There has been a lot of news lately about the new Backscatter body imaging device (also called Advanced Imaging Technology) that TSA is deploying in airports just in time for Thanksgiving. The machine uses X-ray technology to capture an image of your naked body. Essentially, it lets agents see through your clothing without letting any other passengers see the picture. In part because of privacy concerns about the new devices, travelers can opt out of using this new type of scanner, opting for an invasive pat-down procedure instead.
There's something else I think parents need to be concerned about too - are these devices safe for our children? Each time you pass through the device, a small amount of radiation is emitted and focused primarily on your skin. A new letter of concern from University of California-San Francisco professors points out that the risks to babies, children, and pregnant women are not fully understood. While the government has already issued a response, I've seen nothing specific to these special populations.
Until the radiation risks are understood, my husband and I have decided to opt-out of using the new Backscatter devices. The long term health effects are just too concerning. Instead, we'll arrive at the airport a little early and subject the whole family to a full body patdown that now includes having an agent touch your genital area. Obviously this was a very tough decision for us, and not one I'm comfortable with. I'm not sure yet how I'll be explaining the pat down to my kids. I'll probably start by getting the agent to explain to all of us exactly what the kids will experience. I'm hopeful that they'll receive a milder version of the adult pat-down or no pat down at all. I guess we'll proceed from there.
We will be flying again soon, and I'll be sure to tell you exactly how it goes.
Reader Question: What do you think? Would you send your kids through the backscatter device? Would you subject them to a pat down? How would you explain the pat down to your kids?
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safety
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Posted on November 12, 2010 |
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Charms to ward off the Evil Eye seem to be available in every shop in Istanbul. You see them hanging in windows, dangling near the cash register and adorning jewlery. Still, one of my favorite uses is these small candy boxes, meant to be handed out to announce the arrival of a new baby.
Related Links:
City Guide: Istanbul with Kids
About Photo Friday:
You are invited to join us for Photo Friday! It's a great way to get to know other bloggers and to help them get to know you. Just post a "Photo Friday" picture on your own blog, and link directly to your post from the linky below (If your url is longer than 100 characters, you will need to use a url shortening service, like bit.ly)
What is Photo Friday?
- Post a travel photo on your site. It can be about any topic, as long as it is G-rated.
- The focus of the post should be on your photo.
- You don't need to be a professional photographer (I'm not), but do showcase your best work, and make it big enough to see well!
- It's nice to include a few sentences about the photo, but it is not required.
- Link back here so that your readers can see all the other great Photo Friday posts.
I don't have any relationship with Ziplock. Whenever I receive a free product or service, I will always let you know.
I've been working harder this year on packing waste-free lunches. Plastic bags just don't get much use on a typical week in our house anymore. Still, when we travel I find them indispensable, and I always slide a couple (ideally in different sizes) into my suitcase. Ziplocks can be washed and reused over and over (buy the extra-sturdy freezer bags), so a few bags will go a long way. Here are some of the ways you can use a Ziplock bag when you travel.
Packing with Ziplock Bags
- Want to carry something fragile and you don't have bubble wrap? Insert a straw into the top of a nearly closed Ziploc bag and inflate it. Remove the straw and seal the rest of the way to make a cushion. This isn't as fail safe as bubble wrap, but it works in a pinch.
- Encase that jar of jam you just couldn't resist in Paris before it explodes on your white shirt
- Pack your cosmetics bag in a Ziplock in case something opens in flight (or toss the cosmetics bag and just use the ziplock. It will be easier to find what you need in a clear bag.)
- Need to do laundry on the road? Store some powdered laundry detergent in a ziplock bag and end your search for travel size detergent.
- Wet swimsuits. Need I say more?
- A two gallon size Ziplock works great as a low cost compression sack for clothes
- Prevent sandy beachwear from soiling everything in your luggage.
- Protect delicate clothing (eg. nylons) from snags
- Store extra shoes in your suitcase and keep them from soiling other items
Out and About
- Store important documents and your passports in a Ziplock to protect them from spills and from getting crumbled
- "Waterproof" your camera if you are riding on a boat (you can always take it out to shoot pictures)
- Going to a foreign country? Put your home currency in a Ziplock while you travel (especially the coins) to keep it from mixing in with the foreign currency.
