Kid-Tested Tips

Sarah Cormier

Washington

After spending hours playing the usual car games with my two young daughters, I would challenge them with one last game: Who can keep their eyes shut the longest? It was my favorite, as they usually would fall asleep while trying to win.

Marianne Feeney

Fairfax

Travel Documents

If your minor child is traveling overseas without both parents, beware: You may need documentation proving that both parents have approved the trip. To enter Mexico, for example, one parent with a child must have a notarized letter from the second parent certifying that he or she has approved the trip. If the second parent is deceased or otherwise absent, you may need a death certificate or court order showing you have sole custody. Without the proper documentation, airlines should be turning you away before giving you a boarding pass. If they slip up, don't think you're home free: You'll be going home, all right, but sooner than you planned, since foreign immigration officers are generally vigilant.

Cindy Loose

Don't expect to arrange a passport for your child by showing up at a passport center with all the requisite papers, unless you've brought the kid as well. A new regulation requires that minor children be present during the application process. The inconvenience has a purpose: It's intended to discourage one member of an estranged couple from secretly acquiring a passport for the purpose of spiriting a child out of the country. For details: www.travel.state.gov, click on "Travel and Living Abroad."

Cindy Loose

Vegas, Baby

In Las Vegas recently with a 7- and 10-year-old, we found a way to experience the Strip and bypass the flyers and ads for call girls. We parked at main hotels like the Venetian and used the new outdoor escalators and bridge to see the Treasure Island show and Mirage volcano. Parking at Mandalay Bay connected us to the Luxor and Excalibur. Another escalator/bridge farther down connects Bally's, the Bellagio and Caesar's hotels.

The new monorail is the safe, clean and free way to see the Strip with kids. Too bad only part of it was working when we were there.

Trudy Cochrane

Vancouver