If you have ever traveled with small children, you know how nerve-racking it can be. The stress level kicks up a notch when you are flying. Even short trips can be exasperating with an inconsolable toddler or multiple children. Maintenance delays and aircraft issues, traffic jams and construction, and many other un-anticipated issues often extend an already exhausting experience. Luckily, with a little bit of pre-planning, there are some easy ways to keep the kids occupied and happy while traveling, even on long trips.
As a family of five, we don’t fly if we can drive. However, with extended family on the other side of the country and three boys close in age, I can’t deny that we’ve been the parents on the plane with the shrieking, crying children; the ones that quickly become everyone else’s nightmare. Through trial and error, we discovered that there are a few things you can do to make everyone’s trip a lot more cheerful, while minimizing the stress of a long plane ride.
Early Spring is an excellent time to go biking in Kananaskis on closed highways and campground roads. Many campgrounds don’t open until mid-May or later, and this allows children the chance to practice their riding on safe, gentle terrain free from traffic on city streets. Many campgrounds have playgrounds and hiking trails, which offer a nice diversion for the whole family. We enjoy riding our bikes through the deserted campground roads to the playground, having lunch and then continuing on our ride to do a short hike (either on foot or on bikes if the trail is easy enough). Here are some of my top suggestions for where to take your family on a bike outing this Spring.
My 10-year-old daughter stands motionless before a large black-and-white photograph of two girls on a beach. Nearby, her 12-year-old sister studies a photo caption, while my youngest tugs me toward another set of pictures. We linger unexpectedly during a summer afternoon in the gallery hosting this unusual traveling exhibit about Anne Frank. One would never guess the moans and complaints preceding our visit - moans and complaints that often surface at the suggestion of something new. But this successful outing gives me hope.
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