- Keep that banana you brought along from coating the inside of your daypack
- In a pinch, a Ziplock is a great place for a nasty diaper or soiled clothing
- Keep a large Ziplock in your daypack for wet umbrellas, rain jackets, or other items.
- Going on a ship or a windy car ride? You might need that Ziplock as an impromptu barf bag
For the Kids
- Put a fun photo in a Ziplock bag and let your kids mark it up with a marker. When you're done, just erase and start again (works great for worksheets or mazes too)
- Separate toys into Ziplocks so that you can find what your child needs - Legos in one, Polly Pockets in another and Playmobil figures in a third.
- Fill a Ziplock with crayons or markers. Using one bag per child works great.
- Keep one or two in your purse for those toddler snack bags that never seem to reclose.
- Use a Ziplock to hold ice for an impromptu baby milk cooler or an injury. You can almost always find ice on the road, but sometimes it's trickier to find a leak-proof bag.
- Give each child a Ziplock with their name on it to store the "treasures" they find when you're out and about. All those small rocks, twigs and seashells need to fit in their Ziplock.
In the Hotel Room
- A ziplock makes a great drain plug, just fill it with a little water, and it becomes a weight that you can fit into the drain.
- Messy diapers don't have to stink up your bathroom until maid service arrives, ziplock bags work well for containing the smell.
Related Links
10 Reasons to Pack Duck Tape When You Travel
10 Great Travel Toys You Already Have at Home
Filed Under:
travel-gear
travel-tips
19 comments |
Posted on November 8, 2010 |
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The Japanese Tea Garden is a park within a park. It might seem strange to pay an admission fee when the kids can run around Golden Gate Park for free, but trust me, they are totally going to love crossing all the bridges and climbing up to those pavilions.
Related Links:
City Guide: San Francisco with Kids
About Photo Friday:
You are invited to join us for Photo Friday! It's a great way to get to know other bloggers and to help them get to know you. Just post a "Photo Friday" picture on your own blog, and link directly to your post from the linky below (If your url is longer than 100 characters, you will need to use a url shortening service, like bit.ly)
What is Photo Friday?
- Post a travel photo on your site. It can be about any topic, as long as it is G-rated.
- The focus of the post should be on your photo.
- You don't need to be a professional photographer (I'm not), but do showcase your best work, and make it big enough to see well!
- It's nice to include a few sentences about the photo, but it is not required.
- Link back here so that your readers can see all the other great Photo Friday posts.
This post was sponsored by FamilyGetaway.com who is the first advertiser to the Family Travel Ad Network. Right now, FamilyGetaway is running a discounted 3 night package at the Holiday Inn Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. With this package, the entire family can stay for three nights for just $301.
With the fall and winter holidays approaching, my thoughts always seem to turn to my childhood home. We seem to return every year during this season, and as Everest and Darya get older, it's rewarding to rediscover my childhood haunts with them. Here are some of my favorite places to visit in San Francisco with kids.
Ride the Carousel at Fisherman's Wharf
Fisherman's Wharf is loaded with kids activities, from the Carousel, to Jugglers and other street performances. Don't be afraid to join the crowds - it may be touristy, but kids love it.
Explore the City on the Streetcar
Everyone knows about San Francisco's famous Cable Cars, but they can feel perilous with small kids. Instead, check out the enclosed street cars that connect Fisherman's Wharf with the Ferry Terminal Building and downtown.
Discover Nature at the California Academy of Sciences
There's really nothing like the California Academy of Sciences. It's part Aquarium, part multi-story rainforest, part Natural History Museum. There's no doubt that your kids will enjoy checking out the sealife and animals, and when they do finally run out of steam you can read a story in the library or hit the indoor play area.
Connect with Science at the Exploratorium
The Exploratorium was one of the first hands-on science museums in the country, and because a staff of scientists continually updates the exhibits, it remains as relevant today as it was when I was a child. Even very young kids can enjoy exploring how magnets work, how wind forms patterns in sand, or any of a number of other exhibits.
Find an Urban Playground
San Francisco isn't only filled with Urban Professionals, and you'll find fun playgrounds in almost every neighborhood. Here's one of my favorites, the playground at Yerba Buena Gardens. Union Square is a short walk away.
