As a seasoned traveler, “Mr. Daddy,” a.k.a. Robert Nickell, knows how stressful it can be to voyage with small children, and during the holidays it often becomes a requirement. Don’t get caught up in the stress this year. Follow these tried and true tips for ensuring easy travel with your kids this holiday season.

Whether you’re flying or driving to your travel destination this holiday season, here are a few reminders to help you and your children get where you’re going smoothly and happily.

• Preparations Are Key:
  Make sure your family knows of this year’s holiday plans well in advance so they are able to collect their favorite movies, download their favorite music and pack up their favorite stuffed animals. Your itinerary should be solidly planned out with a little extra room for hiccups and delays. If you’re driving, purchase a road atlas for your car, print out directions from Google Maps, or program and update your GPS system, and check on road conditions and closures due to weather in advance so you know what you’re getting yourself into.
• Packing:
  When it comes to packing it’s all about being organized. And, as it turns out, one of the more difficult activities when traveling is packing in an organized fashion. You will need to decide how many suitcases you’ll be packing and who will be responsible for what bags or belongings. Don’t wait until the last-minute to pack, start early. Remember to pack up a bag full of snacks and goodies to have on-hand during your travels. Whether on a plane or in a car, getting into baggage once the journey’s begun might not be a viable option. We also stick a pair of pajamas in the on-hand bag. Most of the time, our traveling stretches into the night; changing from day clothes into pajamas while traveling at night helps kids feel more comfortable.
• Entertainment:
  Chances are your child is going to get bored and burnt-out while traveling, so, as the parent, it’s your responsibility to have a handful of tricks up your sleeve. Toys, puzzles, games and books are great sources of entertainment on the go. Stick a few surprises in your on-hand travel bag so that you can head-off your fidgety child before boredom turns into a meltdown. When you’re driving during daylight, you and your child can watch license plates, keep track of the different colors of cars you pass or listen to a book on tape. When in the airplane, booklets of mazes and coloring books can be extremely helpful when it comes to keeping kids entertained. It doesn’t hurt to have a favorite movie on your iPod or portable DVD player to pop on when your child gets sleepy.
• Keep in Mind:
  Your kids are going to be exhausted from traveling, so allow them ample time to rest. More than likely, you will be having more activity than a typical day at home would consist of, so keep a close eye on your children to see when they’ve had enough. Traveling can put stress on our bodies and immune systems, so make sure you all drink lots of water and try to eat healthy. Remember you’re on vacation with your children. Plan out some special, kid-friendly activities you know they’ll love and enjoy!

Make sure you explain everything to your children in advance so there are no surprises upon stepping onto an airplane for the first time or visiting the snow. Your child will feel more comfortable, safe and secure if they know what to expect in advance. Remember to be flexible and have a little fun – nothing ever goes quite according to plan, so be prepared for a few minor hiccups and roll with the punches.

Nickell is the writer of a weekly parenting blog where he writes on topics such as bonding with your child, and what the father should expect during pregnancy and infancy. He writes from a man’s perspective and keeps dad engaged throughout his children’s lives.

Nickell is also the founder of DaddyScrubs, a line of fashionable hospital attire for the expectant father to wear during labor and delivery. He is the father of five children, and his practiced advice has been heard on TV and radio shows around the country.

These tips may be reprinted when credited to Robert Nickell, a.k.a. “Mr. Daddy,” father of six, founder of Daddyscrubs.com, delivery room duds for dads, and the Daddyscrubs blog where he covers topics about parenting and the latest baby and kids gear, all from a Dad’s perspective.

To learn more about Mr. Daddy or to read additional blogs, visit blog.daddyscrubs.com. Visit DaddyScrubs.com to view apparel and gift items.

This is a guest post.

‘MR. DADDY’ Makes Holiday Travel with the Family Stress-Free! is a post from: The Mommy Insider. It looks like you are reading this post in your favorite RSS reader. Don't be shy..hop on over to check out our current giveaways, coupon codes, and to share your comments!

