High protection, low chemical sunscreen is messy and leaves streaks on clothing worse than deodorant. Avoiding streaks while applying to energetic kids is like the the game of golf where you can always improve and you can be just a smidge off and it will ruin your day. Here are some tips’ I’ve learned earned the hard way over the past two years.

1) Apply naked. Pick out the outfit your child will wear, but apply the sunscreen before you put on clothes. This reduces white streaks on clothing and it’s easy to get the sunscreen an inch or two above hems which protects skin exposed during play.

2) Give the kid a stick. While I apply sunscreen to Mirielle’s body, I give her a stick of sunscreen in one hand and mirror in the other, and ask her to take care of her own face. Kids love the independence of doing things themselves and it keeps them distracted. It is unlikely that a younger kids will apply the sunscreen evenly and everywhere, so give cheerful feedback on missed spots, like “did you stick your ears?” or “hey, there’s a naked spot between your eyebrows and hair.” Then, grab the stick to fill in the missing spots and use your fingers to spread out all the any glops.

Kids love to apply sunscreen by "myself."

3) Turn on and tune out. Braiding hair, applying sunscreen, cutting nails and the other dreaded personal grooming routines where a still child favors success are a great time to turn on PBS Kids and let your child zone out.

Want to know the safest sunscreens for kids?  Read about it 2009 overview and reviews here and 2011 updates here.

Inspired by CN Traveler’s A-to-Z Family Travel Contest, I put together my own list of favorite family travel tips and advice.

A is for Acidophilus, a probiotic nutrition supplement that promotes tummy health and comes in children’s chewable. Our whole family takes some every day on the road to help prevent traveler’s tummy. Eating yogurt works as well.

B is for Backing up important documents.  Scan copies of passports, visas, birth certificate, medical information and other important documents and keep the electronic files both on a thumb drive in your luggage and online in Google docs or your email.  If anything is lost, stolen, or misplaced, it can be retrieved easily online.

C is for Cabana boy, someone who’s job is to take care of my needs so I don’t have to. I learned the hard way after my first couple of “vacations” as a mom that I need at least a day, sometimes more, where someone takes care of me and my family’s needs. With a wave of my hand or a phone call, someone can do the laundry, bring me a cool drink, arrange an outing, bring my daughter lunch, et cetera.

D is for Doggie bags. Not the ones you take home from a restaurant, but the plastic pet waste bags that come in rolls. I keep at least one roll of the compact, biodegradable bags for every two weeks on vacation for wet laundry, garbage on the go, motion sickness, crinkle toys, spilled snacks, and more.

E is for Etihad and other parent-friendly airlines.  Getting off the first leg of our flight in Abu Dhabi, Etihad had strollers available at the end of the jetway to help parents transport kids between gates. The are one of the airlines where families can pool frequent flyer miles. Kingfisher Airlines carried luggage for families, to check-in in our case, and on board with another family traveling with two kids.  Gulf Air has nannies for parents traveling with kids.

Sunshade covered children's pool at Fairmont Bab al Bahr

F is for Fairmont Hotels. The Fairmont Hotel chain makes family-friendly a sophisticated and comfortable experience. More than just providing children’s menus, children are treated with the same attention and respect as other valued guests. Amenities like the apartments at Fairmont Heritage Place in San Francisco, the baby pool co-located with the hot tub at the Fairmont Orchid, and the concierge staff that delivered the sweets I was looking for to my room at the Fairmont Bab Al Bahr, keep me coming back.

Mirielle enjoying the grass while mom and dad eat dinner in Kona.

G is for Grass, a patch of which is a parent’s best friend.  Wherever I sleep, eat or visit, a nearby patch of grass is my parental ‘binkie’. Excess energy or tiredness can be tantrumless-ly safely addressed by letting Mirielle run around or chill out. I don’t like to go anywhere without it.

White marble hopscotch at the Taj Mahal.

H is for Hopscotch, another way to keep Mirielle not whining engaged. Remember the old game “Step on a crack, break your mother’s back”? Or “Hot Lava”? The beautiful marble floors in India inspired a hopscotch like games: only step on the red tiles; don’t step on the blue carpet squares; don’t step on the cracks; et cetera.  It was a great distraction when Mirielle’s had enough of a place and I haven’t.

I is for Ipod Touch, portable preschooler entrainment on demand. I don’t like unitaskers, so having one small device with long battery life where Mirielle can watch movies and videos, listen to music, play games, draw pictures, and more, was worth the $200.

J is for Job. Mirielle’s jobs on the road include making sure we take our medicine, helping fill water bottles, and making sure everyone has put on sunscreen. Adapting routines from home on the road can keep kids grounded, and the travel jobs keep them excited about the trip.

