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5 Summer Vacation Ideas for Teens

Teens sometimes get a bad rap. People think they’re hard to please and harder to travel with. But the key to traveling with teens—and keeping the whole family happy—is to...

A Jersey Girl’s Ode to the Jersey Shore

“’Cause down the shore everything’s all right.” ---Tom Waits, JERSEY GIRL Some see the Jersey Shore as a travel destination, a place to take the family for a couple of...

Summer Vacation at the Boar's Head Inn in Charlottesville, Virginia

Summer vacations for some families mean active adventures, while for others the summer is a perfect time to start exploring college campuses.  Imagine being able to do both in one...

May 27 Twitter Party: Summer Travel Planning

Summertime's almost here – time to start planning your summer travels! We've taken the guesswork out of your planning by seeking out advice from top family travel writers from across...

Summer Fun at Midwest Lake Resorts

Midwest winters can seem endless. The payoff? Perfect summer temperatures! Each year I vow to savor every minute of the warm weather. Although I can’t put everything on hold, I...

Join In Our Instagram #TMOMphoto Meme

This month we are hosting our first Traveling Moms Instagram meme and we would love to have you join in the fun!

Best Advice for Planning Your Summer Vacation

Planning your family vacation can be overwhelming--where to go, what to do, how to get there, you name it. There are a lot of details to planning a summer vacation....

2013 Toyota Highlander Hybrid: More Space, Luxury, and Better Gas Mileage, Too

Thomas Jefferson advised the we should have a revolution every 20 years. He meant government, but the idea applies to anything: If we don’t continually rethink how we do what...

Stress-Free Travel is Right Under Your Nose

Air travel can be stressful nowadays with long lines, flight delays and cramped seating.  Add luggage, children, strollers and even pets to the mix and you have a veritable powder...

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Family Travel Experts

Family Travel Stories and Ideas

Family Indulgence: Grand Hyatt New York
Vegetarian TravelingMomFamily Indulgence: Grand Hyatt New York

Train travel is often associated with romance and air travel (at least nowadays) with hassle. Similarly, hotel airports have a seedy reputation, while a hotel in a train station sounds elegant. My kids and I have stayed at the Crowne Plaza Indianapolis Downtown Union Station, with rooms in an actual [ ... ]

5 Fun Runs to Try This Summer
Marathon TravelingMom5 Fun Runs to Try This Summer

Playing in the mud, getting splashed with paint, lighting up the night or getting chased by zombies all add a little excitement to the typical 5K race. Fun runs are all the rage and a great way to get newbies involved in running; or to give veteran runners a change of pace. Most fun runs remove the  [ ... ]

Summer at Universal Studios Hollywood, What’s New?
GoodnCrazy TravelingMomSummer at Universal Studios Hollywood, What’s New?

Head over to Universal Studios Hollywood for two new rides and an expanded Studio Tour! It’s a perfect Summer Vacation Idea. Plus, right now when you “a day you get the rest of 2013 free."

Boston Roadtrip with the Ford C-Max Hybrid
Vegetarian TravelingMomBoston Roadtrip with the Ford C-Max Hybrid

As a runner, I wanted to pay my respects to the Boston Marathoners; as an environmentalist, I didn’t want to use a lot of gas to go to ston.

We had no choice but to drive to Boston to pick my daughter up at college; the self-same daughter who refuses to eat industrialized food or buy clothing pr [ ... ]

Going to Thailand With Kids- By Kids
Middle East TravelingMomGoing to Thailand With Kids- By Kids

We, the Year 3 class of Ajman Academy in the United Arab Emirates, wrote this article in order to help parents know what to expect in Thailand when travelling with kids. Since we are 7-9 years old, we researched what to do in Thailand from a kid’s perspective. We had to do a lot of thinking and re [ ... ]

Teaching Children a Lesson on Travel
Middle East TravelingMomTeaching Children a Lesson on Travel

Recently, I had the opportunity to teach my Year 3 students of Ajman Academy all about planning and taking a trip.

