Taking the Dread Out of Traveling with Kids

Taking the Dread 
Out of Traveling with Kids:

Author Allison Umbricht 

to share tips Feb. 3

(Posted to Fairfield.Patch.com 1/28)

By Mike Lauterborn

© 2011. All Rights Reserved.

1/28/11

Fairfield, CT – She used to hear it all the time from parents with young children. They dreaded family traveling. She decided to develop a guide to help them through the experience and has been in demand to speak on the subject ever since.

Allison Umbricht, author of “The Mom’s Guide to Traveling with Kids” and a Fairfield mother of three, will make her latest appearance Thursday, Feb. 3 at 7 p.m. at Fairfield Public Library’s main branch in the children’s program room. The talk is targeted to parents with young children age 10 and under.

Umbricht’s talk will pull from her book, which she describes as a quick and easy reference guide offering “proven tips for fun family trips”, to provide advice about trip planning, being at the airport and travel resources.

“Besides being a mom of children 20 months, 5 and 7, I’ve been a travel agent for the past eight years,” Umbricht said. “When I talk to moms about traveling, I find they often say they dread it. So I created my book to inspire families to travel with their kids. I’ve planned a lot of family vacations and traveled a lot with my family. My knowledge is based on my own experience as well as input and stories from nearly 100 moms I interviewed for the book.”

The book covers everything from planning and packing to entertaining on the plane, enjoying a destination and returning home. It also recommends a number of family friendly destinations.

“One tip I like to share,” said Umbricht, “is going to the Dollar Store or Wal-Mart to buy up little toys, put them in a bag and have the kids draw from it on the plane. There’s an element of surprise and fun.”

Something else she suggests is, when reserving a hotel, to pick one that has rooms with balconies or verandas so mom and/or dad has someplace to go when the kids are napping and can enjoy their own space.

“I’ve gotten really positive feedback,” she says about her subject matter. “New moms say the tips have been helpful and they feel more confident taking trips.”

This is Umbricht’s second book. The first, “Romantic Weekends in Europe” (2004), was written before her children came along. She and her husband had lived in Switzerland and traveled the continent quite a bit.

“I’ve always loved to travel,” the author said. “My family was very encouraging of it. I said to my husband ‘I don’t want kids to prevent our traveling. It’s a different experience to be sure, that requires planning, but it’s definitely worth it in the long run in terms of what you can get out of traveling together.”

In addition to offering advice on keeping kids entertained, Umbricht makes travel equipment recommendations. “Several years ago, the FAA approved a CARES system which functions as a more space efficient alternative to a car seat. It attaches to a plane’s seat belt, folds up into a bag and is a huge saver in terms of packing.”

Umbricht also recommends parents buy triangular-shaped crayons that won’t roll off tray tables in flight and to ship ahead formula and diapers, that usually take up so much room and spur extra checked bag fees, through Diapers.com.

The author hopes her presentation will be interactive and that parents of young children will be encouraged to share their own stories.

For more information about Allison Umbricht’s “The Mom’s Guide to Traveling with Kids”, visit www.mykidstravel.com