Photo Source: Park Hyatt Aviara

I am staying at Park Hyatt Aviara Resort, in Carlsbad, CA, 30 minutes north of San Diego for a couple of days.. What a beautiful resort!

Park Hyatt Aviara Resort offers a range of lodging choices, including “The Respire by Hyatt,” a series of hypoallergenic rooms. Rooms vary in size from Double and King sizes, up to the suite accommodations, including the Presidential Suite. Some rooms feature furnished balconies; and others, a terrace. Marble bathrooms are a feature of some rooms, as is teak furniture. And some rooms highlight views of the golf course and lagoon.

Dining options include Vivace, a AAA-Four Diamond restaurant which features elegant Italian cuisine. Vivace is the resort’s signature restaurant. The Argyle Steakhouse, based out of the Aviara Golf Clubhouse, offers views of the 18th green and lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch menus. The casual California Bistro, as its name suggests, dishes up the state’s eclectic cuisine. The Ocean Pool Bar and Grill provides a dining option poolside, serving up American favorites complete with a children’s menu. I enjoyed a delicious, juicy hamburger with fries at the Lobby Lounge overlooking the overlooking the Palm Courtyard, for lunch.

On-site resort activities include a spa experience; tennis; the Arnold Palmer Golf Course, a nationally ranked course; the golf club and academy–complete with the Taylormade Performance Lab; and the Beach Butler, a complete beach experience provided by the resort including transportation, umbrellas, towels, and meals. The golf academy, run by Kip Puterbaugh, is the Western U.S.’s longest running golf school.

Other on-site activities include Camp Hyatt, a resort experience tailored to children; a game room; swimming pools; and a fitness center.

Off-site activities include the large variety of experiences available in Southern California. Highlights include hang-gliding, hiking, hot-air ballooning, sailing, kayaking, and whale-watching. Surfers will feel at home here, too.

Nearby Batiquitos Lagoon, a wetland, is a nationally known migrating bird attraction which attracts over 130 species. Adults can enjoy touring the historic Spanish missions; the shopping in Del Mar and La Jolla; the museums of Balboa Park; the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club; and the La Jolla Playhouse and Old Town San Diego. Children will enjoy a visit to the San Diego Zoo; the Scripps Aquarium; LEGOLAND California; and SeaWorld. Visitors can also explore an aircraft carrier nearby.

Enjoy your next visit to California with at least one night at Park Hyatt Aviara Resort in Carlsbad, California.

Connect with Park Hyatt Aviara Resort:

Travel: Park Hyatt Aviara Resort in Carlsbad, California is a post from: The Mommy Insider. It looks like you are reading this post in your favorite RSS reader. Don't be shy..hop on over to check out our current giveaways, coupon codes, and to share your comments!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Kalahari® Resorts for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I just learned about an amazing resort and water & adventure park in Sandusky Ohio called Kalahari® Resorts. Have you been? If I could teleport, I’d be there in a heartbeat. So would my husband and kids. We love being around water and we love playing with our kids so naturally when we go on vacation or have a day or two to get away, we spend that time near and in the water. It doesn’t matter if we’re in the ocean, a pool, or a lake, we’re happy. Kalahari® Resorts offers parents a way to take a family vacation that everyone will enjoy.

What kids will appreciate and enjoy about Kalahari® Resort in Sandusky, OH:

• The vibrant, fun atmosphere!
• The water slides
• Mini-golf
• Candy bar
• Arcade
• Tree Top Play
• Safari Adventures Animal Park
• Multiple dining options

What parents will appreciate and enjoy about Kalahari® Resort in Sandusky, OH:

• Everything above PLUS..
• Watching their kids have a blast!
• The exciting night life, including The Reserve
• Rejuvenating spa and salon services
• The swim-up bar.. (oh, I so want to be there!)
• The delicious in-room dining selections
• The available laundry facilities

With over 500,000 gallons of water, the waterpark has a lazy river, big slides, little slides all kinds of good stuff. My son would LOVE the Zimbabwe Zipper which reaches speeds of 40 mph! Me, not so much. I prefer the lazy river and kiddie slides.