In our school, we follow the PYP model of education, where we break our year up into six blocks, each one focusing on a transdisciplinary theme and central idea. Within each idea, there [ ... ]

Dell Rapids, South Dakota: A Great Plains Step Back in Time
Pets and Service Dog TravelingmomDell Rapids, South Dakota: A Great Plains Step Back in Time

Dell Rapids is a beautiful and quaint piece of Americana history with its Pink Rose Quartz buildings from the local quarry. Along the banks of the picturesque Big Sioux River since 1871, this small community of 3,650 is located approximately 15 minutes north of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. This l [ ... ]

Summer Camp for Your Brain (and Theirs, Too)

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Conferences1If you ever have the chance to take your kids to a conference, don’t think twice: Do it. In June, my daughters and I had the opportunity to attend the Digital Family Summit, held at the Sheraton Society Hill in downtown Philadelphia. The brainchild of digital media consultant Stephanie Schwab and digital content guru Jennie Baird, the idea was to bring bloggers and their families together for three days of developing our little digital natives into stronger, sharper, more skillful digital thinkers and leaders (and some killer parties, freebees and swag bags, which I must admit, helped sell the concept to my kids). 

The Digital Family Summit was three fun days of keynote talks, panels and workshops (including a fabulous workshop on travel writing by TMOM goddess-in-chief Kim Orlando) in an atmosphere peppered with great food, yummy snacks and over the top parties (the “candy bar” was a daily attraction!). Kids got to learn to shoot and edit video, to create digital animation with Scratch, they learned how to start a blog, how to monetize it, and how to think like an entrepreneur.

Sponsors brought great messages and experiences, such as Microsoft's strategies for staying safe on line; UbiSoft's preview of JustDance 4, and Gillette's Pink Carpet Party for Venus razors. And thanks to Go RVing, I will never hear the end of "Mom, can we rent an RV for vacation? It's not that expensive, and you said it was nice!"

OK, so maybe most conferences aren’t for kids, and this one was special (check www.digitalfamilysummit.com so you don’t miss the next one). But the experience that my daughters had was universal: They were excited about all they learned: 
  • How to network and meet people
  • How to listen to a speaker
  • How to be entertained by a speaker (especially keynoter Dave Carroll, of United Breaks Guitars)
  • How to be inspired by a speaker
  • Just Dance Disney EditionHow to take notes
  • How to take a workshop
  • How (and why) to write, create and edit 
  • How to turn what you learn into how you live and work
  • How to go to bed late, get up early and still have tons of enthusiasm
  • How to eat three meals, three snacks and four desserts and still have room for candy.
Most importantly, they got a window into my life: how I work, who I know, what my work means to me, and the excitement that is created when you’re in a room with 300 other people who are as excited and engaged about your business as you are. They are beginning to see the possibilities of their future rather than seeing work as boring; they are beginning to see communication (writing, blogging, Facebooking, networking, listening) as the way to get what you want rather than an arduous task assigned by a mean teacher, and they are beginning to see how all this is fun, rewarding and exciting.

Vast expanses of chaffing dishesShaping our little people into thinkers and doers is a long, hard road; any helpful resource is a gift. Conferences targeted to kids are rare, but they do exist (Tedx Kids, Students Involved with Technology Conference, or SunCameraAction for example). And if you can’t find one specifically for kids, don’t be afraid to take your kids to a conference that interests you. After all, every conference at least has some cool swag, a fun locale and arrays of food, which are sure to put smiles on those little faces.
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Author Profile: Driving TravelingMom

A long time journalist, editor, writer and TravelingMom contributor, Scotty is the founding editor of TravelingMom sister site SheBuysCars, a community dedicated to empowering women to be smarter and happier car owners.

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Family Freebies

Milwaukee for Free: 14 Ways to Have Fun
Milwaukee for Free: 14 Ways to Have Fun

Milwaukee, Wisconsin has big city attractions and a friendly Midwestern vibe. Families can take in a Brewers game, or tour a brewery (with soft drinks for the kids). There are [ ... ]

Kids' Free Fishing in Missouri
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The Classic Road Trip with a Modern Twist!
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