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The official start of summer is but four days away. School's out (or almost), pool's open, and there are vital, vital things you must know to face the season fully prepared. About tomatoes and hats and Toxicodendron radicans, too. Fortunately, it's all right here: 12 tips and essential skills for the sultry months to come.
SURVIVE A TRIP WITH THE KIDS
Obviously, the answer to this one is simple: Don't go. Any parent knows that the quickest route to madness is an interstate, a traffic jam and offspring in the back seat squaring off over a territorial divide more fiercely guarded than the Korean DMZ.
But the beach beckons, the mountains call, Cinderella is waving from the Magic Kingdom -- a family road trip is in the offing. What's a parent to do?
Typing "travel with kids" into my Web browser, I got 77 million (or so) potential answers to this question, and if there is a single point on which 76,999,999 of them appear to agree, it would be this one: snacks. Snacks, snacks, snacks and more snacks. I found more tips, tricks and tidbits on the topic of filling seat-belted bellies than you can shake a pretzel stick at. Never mind the obesity crisis, when it comes to the under-18 crowd and an extended stint in a four-wheeled enclosure, caloric pacification is the policy.
"Remember, kids can't shout while they're busy drinking and eating," says Edmunds.com succinctly in "Top 10 Family Road Trip Must-Haves."
Packing your own munchies preempts the youngsters' plaintive cries for funnel cakes and fast food; offer them a portion of the money saved for their own vacation spending.
Finally, if you're eyeing your overstuffed auto and debating between an extra pair of underwear and an extra bag of chips, consider this advice from IndependentTraveler.com:
"Whatever you were planning on bringing in the way of snacks -- double it."
For these and a few more of those 77 million ideas for making your family journey a coalition of the willing, try these resources:
INDEPENDENTTRAVELER.COM --http:/
EDMUNDS.COM --http:/