The Safari Outdoor Adventure Park features a three-level ropes course, 400 foot long Zip Line Tour,   2 foot high Adventure Climbing Wall and the Safari Adventures Animal Park where visitors can get up-close and personal with some really awesome animals.

If we were able to visit Kalahari® Resorts, I would be most excited to try out the zip line! Ever since a recent trip to St. Louis when I got to Zip Line, I’ve been wanting to try it again in hopes of mastering the art of zip lining.  My husband and 12 year old son would run straight to the Zimbabwe Zipper and my 5 year old daughter would have a blast in the Tree Top Play area, a jungle themed indoor playground featuring a colorful maze of climbing areas, crawl-through tubes, webs and more! How fun!

Kalahri® Resorts is always running some sort of deal. You can find more information about these ever changing deals here.

Stay up to date with Kalahari® by connecting with them on Facebook or Twitter.

You can win a free stay at a Kalahari® Resort valued at over $200!!

To enter, all you have to do is:

1. Leave a comment on the contest post about the feature or amenity you are the most excited to experience when visiting a Kalahari resort
2. Tweet out a message containing a link back to the contest rules and the hashtag #KalahariResorts
3. Check out more information the contest.

Kalahari® Resorts in Sandusky, OH – An Amazing Family Get Away Destination + Enter to Win a Free Night’s Stay! is a post from: The Mommy Insider. It looks like you are reading this post in your favorite RSS reader. Don't be shy..hop on over to check out our current giveaways, coupon codes, and to share your comments!

BubbleBum is a portable and foldable booster seat that is perfect for daily car rides or for keeping in Grandma’s car for the occassional trip to story time. Made for children who weigh between 40 and 80lbs, are older than 3 years old, and can refrain from sitting on their knees during a long car ride, the BubbleBum Booster Seat is a unique solution to a problem that’s been around for years.. ever since booster seats were introduced. The problem you ask? The lack of portability and foldability. Booster seats aren’t typically known for being foldable but once you try the BubbleBum Booster Seat, you’ll realize that it’s something you’ll use more often than you expected.

PORTABILITY

The school year is about to start and I bet not everyone on your child’s pickup list has a booster seat in their car. My sister-in-law is on my daughter’s ‘safe pick up’ list and she doesn’t have a booster seat in her car. Why would she.. she doesn’t have kids!? What will I do if I need her to pick my daughter up from school? When I know that she will be picking my daughter up, I’ll send the BubbleBum Booster Seat to school with my daughter.  It’s light enough for her to carry and it even fits in her backpack!  Let’s just hope I remember to give my SIL a car pool number!
This booster seat is great when you travel via airplane as it will conveniently fit inside your carry-on or checked luggage. When you arrive at your destination, simply inflate the BubbleBum booster seat and install it in the taxi or rental car.

The BubbleBum booster seat is compact. Three BubbleBum Booster Seats will easily fit across the backseat of a car, suv, or van. No more excuses for Grandma and Grandpa to not take all three of your kids to the beach without you next weekend. You need a breather.. grab a few BubbleBums and send the kids off with the Grandparents!

SAFETY

It has been proven that children in booster seats have approximately half the injury risk of children without the use of a booster seat, and in seatbelts alone. While head injuries are the most commonly injured body region for all restrained children, abdominal injuries are the second most common injury for belted children as a result of “seat-belt syndrome” injuries. Children who were restrained by booster seats showed a notable absence of abdominal injuries.

Every parent wants their child to be safe. Here are some reasons why you should use a booster seat on EVERY journey with your child:

BubbleBum is a Belt Positioning Booster seat for children who meet all of the following criteria:
1. Children between 40lbs and 80lbs in weight
2. Children are over the age of 3,
3. Children can sit for the entire journey without sitting on their knees
A booster seat must ONLY be used with a 3 point seat belt, this is a seat belt which goes across the lap and diagonally across the chest.