Related Links
Discounted Rate at the Holiday Inn Fisherman's Wharf on FamilyGetaway.com
City Guide: San Francisco With Kids
Tips for Planning the Best Family Ski Vacation
3 comments |
Posted on November 2, 2010 |
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This is a guest post by my friend Robin. Her three kids and mine are all almost exactly the same ages, and you should totally check out her blog to read more of her excellent adventures in Seattle and beyond. Plus, she's funnier than me!
It wasn't my idea for my parents to take our whole family, 15 people in all, on a two-night vacation to Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound, WA. I wanted to go on a cruise to Mexico (to be read in a whiney voice similar to the way Veruca Salt said "Daddy, I want an Oompa Loompa"). Great Wolf Lodge is a waterslide park/hotel and only an hour and a half south of Seattle. And I have to admit, it makes for a great vacation destination with kids.
Although at 5:45 a.m. on our first morning there, it isn't seeming so great when our alarm clock (otherwise know as, our five-year-old son, George) goes off yelling, "Mommy and Daddy, I have to go potty!" I quickly jump out of bed thinking if I race him into the bathroom and close the door he'll let his siblings, ages 1 and 3, sleep at least until 6 a.m. Just as I'm helping George down from the top bunk I hear Goldie, the 3 year old, roll over and ask if it is morning time.
Two out of three are now awake for good. I grab both kids and rush them down the elevator and into the lobby thinking at least my husband and the baby can sleep a few more minutes.
It seems that every other guest in the entire hotel is still asleep. Even the Starbuck's in the lobby is sleeping. It doesn't open until 6:30. I ask myself again, why are they awake? More importantly, why am I awake at 5:45 a.m.?
Remember when vacations truly were vacations? My husband and I would sleep late and after a leisurely breakfast retreat back to our hotel for a nap before the day would officially begin. But that was then… back to now.
Since having breakfast and climbing back into bed isn't an option, we check out games from the front desk.
After 8 rounds of Candy Land, 5 games of checkers, a latte, two cocoas and some croissants, things are looking up. More kids are showing up in the lobby, also in jammies, and my kids are happy.
At 9 a.m. we hear the wolf howl that signals the official opening of the indoor water park and watch from the big picture windows in the hotel lobby as the water starts to flow and splash and drench and spray and the ecstatic kids pour into the park. George and Goldie are practically salivating to get back to the water.
Great Wolf has multiple locations mostly in podunk towns where I suspect land is cheap. It is a great concept: a water park inside a hotel. Their website boasts that inside the resort's huge, 56,000 square-foot indoor waterpark it is always 84 degress. They have six waterslides, three pools and a four-story interactive treehouse water fort that dumps a Volkswagen sized bucket of water approximately every four minutes and drenches everything and all.
When we first arrived, my brother tricked my dad into standing under it while wearing his street clothes. Seems like a dumb thing to do to the person who is paying for your vacation. But that’s just me. After about a day I noticed there's a bell that rings before the water dumps. Good info to have.
The water park appeals to all ages and I do mean all. The youngest member of our party was one and the oldest 72. And they both had a great time. The most popular attraction with my kids was Bear Track Landing, a tricked out wading pool complete with a mini water fort, little slides and stationary jet skis that spray water. For the older kids, the River Canyon Run with a 6-story drop in the giant funnel you can see from I-5, is the raison d’être. I hear it’s pretty thrilling and the rafts you ride in can hold 5 people at once. Fortunately for me, our kids aren’t quite big enough yet to venture into that one.
Without kids, this would not be at the top of my list of destinations. But with a one-, three- and five-year-old, a hotel with waterslides, games at the front desk and gummy worms on the breakfast buffet is pretty tough to beat. Happy kids make for happy parents and there’s a whole lot of happiness flowing through Great Wolf – even at 5:45 in the morning.
Related Links
Great Wolf Lodge & Environs, Grand Mound WA
Filed Under:
travel-stories
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Posted on November 1, 2010 |
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This is a special Photo Friday. You'll notice lots of pictures of California's State Parks this week, and I hope you'll take a moment to click through on some of the links.
I grew up in California, visiting the state parks. They include some most beautiful coastline in the world, the Redwoods, and the Sierra Nevada mountains. The state parks were where we spent our summer vacations. Now that we've moved out of state, we still return to the parks when we visit California.
