about the process to adopt from abroad as she begins this journey on PampersPakhlava. Earlier this month, the prolific Debbie from DeliciousBaby has a great article on 8 Roadblocks to Family Travel and Why You Shouldn't Let Them Stop You . Read it, you'll be glad you did. I laughed out loud at the Kid's Family Vacation Top-10 List on Fodors.com from MudslideMama of the TravelingMamas.com. From this list, I'm sure she's been sitting beside me at an airport gate or hotel restaurant recently. There's also a Hyatt Hotel Giveaway running on this site at the moment. Hop on over and check it out. Speaking of contests, you must check out the giveaway for a week-long stay at a Tuscan villa on Ciao Bambino - having spent a week in Tuscany with an extended family group last summer (including 12 children!!), I can honestly say that this is a vacation every family should consider. Finally, kudos to Mara at MotherOfAllTrips for a smashing site re-design.