A rich archive of weekly “Taking the Kids Columns” in newspaper syndication since 1992
Many families have a special vacation spot — a snow sports resort, a lake where the kids caught their first fish, a beach where they build giant sand castles. Jumby Bay is one of them.
Across the country, theme parks are adding new and bigger holiday attractions every year, enticing more and more families to come through the gates, glad to forsake holiday shopping and cooking for a few hours, even though it can be a costly afternoon or evening.
Every Dec. 19, an annual event commemorates the arrival of the rag-tag Continental Army to Valley Forge PA, and its determination to persevere against hardship to become the first American Army.
Follow the local kids. That’s a good plan when you are exploring a new city with your gang. That’s what we did recently at the newly expanded Imperial War Museum in London, which was teeming with enthusiastic British families.
Royal Carribbean’s new Quantum of the Seas is the first in a new class of cruise ships that the company says it going to up the number of WOW moments on every family’s vacation.
Since holiday lights have become more and more festive each year, create new traditions to see them, even as early as Thanksgiving weekend, wherever you find yourselves.
The San Francisco family was inspired to come to Nicaragua by friends who had visited with their kids, they said, and didn’t want to spend all their time on the beach — as gorgeous as it is
There are dented helmets, letters home, photographs, flight jackets and K rations, complete with chocolate bars and gum.
“Dim Sum is one of my favorite foods. Everyone likes Dim Sum!” said Andy, 14, one of the many local kids who contributed their ideas on what kids like for my new “Kid’s Guide to San Francisco.”
Instead of frustrating hours at the airport, we spent a blue sky day on Deer Valley’s famously groomed slopes, stopping for an excellent lunch. (Deer Valley is as famous for its eats as it is for its grooming and customer service.)
The idea in the Historic Triangle — home not only to this recreated 18th-century city but also to the living-history museums Jamestown Settlement and Yorktown Victory Center, is to use interactive activities, 21st-century technology and costumed interpreters
There’s no better time to visit San Diego than October when kids are free all over town — from the zoo to harbor cruises, LEGOLAND California in nearby Carlsbad, nearly 40 museums, restaurants and activities from surf lessons to speedboat rides to golf and even fishing.
Fifty life-sized Paddington Bear statues designed by artists, designers, athletes and celebrities will be placed all around London at museums, parks, shops and landmarks just as the movie “Paddington,” produced by David Heyman, who made the Harry Potter films, gets ready to open
Halloween is coming. Here are some places to find haunted houses, corn mazes, theme park parties and more for your kids and family
Farmer John Muller, a third-generation California farmer, is also the mayor of Half Moon Bay, which bills itself as the World’s Pumpkin Capital. The coastal climate here, with warm days and cool nights, is perfect for growing pumpkins.
For once, be glad you’re toting a stroller and safety seat. When everyone else has headed back to school, you can head off on vacation with your toddlers and preschoolers.
If you think visiting Vermont in fall is just about the foliage, glorious as it may be, think again. There are mountains to climb, golf and disc golf, kayaking, canoeing and mountain biking to try.
I realized when I stopped at the Children’s Creativity Museum in San Francisco, how much fun a visit to a smaller museum can be for visiting families.
Want a marshmallow? The 6-foot-long alligator, dubbed Otis by the locals, who’s minus one foot and swimming alongside our boat certainly does.
At the nonprofit Farm Institute on Martha’s Vineyard off the coast of Massachusetts, the local and vacationing kids who attend summer day camp here tend the expansive vegetable garden, gather eggs and care for the animals. Older kids may learn the art of composting and carpentry.
Wherever you and your toddlers and preschoolers find yourselves this summer, you’ll find plenty to amuse and entertain, even when they’re not walking yet. Go after the older kids go back to school and you can avoid the crowds. According to Visit Orlando, September is the cheapest month of the year to visit there.
Who says grown kids don’t want to travel with their parents? I don’t get to see my daughter that often and was determined to make our few days together as fun and as stress-free as possible for both of us. The key, I discovered, is choosing the right locale.
We’re sitting on the grass with several hundred parents and kids on a balmy summer night in Falmouth, Massachusetts on Cape Cod watching the Falmouth Commodores play the Orleans Firebirds.
Welcome to the state-of-the-art Animal Care Center at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida — a unique 16,000-square-foot facility opened a little more than two years ago where visitors can watch how the park’s veterinarians take care of the animals that live here
With the families and generations at Cooperstown Dreams Park, which draws 104 Little League baseball teams each week to its 22 pristine fields spread out over 150 acres.
No we’re not at Disneyland or Disney World. We’re actually in Norway exploring the famous West Norwegian Fjords with Adventures by Disney and I’ve counted at least 18 waterfalls
Maybe you will march in a local parade or watch the kids march, host a barbecue or gather the gang to see the fireworks. Here are six unique ways to celebrate July 4.
Many consider summer in the Caribbean family season because rates are significantly lower and there are so many value-added amenities.
Ski country in summer, especially Colorado: you won’t run out of things to do. Many who live in ski towns say they originally came for the snow but stayed because they love the summer
This month marks the 150th anniversary of the Yosemite Grant Act, which set aside Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove as the first protected wild land in the country — the first time scenic, wilderness lands were set aside specifically for preservation and public use by the federal government.