I know this category attracts mostly parents of younger children but I recently realized some lessons that my children learned while negotiating airports with their parents and grandparents that have really made a difference. This past weekend I took my 17-year-old son to the airport for his first solo trip. I was a little nervous about this flight to Sitka, Alaska to visit friends since it involved two different airlines, two plane changes and a gate check-in. He insisted on traveling as an unaccompanied minor and he breezed through the trip despite a close connection in SLC.

His confidence in traveling and ability to navigate two airports came from learning to find the monitor and gate whenever he traveled accompanied by us or his grandparents. My parents especially are very insistent that the grandchildren be the ones who locate the monitor and gate whenever they make a connection. They taught them to read the signs, follow the arrows and NOT BE AFRAID to ask someone in an airline uniform for assistance. Parents are usually so rushed and preoccupied trying to make a connection that they just haul their kids in tow and don't explain what they are doing. By taking a few extra minutes to let the kids figure it out they can learn some great life lessons. Plus it makes the trip much more interesting for the kids.

I am forever grateful to my parents for teaching my kids this example and my husband and I also follow this practice. After this weekend I realize just how important these lessons were.

Good advice. Too often kids are not participants. I remember when my son was quite small that with cellphones, if he ever found himself lost without a cell he might not know how to use a pay phone - there are just so many things we can easily forget to teach our kids. So I made sure he knew how to use one.

good post!

Great advice! I have two young children, 3 and 5 years, both have flown with me since they were infants. Since they could walk and talk, they have thanked the pilots and flight attendants upon deplaning and have helped to find the gate number, etc. I can now step it up to the next level, especially with the 5 year old who is learning to read to look at the monitors, etc. I hadn't thought of those -- my goal is the same as yours -- instill confidence for when they can travel on their own! Thanks!

Hmm.... Important travel lessons...
Travel to Europe is not dangerous. When in a foreign country, the way to get someone's attention is not to shout at the person in your loudest English, despite the efficacy of this technique in the USA. There are other countries where it is safe to drink the tap water. In some places it is not customary to take the car to get from the grocery store on one side of the street to the post office on the other side of the street. In most countries coin-operated pay phones are considered a thing of the past. Yes, you can buy a toothbrush in Sweden. In fact, you may even be able to access the Internet.

Do teach your children these important travel lessons at a young age. Follow up on the lessons with hands-on activities. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/smile.gif It's a shame there are so many people out there who are already grandparents and don't know these things!

Edit:
Oops, forgot one...
The world did not begin in 1776. In fact, by European cathedral standards, this is sparkling new.

[This message has been edited by Factotum (edited 06-08-2003).]