K is for Keens, my favorite travel shoe for young walkers. When figuring out what to bring on a Hawaii trip, I needed something that could go from the wet ocean, across hotel lawns, to the sharp volcanic rocks and tried a pair of Keens.  While I also brought along a dressier pair of shoes as well, they weren’t taken out of the suitcase.

L is for Language.  Kids are sponges for language. Preschooler’s brains are engineered to absorb vocabulary. Exposure to foreign languages when traveling – sounds, rhythms, a few words, songs – literally grows their brain and increases their ability to learn. One of the easiest things we do is skip the satellite channels and let Mirielle watch cartoons or variety shows in the local language.

Meltdown in Mendocino

M is for Meltdowns. I’m not talking about temper tantrums or dramatics. I’m talking about when someone passes the point of no return and just needs to cry and scream and stomp it out. It’s hard to travel with kids without them. (And yes, parents have meltdowns, too.) As long as no one gets hurt, I let it happen, but grab my camera to document the meltdown so we can laugh about it later. Also, I like to watch other kid’s meltdowns and give a supportive hand or smile, because it’s a normal part of being a kid (even if it does get you kicked off an airplane.)

N is for Nasal spray. I don’t travel without my 1.5 oz saline nasal spray. Pretty much a moisturizer for the nose, this cheap, natural remedy eases airplane and hotel nose caused by the dry environments (come on, you know, that itchy crud in your nose after a couple hours on a plane?). It also helps with allergies and colds without resorting to medicines.

3 people, 1 month of travel, all of our luggage including the Osprey (green).

O is for Osprey Meridian 22″ Wheeled Convertible Pack which is now my luggage of choice.  This carry-on sized, wheelie suitcase converts into an ergonomic backpack and has a zip off day pack. After trying on a few packs, the Osprey’s ergonomics set it apart from the competition.

P is for PBS Kids. PBS Kids is my go-to for quality preschooler content for Mirielle’s iPod. Videos of many of the TV programs like SuperWhy, Dinosaur Train, and Word Girl are available for download and the game apps are engaging and educational.

Q is for asking your child Questions at the end of the day. What was your favorite…? What did you think about…? What do you want to tell you class about…? Most of the time I asked these questions, I got something along the lines of “I don’t know” for an answer.  Drilling down with more specific questions, I made some progress, but continued asking questions each night with the hope of a breakthrough.  The breakthrough came months later when Mirielle started talking about our trip. The things she remembers most are those we “talked” about at the end of the day.

R is for Room Service. While it’s expensive, it can be so much more convenient when juggling nap & bedtimes, bad moods, long days, and other travel surprises. It’s okay to splurge on it sometimes.

S is for Sharing toiletries to keep packing light.  The whole family can share toothpaste, soap, shampoo, conditioner, moisturizers, sunscreen and more.  For medications, get the children’s version and adults can take the teen dosage.

Tie dye travel clothes for kids blend in everywhere.

T is for Tie dye which makes great travel clothing for kids because it hides dirt and stains and will always match something that is clean.

U is for Unplugging, completely.  How can I tell my daughter she can’t watch TV or play games on her iPod, when she sees me flipping through books on my Kindle for iPhone.  Put away all electronic devices – phones, readers, cameras – and explore with your family for a while. Without the distractions amazing things happen.

Mirielle's view of waiting in line at the Taj Mahal.

V is for you child’s Vantage Point. During our trip to India, we started to let Mirielle take her own photographs.  It was a great way to keep her engaged in sightseeing, but is also gave us a view of how she sees the world around her.

W is for Walking. If you child can walk, make them walk more than they think they want to. I’ve noticed a big difference between American parents and our Asian counterparts is Americans keep their kids in strollers for years. (Hello, obesity epidemic?) This is a tough one, and we fought Mirielle’s “Uppie, please” and “I’m soooooo tired,” throughout India with mixed results. Start training before your trip. Travel lighter and leave the stroller behind. (Definitely, a carrier for emergencies.) Leave enough time for short legs to get from one place to another. Don’t give in the first three times your child begs to stop or be picked up.

X is for Xmas gifts on the road. Think little stocking stuffers that can be pulled out as a surprise as a source of excitement and entertainment.  On our India trip, I pulled out gifts like a mandala coloring book and a plastic tiger. Some of our drivers contributed gifts including necklaces, a toy cobra, and a backgammon set.

Y is for Yes. Pick a day, or better yet start with an hour, where you say yes to your child’s requests.  It takes the pressure off you, makes the kid happy and it can take you to unexpected places.

You can (almost) never have enough sunscreen and why I prefer sticks.

Z is for Zinc Oxide. Titanium dioxide works as well, but we put on our sunscreen before heading out for the day and reapply often.  Right now my favorite is TruKid’s Sunny Days Stick which is great for travel and Mirielle applies herself.

