Thanksgiving Newsletter: traveling with children | The iPhone Mom

With Thanksgiving kicking off winter?s busy travel season, I realized it would be appropriate to focus theiphonemom.com?s newsletter on travel.

Vacations with children are very different than traveling before children came along.? Paraphrasing Claire, in ABC?s hit show, Modern Family, ?I?m a stay at home mother, this is not a vacation, it?s a business trip!?

When you have your first child, and that child is still a non-mobile baby, you probably have visions of beach vacations with your baby playing and napping nicely on a blanket under an umbrella.? Then your baby becomes an active toddler.? Your active toddler becomes a preschooler who likes to poke his baby sister.

Travelling with children can be very rewarding. My husband and I feel it is important to give our children travel experiences when we can, while understanding that our ?vacation? expectations needed to change.? While older children and teenagers can handle jamming many activities into one day, we have found with young children that it is usually quality over quantity.? If we get to do one good activity on a vacation day ? think one local tour, or trip to a zoo ? and spend the rest of the day napping, eating and relaxing, our kids are much happier than having been on the go all day long.

The biggest vacation challenge, I have found, is travelling to your destination. The amount of luggage required can be staggering.? We have occasionally shipped some of our luggage, in duffel bags, via UPS and Fed Ex. Our luggage has always met us where and when it was supposed to, though in one instance a couple of our duffels were slightly damp on the bottom.? We have durable L.L. Bean bags that came through just fine.? In order to pack less, we have also used a service called babysaway, which has franchises in many popular US locations, to rent full size cribs, high chairs, strollers, toys etc.? The biggest hurdle of all though is the actual travel ? whether by car or plane.

We have taken short trips with our four children in our minivan, and overseas flights where we had to survive airport lines and custom officials.? With little kids who cannot carry their own carry-on bags, we are often loaded down with all the carry-ons we can possibly carry for them (we sometimes hope that since two people are carrying so many bags, the gate agents won?t bother counting and make us check the extras!).? Don?t forget snacks, change of clothes for each person (we have only needed a change on one occurrence, but I know that the time we decide not to bring a change of clothes, everyone will be spilling all over themselves), and then, more snacks.

A really helpful purchase that people have asked us about all the time was the wheel assembly that attaches to our car seat for our toddler: Go-Go Babyz Kidz (the one we have) or the Britax Car Seat Travel Cart. I also loved this canopy that attaches to a convertible car seat. It lets you drape a blanket over the car seat and create a dark, quiet place for naptime on the plane. My all time favorite baby carrier is the BOBA Classic Baby Carrier 3G ? Glacier. I used it for a 30 pound toddler less than a year after I had three herniated disks in my lower back. I never feel any back strain with the BOBA Classic and my toddler and I love it (can be worn front or back). I wish I discovered it four kids ago!

One of our early best purchases were portable DVD players. We bought an older model of this Sony player; it had an advertized 6 hours of battery life and good picture quality. The key for improving battery life is making the screen a little darker rather than brighter. It really conserves power and the kids don?t usually notice. If you watch on the way to the airport, use a power adapter for the car, or plug it in at the terminal before you get on the plane!!? Seatguru.com has diagrams of a lot of planes, and indicates when and where you can find power ports to plug in your electronics. We also got these child friendly earphones to use with the DVD players. Some favorite DVDs of our preschool set are Caillou, The Berenstain Bears, Thomas & Friends and Dora the Explorer. We travel with a carryon bag full of snacks and another full of games and books. We love Guess Who, card games like Uno, and lots of sticker and coloring books. I like to buy a couple of new books, DVDs and activities for each trip and surprise the kids when they get bored and whiny.

Of course, then came my iPhone and iPad. When I first purchased my iPhone, I promised myself that my kids would not play games on it, but when you are 3 hours into a 5 hour flight, the children don?t want any more snacks, the younger kids are watching a show that the older kids are not interested in, and resolutions are forgotten for the sake of peace and quiet.

Apps to keep children entertained while Traveling:

Interactive Books

Preschoolers:

Ages 5 ? 10:

Creative Games

Free Endless Runner Games (for endless entertainment!)

Entertaining and educational: Apps for Math, Language, Writing etc.

Apps for the logistical aspects of traveling:

In addition to the usual choices of Yelp, Trip Advisor, airline specific apps or Lonely Planet, here are some other worthwhile apps to check out before you pack.

Communication:

• Whatsapp:?$0.99? Whatsapp is always mentioned?by those with friends overseas.??Basically, the app allows you to text overseas with no additional?charges beyond the $0.99 for the app.???WhatsApp Messenger is a cross-platform smartphone messenger ???? currently available for iPhone and all other smartphones. The application?utilizes push notifications to instantly get messages from friends, colleagues?and family. Switch from SMS to exchange messages, pictures, audio notes??and video messages with WhatsApp users at no cost.?
• While not an app, we have?been to places with limited or no cell service, both internationally and?domestically.? We have used Travelcell to rent MiFi-type?devices (creates a hotspot for any devices within range) and cell phones?and have been happy with their customer service.

