Travel challenges can teach flexibility
Don’t let concern about the challenges of travel keep you from taking off with the kids. Here are tips for five common travel hassles.
Lost luggage
If you’ve stashed medical necessities, proper documents and perhaps a change of clothes into your carry-ons, it’s all good. Buy what might be crucial (and get reimbursed by your airline or through your travel insurance)? You and the gang will quickly learn that less is more. With fewer choices and a lightened load, there will be more time to enjoy the adventures at hand.
You’re lost
With GPS and so many directionally savvy phone apps, it’s likely you’ll find your way back on track in no time. Meanwhile, keep your eyes peeled for wildlife, interesting sites or a cozy diner that might exist on the road less traveled. Contact: roadsideamerica.com
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Bad weather
When it rains on your beach vacation or the wind howls during a camping trip, it is a great time to look for the alternate adventure. Search for seashells without fear of a sunburn. Break out the board games or learn a new card trick. Campers can stow the tent in the back of the car and check into a hotel with a great indoor pool. Stay flexible. Be creative. And uncover what is possible.
Someone gets sick
It’s no fun to feel under the weather away from home. So it’s extra important to have the family’s support. Depending on the severity of the illness, consider the divide-and-conquer strategy. Take turns staying in to cheer the sick one while the others go on planned activities. If you bought travel insurance, review your options for medical care and reimbursement for canceled portions of the trip. Contact: travelguard.com
Things don’t go as planned
This is a good time to talk with the kids about how life will throw curveballs and it is good practice to learn how to respond to the unexpected. Embrace the serendipitous and know that when snafus occur it can make for a better story. Often the pesky mishaps are the moments that become family lore and are cheerily recounted year after year.
Lynn O’Rourke Hayes, Dallas Morning News