Unfortunately, budget cuts have had a devastating impact on the parks. California's Proposition 21 would give the parks a much needed cash infusion. I won't pretend to understand the nuance of California State Law or the California budget, but please, California, find a way to save your beautiful parks.
Thank you to Bridget Smith of Family Adventure Guidebooks who suggested this theme.
Related Links
Crystal Cove State Beach, and Antidote to Disneyland
About Photo Friday:
You are invited to join us for Photo Friday! It's a great way to get to know other bloggers and to help them get to know you. Just post a "Photo Friday" picture on your own blog, and link directly to your post from the linky below (If your url is longer than 100 characters, you will need to use a url shortening service, like bit.ly)
What is Photo Friday?
- Post a travel photo on your site. It can be about any topic, as long as it is G-rated.
- The focus of the post should be on your photo.
- You don't need to be a professional photographer (I'm not), but do showcase your best work, and make it big enough to see well!
- It's nice to include a few sentences about the photo, but it is not required.
- Link back here so that your readers can see all the other great Photo Friday posts.
This trip was sponsored by the Hawaii Convention and Visitor's Bureau who generously covered our accommodations, a portion of our transportation, and some meals.
I'm always on the lookout for local foods with kid-appeal. It's not only fun in the moment, but also a great way to start getting the kids used to the idea of trying new things in each destination. What could be better than Hawaiian Shave Ice?
Wailoa Shave Ice isn't far from the main Honolulu strip, but you'll need a car to get here. It's a great stop on a day when you're already out exploring.
I can't verify the claim that Wailoa serves the best shave ice in Hawaii (though I did sample my fair share). The ice was so thinly shaved that it was almost fluffy, and the syrups were flavorful and not too cloying.
There's a huge selection of flavors, and you can even pick up shave ice syrup to bring home (though you'll want to have a plan that keeps it from exploding inside your luggage!)
The kids chose the rainbow shave ice, what child wouldn't? There's vanilla ice cream hidden in the middle.
Of course, you might be full before you find it!
Related Links
City Guide: Honolulu, Oahu with Kids
Filed Under:
travel-stories
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Posted on October 25, 2010 |
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This trip was sponsored by the Hawaii Convention and Visitor's Bureau who generously covered our accommodations, a portion of our transportation, and some meals.
Crowded sidewalks, bustling stores, goods of all kinds excaping out of the stores and onto the surrounding sidewalks. Growing up in San Francisco, this is the mental image I have of Chinatown. Perhaps I shouldn't have been so surprised when Honolulu's Chinatown turned out to be more like Hawaii itself. Laid back, a little sleepy, but full of color.
Perhaps the Chinatown markets are busier earlier in the morning, or on a different day of the week, but we enjoyed having all that fresh produce to ourselves.
And Darya was just fascinated with all the live animals. She's just desperate to reach out and touch.
Me? I'm always fascinated by stores like this. I want to dig around and unearth something I've never tried before. I'm sure that there's a snack there with the perfect balance of sour and sweet, but the kids will never slow down long enough to let me find it. Maybe when they're older.
If you come, try to arrive early - we were too late to see the racks of fresh flower lei that are sold here each morning. Instead, we checked out the items hanging in the windows and doors of the many shops.
And then we grabbed lunch. I would have loved to sample every one of these fresh steamed buns
But instead we headed to the Little Village Noodle House, which has cute plastic plates for the kids, high chairs, and a fresh, made-to-order menu
Related Links
Honolulu with Kids
Filed Under:
travel-stories
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Posted on October 22, 2010 |
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E usually takes a while to warm up to strangers - but a LEGO Guy? He'll cuddle up right away!
Related Links:
City Guide: Chicago with Kids
About Photo Friday:
You are invited to join us for Photo Friday! It's a great way to get to know other bloggers and to help them get to know you. Just post a "Photo Friday" picture on your own blog, and link directly to your post from the linky below (If your url is longer than 100 characters, you will need to use a url shortening service, like bit.ly)
What is Photo Friday?
- Post a travel photo on your site. It can be about any topic, as long as it is G-rated.
- The focus of the post should be on your photo.
- You don't need to be a professional photographer (I'm not), but do showcase your best work, and make it big enough to see well!
- It's nice to include a few sentences about the photo, but it is not required.
- Link back here so that your readers can see all the other great Photo Friday posts.
