Broadening Children’s Horizons Through Travel

If your kids play computer games that take them to other worlds, exploit that interest by traveling to places which inspire them. Parents and kids can broaden their horizons through exposure to another culture, its cuisine and customs, and still have a ball on vacation.

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Try Ancient Greece or Egypt

Bargain holidays could allow a visit to Egypt, the land of the Pharaohs awaiting new explorers. In Greece your child could experience the mystery behind myths and legends so many movies have plundered for their plotlines. Once here, the kids will find these lands anything but ancient.

Capture the Experience

Sweltering in outdoor heat, it becomes easier to appreciate the labours of slaves or the determination of heroes to cross seas and deserts. Immerse yourself in the scene. The taste of cool, clear water, the spicy fragrance that entices hungry appetites to a welcome meal, the texture of fresh hot bread all become part of an important experience which leads to further appreciation of our easy-buy society.

Understand the Past

Hikes along the paths trodden by those long ago will show the difficulty ancient tribes had in their everyday lives. With no cars, no trains and no planes, but just camels, horses or donkeys to help carry heavy loads and transport people and goods to new locations, the efforts made by those who built fabulous palaces and monuments become even more awesome.

Find out How and Why

With exposure to foreign customs and languages your child will get a feel for how and why certain practises dominate. In hot countries where electricity and refrigeration are limited, foodstuffs are preserved in salt, oil or sugar to prevent them going off. Try some new tastes recommended by locals. Rural areas don’t have the shops and malls commonplace back home and your mind-set has to adjust to new conditions.

Bring Back Souvenirs

Every sense can experience something new. Unfamiliar sights, sounds and smells in bazaars and market places offer a treat deserving of souvenirs to remind you of them when you return home. Museums and areas of local interest will invite questions, which is always a good thing to enhance education and understanding. Off the beaten path, with a guide to keep you safe, some of the more primitive areas will encourage self-sufficiency and creative solutions to problems arising in hostile environments.

Seeing how others live in different cultures will give kids a worldly view and appreciation of their home comforts.

Image by Jimmie, used under the Creative Commons license. 

Teaching kids airplane etiquette: how to create good fliers

We’ve all been there, either as parents or innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire: a disastrous flight during which kids are causing more than their share of trouble. Sometimes it’s unavoidable: a tired baby a parent is trying to console, a sick child, a long layover. Other times–and I know you’ve seen this–kids behaving badly on planes when it’s avoidable with a few lessons in manners. When teaching kids airplane etiquette, we suggest the following while flying with kids:

Kids Airplane Etiquette:

1. Find your seat quickly. I don’t know if it’s just my kids, but there’s always a lot of debate over who’s going to sit where in our assigned seats. I’ve taught them to go straight to the seat listed on their ticket first, to get out of the aisle, and to swap places after the rest of the passengers have gotten on.

2. Wheel your rollie-bag properly. No carry-on luggage wars in the terminal, kids! Games of chicken and extreme rolling are not permitted in our family…anymore. I’m tired of my toes getting rolled over and the looks of disgust issued by business travelers.

3. Clean up trash. I instruct my kids to place snack trash into their cup, then hand the whole thing to the flight attendant. Getting out of the habit of putting anything–including trash–into the seat pocket ensures we don’t leave anything we need behind, like chargers or iPods.

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4. Say hello to flight attendants when you board. Thank them as you deplane. Required. Enough said.

5. No kicking the seat in front of you.Whoa boy, is this a big one. And sometimes, it’s not the kid’s fault, if his or her legs are just the right (or wrong) length. Our kids know to tuck toes down or even sit ‘criss-cross applesauce’ to avoid the seat kicking issue. It’s a toughie.

Tips for parents:

1. Try to board early. Even if your kids are out of the age range that (sometimes) ensures pre-boarding, line up as soon as you’re able to based on your seat assignment. This will give you more time to stow carry-on baggage in the bulkhead while the main cabin is less crowded.

2. Prepare kids with a great eBook: Monsters Don’t Ride on Airplanes. Check out the screen shot of this adorable book below! We read it recently, and I think it’s a great tool to use with young kids. The simple story shows various silly-looking monsters on airplanes, doing everything wrong. Then is shows a girl and boy doing things right, with the message that well-behaved kids get to ride on airplanes and go to fun places (while monsters are left behind).