Website: Momondo, http://www.momondo.com

I received a press release on this site over the summer and checked it out.  It is a visually sleek travel search aggregator (a search tool where you can search multiple online travel booking sites and see side by side results.) There are lots of aggregated search sites out there, but what set Momondo apart for me is two things.

Momondo Hotel Search

First is the hotel search function.  Rather than just mapping hotel serach results on a map, I was able to add a point to the map and sort by distance.  This is so helpful when looking for a hotel near an airport, event or specific destination.

Second is the city guides which also use the map tool.  I am a visual/spacial person so looking for sites, restaurants or hotels in a certain area via map is wonderful.  We are staying in New Delhi for our first few days in India and I checked out some of the closest sites and restaurants to our guest house.

Momondo New Delhi City Guide

Each week, Meg highlights a travel related website and describes why she thinks you should check it out.

Two adults and one child from the U.S. spend 27 days visiting India. Each adult drinks four liters of liquid a day and the child drinks two liters per day. One quarter of liquid consumed will be in the form of juice, beer, milk or soda in reusable glass bottles. The remainder of liquid will be consumed in one liter plastic bottles of water. How many plastic bottles will this family consume during their visit?

[(3 x 2) + (1.5)] x 27 = 203 one liter plastic bottles

As a tourist, drinking bottled water from a sealed bottled is a given in India. (Just like don’t eat street food.) While availability of water has increased dramatically in India, sanitation has not made the same progress. However, the environmental impact of drinking bottled water is significant including consumption of water and oil, CO2 footprint and waste.

What is the environmental impact of using bottled water for the above family? (per one liter bottle)
Water consumption: 3 liters
CO2: 0.5 kilograms
Oil to produce bottle: 0.33 liters
Weight of bottle: 34 grams

For the entire trip the potential environmental impact is:
Total water consumed = 609 liters, (Over 100 gallons that doesn’t go into the bottles.)
Carbon footprint = 152 kilograms CO2 (Same as driving 800 miles in my Prius.)
Total oil = 67 liters (About 400 miles in my Prius.)
Total garbage = 15 lbs and 4.6 cu yards (Enough to fill our refrigerator more than five times.)

What’s a traveler to do? On our upcoming trip to India, we are trying to avoid drinking bottled water by bringing reusable water bottles, a filter and a sterilizer. I’ll take tap water and run it through a filter to get the particulate matter gunk out. Afterward, I will use a Steripen to kill the creepy crawlies that can make us sick. It will be a hassle, but the environmental savings are almost enough to drive from Delhi to Mumbai. (It would get us to Nashik, the heart of India’s wine country.)

Filling our own water bottles.

To learn more about Blog Action Day and global water issues visit: http://blogactionday.change.org/

Website: Arthur Frommer Online http://www.frommers.com/blog/

What I enjoy most about reading this blog is Arthur Frommer’s personal opinion.  He is frank, not afraid to bash an inferior product or rave about favorite destination. Personally, I prefer travel bloggers who write what they really think rather than sounding like a tourism promotion mouthpiece.  Frommer is all about promoting travel, but is not shy about pointing out experiences that discourage travel or leave the traveler unhappy.

Tuesday Travel Website of the Week: Each week, Meg highlights a travel related website and describes why she thinks you should check it out.

This week I’m heading to BlogHer in New York and I am most excited about talking up the recently launched family travel resource, Best Family Travel Advice at BestFamilyTravelAdvice.com.  While there are lots of informative family travel websites and blogs out there, there hasn’t been a dedicated, professional resource where anyone can ask their own family travel question and have it answered by a diverse panel of experts.

Front and center on Best Family Travel Advice’s homepage is a question form where you can ask YOUR question.  Recent questions asked included “Is Umbria a good location for a weeklong family stay?” “What are some good resources for finding family-friendly hostels?”  “What is the best way to get from the airport into Paris with a toddler?”  Previous questions are archived by topic and age.

Like parenting, everyone has their own opinion on family travel and not all solutions will work for all families.  Best Family Travel Advice has a panel of well traveled experts, including myself, to answer your questions. As none of us travel or parent the same way, multiple points of view are reflected in Best Family Travel Advice answers.

What’s you family travel question?  Visit Best Family Travel Advice right now and ask it!  Or, subscribe to the feed to see what others are asking.

Despite best intentions, planning and sometimes a chance to save a lot money on a hotel room, I end up in a hotel room without a refrigerator.  If I don’t need to access items, I will check with the front desk to see if I can keep my well marked items in a hotel fridge or freezer.  I can also fill the bathtub or sink with ice as a makeshift cooler, but these days both are in use enough, it’s not practical.

My other quick fix is turning the air conditioning unit into a refrigerator.  I place items that will last longer cool, like fruit, vegetables and hard cheeses on top of the unit.  Items that should be much cooler, like milk, go in the ice bucket surrounded by ice before being put on the AC unit.  Soft cheeses and opened drinks go on top of the ice. I cover everything with a bath towel and turn the temperature WAY down on the AC.

