When you travel all the time, it becomes easy to take the whole process for granted.  Instead of being excited about heading off to the airport for a flight, you complain about having to go on “one more trip.”

It’s easy to understand how you feel when you’re traveling for business, but when it’s finally time to take the family on a vacation, it’s time to get your mind in a different space and make it fun for everyone.  Especially for the kids — who can all too easily pick up on any negative travel vibe.

Whether you’re traveling with the family, or sending the kids on a trip of their own, they are going to need something to do for those hours they are buckled into an airplane seat. 

So how about some good old fashioned games?  No whistles, no bells, no video screen.  Just some cards, mental and visual stimulation, and family interaction. 

Flying Rubberneckers is card game that you can use to make the plane trip fun, encouraging kids to look at the world around.  It’ll help pass the time, keep them occupied, and maybe even learn a thing or two.  The game consists of 70 cards, and is appropriate for reading levels for ages 4-8.  It retails for $12.95.

Additional Rubbernecker cards are available for car trips.

Get out of your grumpy travel blahs, and help the kids have the plane trip of their life!

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Traveling can frequently be difficult, but traveling with toddlers can always be difficult.  From managing the little one’s time to managing their “stuff,” there are added tasks to juggle when you have children with you.

Bringing a stroller with you when you travel allows you to get kids through the airport with minimum fuss.  It can keep the kids in one place and most allow you to stow a bit of “stuff” on it as well.

But since strollers frequently don’t fit in airplane overheads (depends on the specific aircraft and stroller type), and even if they do, they take up a lot of room, most strollers aren’t brought onboard as it is just one more thing to lug down the aisle.

What happens to the strollers?  Most are “gate checked.”  This is jargon for checking something directly at the departure gate (usually right at the aircraft door), rather than at the ticket counter.  This means that you can keep the kiddies in their stroller right up to the time you walk aboard the plane.

However, “gate checked” does not necessarily mean that you will be able to recover the stroller on the jetway when you get off the plane.  Most bags that are gate checked are sent to baggage claim.

If you want to get your stroller on the jetway upon arrival at your destination, you need to confirm that your airline offers a “claim at gate” option.  Most do, although not all.  And this option is not available for international flights into and out of the U.S.

Remember –

Gate check - you can check the bag at the gate

Claim at gate - you can claim the bag at the gate

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