The inspiration for this article comes from a recent airport encounter. My family was stuck in line behind a very disgruntled couple with several large suitcases in tow. Actually these suitcases were more like steamer trunks. The poor man groaned very time their bags needed slide along as the line progressed. When they reached the check in counter, the woman was "shocked and appaulled" at the amount of money it was going to cost them to check their over-sized, over weight, collection of suitcases. The husband then mistakenly asked her if she really needed the contents of one of the largest and heaviest bags. She replied, "Of course Dear, I NEED all 35 pairs of the shoes I packed".
For the safety and security of children everywhere, single parents traveling overseas with minor children have additional responsibilities when it comes to travel documentation. This rule applies to divorced parents, widowed parents, co-parents, grandparents and even married parents who will be traveling separately. Similar questions of legality can arise if passport names don't all match. This can happen in the situation where
a mother uses a different name from her husband and children. Another red flag might be if you are bringing another child along on vacation, say a child's friend or a relative that does not have the same last name. Once again legal documentation would need to be presented at border control.
Admittedly I roll my eyes every time I pick up the phone and hear a client say..."We're looking for an affordable family vacation - We want to go SOMEPLACE WARM AND CHEAP".
there are important rules parents need to know when flying with a baby.The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) sets the standards for airline safety in the United States. The FAA does recommend that all children fly seated in an approved child safety seat but it does not MANDATE the use of child safety seats on airplanes. The word mandate is an important one here. Because the FAA does not mandate the use of a safety seat, airlines will allow children UNDER the age of 2 to fly for either a small fee or 10% of the cost of an adult ticket, seated in the lap of their parent. Airlines and travel agents use the lingo of LAPCHILD to describe a baby or toddler flying seated in their parent's lap. Everyone likes the idea of a "free ride" but there are some important points parents need to consider when deciding whether or not to buy an airline seat for their baby.
Parents often request more than one hotel room from us when making their family hotel reservations. It may be that they have 3 or 4 children and need a family of five or six hotel room. It could be that they have young children with early bedtimes and they want a separate space so that the kids can sleep undisturbed. They may have teenager and need an extra bathroom for sanity sake. Mom and Dad may be looking for some "adult" time and "need to ensure extra privacy for themselves so that their family vacation can also become a romantic escape."
I used this gentle explanation once during a consultation with a hotelier. He wanted my opinions while desinging blue prints for construction of his family friendly resort. I could tell he just wasn't grasping what I was trying to say. Finally I was forced to spell it out for him and I said..."Listen, you need to build more connecting rooms because parents want to have sex while on vacation and do not want to worry about having their kids watch." Brutally honest and perhaps a bit too graphic, but at least my honesty got more family connecting rooms from that hotel chain that are now available to parents in need of a great vacation!
Layaway payment plans for family vacations makes SMART financial sense and will save your family money. I enjoyed a good chuckle recently after seeing a reading a CNN Money article about Sears touting their brand new Vacation Layaway program. Kudos to the PR dept and their spin while trying to keep Sears in business. I laughed because we've been offering affordable family vacation payment plans to our parents for YEARS. We just never put out a national press release about it. Perhaps we should have gotten the news out about this sooner?
Family beach vacations are a right of passage for most families. Sun and surf offer kids hours of entertainment. While the kids are occupied, hopefully mom and dad get enjoy a few minutes of peace. Whether your family is trying to escape the cold of a northern winter or hitting the waves during summer vacation there is much to consider when planning when taking your kids to the beach.