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3. Avoid red-eye flights unless you know your kids will sleep. No one likes a crying baby. There’s little that’s more miserable on a plane than a red-eye during which young kids cannot sleep. We’ve been tempted by lower cost red-eye flights, but because our kids are not good sleepers on airplanes, we’ve learned to avoid them. Fly when your kids are at their best. If that time happens to be when they’re asleep…hey, we don’t judge!

4. Help security flow more smoothly. We almost always fly carry-on only, which means everyone has toiletries that may have 3 ounce containers. To make it easier on everyone when we go through security, I consolidate these items so they’re all in just one quart-sized bag. (Everyone’s tooth brushes, hair ties, and other non-liquid cosmetics and toiletries can remain in each person’s carry-on.) When we go through security, each kid knows he can place his backpack and his carry-on onto the belt without getting anything out.

5. Eat on the plane. Hey, it’s something to do, and it keeps kids happy. We’ve found that in most cases, purchasing a meal on a plane is no more expensive than purchasing a similar meal in the airport. And this way, we don’t have to carry a bag of food onboard. My kids love simple meals like fruit and cheese plates or snack baskets, and I love that they’re entertained by the novelty of airplane food for a few minutes. Plus for parents: Alaska Airlines flights offer complimentary local wines and craft brews for the adults!

6. Bring a headphone splitter. For some reason, it highly annoys me when parents set their kids up with a movie or cartoon on a plane, and subject the entire cabin to the audio. Are there worse things? Sure, but this problem is easily solved by buying a cheap headphone splitter and using kids headphones.

What are your top tips for airplane etiquette?

Fun family hostels for an international stay

Wake up in a Turkish cave, a rainforest treehouse, or aboard a 747 airplane that never flies when you check into one of these unusual hotels the adventurous folks at Hostelbookers recommend for families. Besides being easy on the purse strings, these off-beat kid-friendly hotels add a playful, relaxing atmosphere to your vacation that you won’t find at pretentious resorts!

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Kadir’s Tree House, Olympos, Turkey: Tarzan would feel right at home in the jungle-style accommodations at Kadir’s Tree House where your family is invited to “go native.” For the ultimate back to nature experience, claim your territory at their campsite and enjoy the rugged life while having access to a real-life pizza hut, hot showers and bathrooms. Get a taste of life in the canopy snuggled in a tree house hut perched among the branches with cozy bunks and hammocks. If you prefer more civilized comforts, opt for the air conditioned bungalows with private bathrooms and mosquito-proof windows.

Designed like a tribal village around a central courtyard, the friendly staff welcomes guests to join in fun activities like the daily volleyball game or take the half hour walk to the coast and spend the day at the beach. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at the delicious meals included in the price served buffet-style three times a day. Dance the night away at their swinging lounge with two bars or swap stories around the firepit.

Aydinli Cave Hotel, Göreme, Turkey: Treat your family to the Flintstone experience at the Aydinli Cave Hotel carved into the hills surrounding a pre-historic looking Turkish city. This family-run hotel doesn’t have Stone Age facilities though–all six rooms have free Wi-Fi and family suites include stone fireplaces and jacuzzis. The Turkish-style bathrooms with hamam basins and walk-in showers make getting clean as much fun as getting dirty!

Enjoy complimentary breakfast in the on-site restaurant and savor your Turkish coffee on the rooftop terrace overlooking the honey-colored walls of the city below. Your helpful hosts can arrange a rental car or guided tour exploring such wonders as the Fairy Chimney Rock Formations in the Göreme National Park.

Jumbo Stay, Stockholm, Sweden: For what may be the best night’s sleep your family ever has on an airplane, check into the Jumbo Stay, a cleverly converted–and permanently grounded–747 jumbo jet. The kids will love exploring this massive plane that’s as much fun as a ride–but seat belts aren’t required!

Live it up in the cockpit suite with a private bathroom or opt for the more budget-conscious dorm-style rooms with single or double beds complete with free Wi-Fi and flat-screen TVs that even display the airline schedules. The eight compact bathrooms are wheelchair accessible and include efficient showers. Downstairs in the Jumbo Lounge you can enjoy airline-style drinks, snacks and a hot breakfast.

When you’re planning your next family vacation, consider these unusual hotels where the accommodations make your trip twice as much fun while costing even less than boring hotels!

Written for Pit Stops for Kids by HostelBookers, a leading authority on family-friendly hostels.