To learn more about what make the BubbleBum Booster seat safe, click here.

BubbleBum can fit easily with any combination of cars seat as long as there are enough 3 point seat belts to restrain each and every child.

My 5 year old loves the BubbleBum Booster Seat. She thinks it’s cool because (a) it blows up (b) it’s comfy and (c) it makes her feel like a big girl.

You can purchase a BubbleBum for $39.99 from BubbleBum.com. As mentioned above, your child must meet certain criteria to use the BubbleBum. You can connect with BubbleBum on Facebook BubbleBum on Facebook, and follow @BubbleBumUSA on Twitter.

BubbleBum Inflatable Booster Seat to the Rescue! is a post from: The Mommy Insider. It looks like you are reading this post in your favorite RSS reader. Don't be shy..hop on over to check out our current giveaways, coupon codes, and to share your comments!

First, I would like to say thank you to Net Nanny for sponsoring me at BlogHer ’11!

I am leaving to go to San Diego, CA tomorrow morning where I will spend 4 days mingling, learning, and partying with over 3,000 amazing bloggers from all over the country and the world, at BlogHer ’11!  Besides having to get my hair cut, nails done, pick chicken up from my friend Stacie, I have to do laundry, pack, feed and bathe the kids and act sane in the process of all of the above.
Because I am a research geek, I Googled ‘packing for BlogHer’ and found some great ‘packing for BlogHer’ resources that gave me more insight on what to pack for BlogHer as well as what to expect at BlogHer.

If you are attending BlogHer ’11, you might find these ‘how to pack for BlogHer ’11′ resources useful:

• Packing for #BlogHer? Girlfriend Advice on what to take! by Girlfriendology.com
• Packing for BlogHer and Other Blogging Conferences by theguavaliciouslife.com
• Quincy’s packing list for #BlogHer11 by themavenofsocialmedia.com
• 20 Days Until BlogHer by pacifierinmypocket.com
• Preparing for BlogHer by ciaomom.com
• BlogHer packing by suzstreats.com

Here are a few more resources I found useful for preparing for BlogHer ’11:

• BlogHer 11 Pre-Conference Guide
• Download the BlogHer app
• BlogHer ’11 Party Plan
• BlogHer ’11 Badges, Buttons & Bling

If you are going to BlogHer ’11 and have packing or general tips please share them below!

What to Pack for BlogHer ’11 – I Haven’t Started and I Leave Tomorrow Morning! is a post from: The Mommy Insider. It looks like you are reading this post in your favorite RSS reader. Don't be shy..hop on over to check out our current giveaways, coupon codes, and to share your comments!

Before we do anything else we have to make sure we pay attention to beach sun and safety for the season and then we can say…Welcome SUMMER!  With summer comes the sun, the beach, and staying safe while enjoying them both.

Beach Safety comes in many forms. Each year we hear about people drowning at local beaches but the fact of the matter is, most of these drownings could have been avoided with some common sense safety tips.  First, stay away from rip currents.  Rip currents are tides or undercurrents that flow under the water and they can be strong enough to pull even the strongest of swimmers under water to their death.  Rip currents cause 80% of all drowning deaths in the United States and account for 80% of all life guard rescues.  They tend to be more intense as the tides increase, which is often when surfers and body boarders like to hit the waves best.  It’s best to know the area and only swim in areas that are marked well and are fully guarded.

Guarded beaches are the only way to swim. Taking your chances at an unguarded beach simply is not worth the risk.  Lifeguards are trained professionals that can and do rescue people in situations that a typical, untrained swimmer will be useless.  Statistics say that your chances of drowning on a guarded beach are as low as 1 in 18 million.  These statistics alone should make your first and only choice when choosing a beach, choosing one that is fully guarded.  It could mean your life, or the life of someone you love.