Planning:

• TripIt: Free.? Speaking of TripIt?if you love lists as much as I do, and create a folder for each vacation (complete?with every confirmation email you receive), this is the app for you!? ?TripIt ?automagically? takes all your?trip details and creates one truly helpful itinerary that?s there when and?where you need it ? on your iPhone or iPad, synchronized with your?calendar, and online at tripit.com. When you receive a confirmation email from anywhere you book, simply forward it to plans@tripit.com. TripIt ???? instantly recognizes reservations from 3,000+ booking sites including cruises, restaurants, concerts and more.?
• KAYAK:?Free? Great for researching vacations, ?The #1 Mobile Travel App. Includes flight and car search, hotel search and booking, flight tracker and My Trips, so you have your full itinerary at your fingertips?
• SeatGuru: Free.? The website is still better, but the app works well when you can?t access the full site.? ?The free app lets you access over 700?seat maps from over 100 airlines. It features advice and insights drawn?from over 45,000 passenger reviews, so you can always find the best seat before you fly. Plus, the new app now helps you compare and find great low airfares from low-cost carriers, big online travel agencies, and the?airlines themselves.?
• TripList:?$2.99 While I have not tried this app myself, Nikki, one of our reviewers on?theiphonemom.com gave it a good review. As a bonus, it links into TripIt.
• Evernote: Free. Always a?great way to organize all your notes and planning across various platforms.

Traveling:

• GateGuru:?Free ?The application allows you to receive real-time flight status information (including push notifications), view your TripIt and KAYAK?itineraries, view/post airport security wait times, see a structured list of airport food, shops and services ? including over 30,000 reviews and tips and 5,000 photos from fellow travelers on airports, terminals,?and airport amenities and much more!?
• MyTsa:?Free ?Check approximate wait times at TSA security checkpoints at the airport?of your choice and add your own wait time for other to see. Quickly search?whether you can bring items with you through the checkpoint onto the airplane. See airport delay information for airports nationwide? and more.
• FlightTrack?Pro: $9.99 Widely considered the most accurate app for monitoring flight status, ?See flight details on beautiful, zoomable maps or get?real-time departure info, delays and gate numbers at a glance. Full international coverage means you can track all your flights worldwide.?We?ll even update you on cancellations and help you find an alternate?flight. FlightTrack Pro works seamlessly with TripIt. Forward your airline?confirmation emails to plans@tripit.com, and flights appear automatically?in FlightTrack Pro. Works with over 1000 travel sites! It?s pretty?magical.?
• Google Translate: Free One of my first apps. A clean and easy interface that ?Translate words and phrases between more than 60 languages using Google Translate for iOS. For most languages, you can speak your phrases and hear the corresponding ???? translations.?

Other:

• I really want to be able to recommend a bathroom finding app, but as they have user generated content, I have yet to find an appropriate one that functions the way I?would like!? Let us know if you have had success with any.

I?m always looking for more ideas for the next family trip. I?d love to hear what apps you have had a good experience with while traveling.? Please share in the comments below.

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Disclosure: I have not personally tried all of these apps. These descriptions come from the developers with some minor editing (and perhaps commentary) by myself.

Below you?ll find a few notable apps that have really stood out to us over the last few weeks. We try to highlight great apps in every newsletter, but because the last two newsletters were Halloween specific, we have a backlog of great apps.? To save space, I?d like to share a few additional apps that are not included below.? Squeebles Fractions and Letters with Pooh did not make it to our highlighted list simply because they are on my list of travel apps for kids above.? These are two fantastic educational apps that deserve a look! Edamam is a great free app that might come in handy when cooking your Thanksgiving meal this year! Two apps based on popular characters got good marks from our reviewers: Richard Scarry?s Busytown Peekaboo People and Dora the Explorer?s Where is Boots? A Hide and Seek Adventure! While we have a presidential history app highlighted below, don?t miss this great Presidential Trivia app, Thud! Presidents Edition, that will leave both you and your child guessing!

As always, don?t forget to enter our contests for free app giveaways! We currently have two separate active contests, each containing several apps: Giving Thanks Week 2 and Giving Thanks Week 3.

Animal SnApp: Animal SnApp: Farm is a fun, engaging interactive short story collection for preschoolers. Preschoolers will love these engaging stories. The rhyming grabs their attention as do the activities in each farm scene. Illustrated by Axel Scheffler, the farm scenes feel vibrant and three dimensional.

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Word Winder: What do you get when you mix a word search with a crossword puzzle and throw in a little Wheel of Fortune? Only the most addictive, challenging and entertaining word game app that I have ever played!

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Easy-Bake Treats! and Cupcakes!?Searching for cupcakes in the iTunes app store yields literally dozens of search results. These results range from free, to paid, to free with in-app purchase, to paid with in-app purchase. I searched and searched and after some yummy trial and error came upon the two cupcake apps which I consider to be the best in the app store: Easy-Bake Treats and Cupcakes!

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Disney American Presidents: The new Disney American Presidents app is the perfect way to get your children interested in United States Presidential history.? Each President of the United States has their own spread with fun interactive elements that depict their role in history ? for example, their key decisions that affected history, notable personal characteristics, their legacy they left behind for America, etc. Kids will also be able to learn about the different eras in U.S. history and their characteristics ? such as music, art, and historical references for each time period.

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Family Med Track: Family Med Track takes all of your family medical information and organizes it and manages it for you. With just a few easy steps, you can enter information for multiple people and even email or print a checklist or history for babysitters, school, or doctors! Family Med Track was developed by a small family business ? mom, dad and oldest son. The team knew from experience that keeping track of each family member?s personal health history can be a challenge.

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November Contests: From stories to math to video recorders, this week there?s a feast of apps to share with you. From all of us at The iPhone Mom we wish you much fun and laughter with family and friends. Giving Thanks Contest Week 2 and Giving Thanks Contest Week 3.

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Source: http://www.theiphonemom.com/thanksgiving-newsletter-traveling-with-children

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