Featured Content
Raising Adventurous Kids
Neither Jennifer nor Alex took particularly exotic vacations when they were young. Both did some hiking, camping, and traveling with their families, but nothing they would describe as "serious."
Their more daring exploring began in 1988, when the couple spent a month in Hawaii, celebrating the fact that each had just earned their doctorate degrees. They hiked, backpacked, snorkeled, and went scuba diving, setting a precedent for active vacations. Before long they were skilled at everything from hiking in Borneo to trekking in the Himalayas.
Children, they decided, wouldn't put an end to their trips, although they realized their outings would be significantly different (See Additional Resources, below). Like any responsible parent, they knew their children's needs and safety would be their foremost concern. They'd have to scale back their goals and play it safe — avoid precipitous peaks, for instance, or super-rickety boats.
Nonetheless, they've managed to take vacations that most families with preschoolers would never dream of.
Their Secret for Success
For Jennifer and Alex, a camper made early adventures with babies possible, even enjoyable. They rented one in New Zealand when Tim was six months old, and used them since on trips to Australia, Alaska, Canada, and around the United States.
"It's an excellent choice for families with young children," explains Jennifer. "You only need to unpack and pack once; your kitchen travels along with you; and children really enjoy the camper life."
However, she cautions that families should try to spend their time exploring, not driving. The camper is mainly a "home away from home," not a reason to log lots of miles.
While drives are sometimes unavoidable, and none of the family enjoys them, Jennifer warns: "When we check the odometer at the end of a camper vacation, if we've averaged more than 100 miles a day, we've driven too much."
Another piece of advice: Avoid RV parks, which tend to be crowded, noisy, and anything but wilderness.
"More often than not we just find an isolated parking spot off a dirt road somewhere, which is perfectly legal and accepted practice on U.S. National Forest lands, for example," Jennifer says. "Also, we've found that foreign or very remote camper parks have a quite different feel and purpose than mainstream North American RV parks."
Alex and Jennifer estimate that campers typically rent for $100 to $150 per day and warn that gas costs mount up because mileage is terrible. However, the camper takes care of most of the family's needs, helping keep remaining costs minimal.
Low Moments, Then Highs
Even the best of travelers have their down days.
Take, for instance, the time the family decided to take a two-week camper trip in northern California. Emily was five months old; Tim, age two. They weren't even leaving the state, so the trip should have been a snap.
Several hours into their adventure, however, they were only an hour from home, stuck behind a K-Mart with two screaming children. Emily's yowls filled the camper (she was a fussier baby than Tim), and once she started complaining, Tim joined the chorus.
Jennifer and Alex looked at each other miserably, wondering if they should turn back. How could they manage the drive ahead?
They were determined. Everyone finally calmed down, allowing the family to forge ahead. Happily, the K-Mart catastrophe was followed by what Jennifer describes as a "greatly enjoyable, very wilderness-oriented trip."
Additional ResourcesFor more details about this family's adventures, see Jennifer Widom's article, "Adventure Travel with Children Under Four: Proper Preparation and the Right Attitude":
http://www-db.stanford.edu/~widom/under4.html.Alex and Jennifer found the following book helpful: Nan Jeffrey's Adventuring with Children: An Inspirational Guide to World Travel and the Outdoors (Avalon House, 1995).
Details mentioned in this article were accurate at the time of publication
advertisement
Photo Galleries