We’ve all been told not to swim alone but things like rip currents and freak accidents are the exact reason why this is reiterated over and over again.  Simply put, not only should you never enter the water on your own but if you follow heed to the above information you will never be alone because there will always be a guard there to watch and protect you.

Other safety issues of the beach itself and can come in the form of many of the beach’s natural life within in. When swimming in oceans means avoiding things like jelly fish and their sting.  Although the sting of a jelly fish is unpleasant it is rarely life threatening.  Seek help from the lifeguard if you have been stung or go to the doctor if you seem to be having any complications but nearly all cases of jelly fish stings are simply a matter of discomfort.  You also want to be aware of any sharks in the area and heed any warnings of sharks.  If there is a sign that states it is unsafe to swim, for any reason, adhere to it.  That sign is put there for a reason.  It can be unsafe waters due to bacteria, sharks, harsh rip tides or something else.  The guards and personnel in charge don’t put up “Danger” signs and “Do Not Swim” signs just because they don’t want to work.  There are definitely reasons of safety involved and you must adhere to them.

This brings us to the area of sun safety. We all have been told over and over how dangerous being in the sun can be; but we also must remember that the sun does provide us with natural Vitamin D which is vital to our bodies.  Avoiding the sun completely is not good but we have to enjoy the sun safely.  Enjoying the sun at the beach is probably one of our most favorite ways to enjoy a hot summer day.  You get the benefits of enjoying the sunshine while also being able to take a swim in the water.  Researchers have proven that getting a sunburn increases your chances of melanoma.  It was originally thought that sun exposure that causes the skin to burn under the age of 18 significantly increased the risk of melanoma, but researchers have found that sunburn at any age increases the risk.  Melanoma is cancer, plain and simple, and I don’t know anyone who wants to have cancer.  So what’s the answer?  While there’s nothing you can do to guarantee you won’t get melanoma, there are some common sense factors that can help you avoid the risks.

Sunscreen is a must anytime you are in the sun, but especially when you’re in sun at the beach. Choosing an SPF is not the only thing you have to keep in mind when choosing your sunscreen.  It has been found that certain sunscreens that advertise SPF’s as high as 60 or more provide little to no protection from the actual harming rays that cause the burn and eventual skin cancer.  What you want to look for is a sunscreen that has either zinc oxide or titanium dioxide.  These two elements protect both types of rays UVA and UVB when applied properly.  You also want to make sure you apply your sunscreen numerous times.  You can really never apply it too often so if there’s question as to “should I put more sunscreen on?” the answer is always yes.  Sunscreen, even those that claim to be waterproof and sports oriented, need to be reapplied regularly.  The lowest SPF you should ever put on is an SPF 15, so choose an SPF 15 or higher.  While it has been debated at what point the SPF is no longer any more useful it never hurts to purchase a higher end SPF just to be safe.  The key factor is to continue applying it throughout your outing at the beach, after every swim, after sweating, and just every few hours or so to be safe.

Another key factor is when you’re in the sun. The sun is at its hottest between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. so during those hours if you can keep under the shade and limit the amount of sun you are exposed to it is best.  Even if you have perfectly applied sunscreen, these are the top hours to get burned and your chances are pretty high that you could walk away with a burn.  A burn, any burn at all, is always something you want to avoid.

While you don’t want to approach the summer with fear you do want to make sure this summer, when spent in the sun and at the beach, is a safe one.  Build your sand castles with a lifeguard nearby, swim with friends in designated swim areas and make sure you wear plenty of sunscreen, applied numerous times.  In the end you’ll be sure you’re here to enjoy yet another wonderful summer filled with beach, sun, and safety!

Beach Sun and Summer Safety Tips is a post from: The Mommy Insider. It looks like you are reading this post in your favorite RSS reader. Don't be shy..hop on over to check out our current giveaways, coupon codes, and to share your comments!