Homemade hotel room refrigerator.

While food service professionals and health inspectors will cry that this cannot get temperatures low enough for food to be “safe,” I figure if half the ice is unmelted after a night’s sleep, it’s doing a good enough job.  (Then again, I follow the 30 second rule for food on the floor too.)

It happens.  To some of us, it happens a lot.  What do you do when you drop that new digital SLR camera and hear the crunch as it hits the ground/floor/desk/foot?  Or someone not of the age of majority tries to grab the video camera from dad ending in FAIL?

After my Nikon Digital SLR camera slipped out of its case (which someone I forgot to zip) and hit the floor, the battery door was clearly broken and the lens didn’t turn smoothly.  Everything else seemed O.K., but the sensitive electronics can easily be knocked out of calibration.

Clearly my warranty wasn’t going to help so I headed to the web to find camera and lens repair options.  It turns out the world’s largest camera and video repair facility, Precision Camera, is located here in Connecticut.

Testing my repaired camera on the campus of Precision Camera.

I used the pull down options at PrecisionCamera.com to select my camera make and model to get an instant quote.  The quote for repair is fixed price and offers different shipping options.   I was skeptical about what was in the fixed priced so called the customer service, number clearly posted on the website, and learned that the price covers evaluation of the camera and a range of repairs.  If for some reason the repairs needed were extensive, say a new motherboard, they would contact me with a quote.

When looking at price, consider the camera or lens cost and replacement time frame.  For me, the camera was a no-brainer; it was new and would hopeful last as long as my film SLRs (which I still have and still work.)  My lens on the other hand was the standard kit lens that came with the camera.  The replacement cost was about 2.5 times the repair cost and I hope to upgrade this lens in the next year so I passed on repairing the lens.

My repaired camera was ready in a few days.  When I picked it up, a report of the work done was included.  After over 200 photos everything seems to be working well and the picture quality seems slightly better than before the fall.

I sincerely hope you never need this service.  Maybe the simple fact of knowing about it will mean you won’t have to use it, but accidents do happen and it is nice to know where to go for camera repair.

Precision Camera http://www.precisioncamera.com/

I received no compensation for this review.  All opinions are those of the author.

Adults in top physical shape will weave through moving sidewalks filled with wheelies to make it to the jetway on time and miss.  How the heck is someone traveling with a kid who just began walking or is easily sidetracked supposed to make it?

1.  Time – The easiest solution is lots of extra time, especially during peak travel seasons.  Arrive at least two hours before a flight and consider even more time if starting at a busy airport. It is far better to have an hour to kill at a gate then trying to make the twenty minute cut off with kids in tow.

With connecting flights, try and leave a minimum of 90 minutes between flights. This should allow time for routine delays, potty breaks, picking up a bite to eat (to go), and traveling to the opposite end of the airport for the connection.

Snacking while mom checks in.

2. Divide and Conquer – If traveling with more than one adult, divide up responsibilities in advance. One could be the sherpa, carrying bags while the other is the wrangler, keeping the kids on track. One can take potty duty while the other forages for food. One waits for the luggage with one kid while the other takes the second kid to get the car. Just agree in advance who is handling what responsibilities.

3. Backpacks and Buggies – Keeping younger kids off their legs will always speed things up. Slings and carriers are great for those under three. Strollers can be a hassle at security and on the jetway, but for many it is the only option to get kids under five or six through the airport.

A fun alternative is the Trunki children’s suitcase. This child-sized wheeled suitcase really does fit under the seat in front of you and is a ride-on toy. It is currently my favorite way of getting Mirielle across long stretches of terminal (her’s too.)

The trunki has helped me get Mirielle through the airport.

4. Competition - When the kids get too heavy to tote, create contests and competitions to keep them moving (in the right direction.) Who can make it to the next water fountain first? Last person to gate C36 gets the middle seat. Even with toddlers and preschoolers, beating mom, dad or older brother in a “running” race is a great way to get them to move across spaces quickly (I used it this weekend in the NYC subway tunnels).

5. Time – See number 1. Everything else is just a contingency.

Traveling during the holiday season combines the stress of holidays (family, shopping, money, schedule) with large crowds and lots of weather risk.   Add kids to the chaos and canceling reservations seems appealing.

Backpack to Buggy is all about adapting to meet travel challenges so we can enjoy vacationing and travel with our family.  In that spirit, I am running a series over the next couple of weeks about “Making Travel Easier.”

Frankly, this area is well covered by many news outlets and bloggers, so I am going to try and find some fresh perspective and overlooked areas.  Stay tuned the next couple of weeks.

Do you have some advice on making travel easier?  Add a link to your piece below, or include it the comments.