How long has it been since you settled into a train seat for a relaxing ride? Or caught a plane for a weekend getaway? Instead your days have been spent teaching your baby how to sleep or wiping spit-up. But once you hit the two-month-old mark, your baby's big eyes are gulping in the world....

We are asked, on occasion, what we “do” about the social needs of our children. Granted, the question has never been asked by anyone who’s actually met our children. Spend an hour interacting with them and you’ll know a few things: They love to talk. YOU are their socialization of the moment. They have friends...

My dad returning to Yosemite Valley, a place he knew well as a teenager in the 60's. While not everyone grew up in a traditional family structure, this article can apply to anyone who has a loving relationship with a family member who was part of your upbringing. For me, that was my parents, but...

Travel is ruining my kids. And me, for that matter. It’s true. All of our well meaning efforts for a broad education, liberal experiences in the “real world,” and our sincere efforts to raise kids who are cultured, multi-lingual and have some perspective on the diversity of the history, geography and human family of the...

We’re sneaking up on our fifth anniversary of full time travel with our kids. When we left on our bicycle trip around Europe and N. Africa they were five through eleven years old. They are now ten through sixteen, and as comfortable in the livestock market in Tona Toroja as they are in a department...

We spend a lot of time waiting on things: Planes, trains, buses and more. We’ve gotten good at waiting over the years. Our secret weapon? Games. We play games while we wait. We always have. When the kids were little we played “I spy” and sang nursery rhymes and told jokes while we waited. We...

My Dad's photo of Lago de Atitlan, 1973 It seems the nature of humanity to freeze a moment in time. We remember a person, a place, an experience, as it was when we were last present with it. It is frozen, forever, in our minds; like the fading koda-chrome slides my parents took across the...

Five months of extended, slow travel taught me valuable life lessons that I never could have learned from a one week vacation or a weekend getaway. Once I got past the initial lure of traveling to new places (including Guatemala, Taiwan, Australia, and Ethiopia), seeing new things, and doing different activities, the time spent traveling...

People often ask us if there’s a social deficiency for our children, being raised on the road, weaving in and out of so many different cultures. It’s a serious question, and it deserves serious consideration. My answer is always, “No, growing up in the world is the most socially healthy experience any child could have.”...

“You really have to WANT to do this, don’t you, Dear?” Ann’s words have echoed in my mind as her sweet, octogenarian face has pleasantly haunted my afternoon walks. We wandered slowly through the natural bridge outside of Waitomo with her and her husband, Ross. I quietly got the kids’ attention and encouraged them to...

Cost: $22/adults $12.50/kids What’s the coolest thing you’ve done lately? Extreme Bungee!! Get strapped into a harness and shot into the air with up to 4G forces pressing against your body… basically you’re a human catapult. That’s extreme bungee. Describe the experience: We are picked up by Lionel who owns and runs Xtreme Bungee ....

You can trust me when I say that any morning beginning with vomit and a side order of anti-diarrheals with breakfast for two thirds of the family is a harbinger of things to come. Add the words “chicken bus” to the breakfast conversation and it’s the perfect storm of endlessly horrific possibilities. Every single chicken...

We’ve always been big on making a game out of learning new skills, and turning even the ho-hum into an adventure for our kids. When they were tiny and we were preparing to take them to exotic places for the first time, we came up with a series of games we played at home to...

We’re taking this family adventure to the next level this winter. It’s the whole reason we’re making a pass back through North America, to tell the truth. We have two teenagers who need to procure driving licenses before we launch them into the world as fully viable adults. The easiest place for our bi-national kids...

As the mother of four children and an avid traveler can I rant for a minute about how annoyed I am by the term “family friendly” as it relates to travel? On the surface, you’d think it was a good thing, wouldn’t you? “Family friendly” should mean welcoming to children, accommodating of the needs of...

It seems almost impossible to believe that I’ve been traveling with kids for nearly twenty years. From newborn babies to teens with one foot out the door. From local weekend getaways, to two week trips, to packing kids along on corporate “work” trips, to long-term slow travel over a number of years. Last week I...

I’ve flown alone with three kids under six, pregnant with a fourth. I’ve backpacked with a tribe. I’ve done all night bus trips with a toddler and a nursling, solo. I’ve road tripped with 11 kids under 15, tag team with a girlfriend. We’ve bicycled, RV’d, flown, road tripped, camped, walked, bused, trained, ferried... you...

Our family has a long history of making memories instead of collecting things. We love to give gifts, don’t get me wrong, but most of them are little homemade things, or gifts of self in some capacity. Perhaps most precious are the gifts of time and of memories. We didn’t get a honeymoon. I had...

“Wow, it must be nice to be able to afford to travel so much...” I understand why people say that. I get that the question behind it stems from the number crunching going on that includes a mortgage payment, car payment, clothing, food, insurance, and luxury items that pad their existence. I know they’re thinking...

“You really have to want to do this, don’t you, Dear?” Ann’s words have echoed in my mind as her sweet, octogenarian face has pleasantly haunted my afternoon walks. We wandered slowly through the natural bridge outside of Waitomo, NZ, with her and her husband, Ross. I quietly got the kids’ attention and encouraged them...