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News & Events
Monday, March 31, 2008 Eileen offers travel tips on Fox News Channel
Thursday, February 28, 2008 Weight Watchers Magazine (March/April 2008) quotes Eileen
Don’t forget refillable water bottles. Check out Weight Watchers Magazine March/April issue—Page 34 -- for more of my tips. Monday, February 25, 2008 Eileen quoted in Redbook Magazine (March 2008 issue)
According to a recent Kayak.com survey, 80 percent of moms say they would feel guilty leaving the kids behind. Just remember it’s as good for the kids as for parents to get a break—even for just a few days. Also remember this isn’t the time to try out a new sitter or leave grandma in charge if she hasn’t seen the kids in months. Make sure to have a back up sitter for your back up and to plan some special fun for the kids while you’re gone. Check out the March issue of Redbook magazine (Page 193) where I dish about the best way to get away guilt free. Wednesday, September 12, 2007 USA Today quotes Eileen on Taking the Kids to College
USA Today (September 12, 2007) asked Eileen for advice on how parents can handle the stresses of sending or taking their kids off to college for the first time. .... Parents want the send-off to be a perfect cap to a stellar upbringing, but it’s usually a stressful day that presages a period of growing pains as students learn to solve problems on their own, says Eileen Ogintz, a family travel expert who shares advice at http://www.takingthekids.com. “Every parent wants everything to go perfectly for their kid, and it’s just not going to happen that way,” Ogintz says. “People need to be more relaxed and have a sense of humor about it. There are going to be bumps along the way, but that’s part of going away to college — to learn how to handle those bumps.”
Read the full article:
Tuesday, July 17, 2007 Eileen Quoted in New York Times
The New York Times sought out Eileen to get her comments for the July 17, 2007 article ”Lauding Cool-Headed Travelers Amid the Maddening Delays” by Joe Sharkey. Citing a recent experience Eileen had while traveling, he wrote:
Friday, February 16, 2007 Eileen Wins Prestigious John Southam Award for Her Columns About Sailing
Eileen’s columns: Taking the Kids on a Sailing Adventure and Taking the Kids to a Quirky Caribbean Resort were selected as the 2006 Southam Award winner in the Newspapers Columns category.
The Southam Awards were created in 1993 by Sail America to inspire and recognize excellence in sailing communications in non-marine media. There were a record number of 271 entries for 2006 in a variety of categories, including: newspapers under 100,000 circulation, newspapers over 100,000 circulation, newspaper columns, magazines, broadcast, web, books, adventure and expanded outlets. These 271 entries together generated an estimated 172 million positive impressions for sailing. The panel of five judges selected six category winners and one overall winner. In evaluating the entries, they applied the four Southam criteria: does the entry offer a positive and welcoming portrayal of sailing, what is its reach to a non-marine audience, does it offer an actual or implied invitation to the audience to try sailing for themselves, what is its originality and creativity. There were no awards this year in the broadcast or adventure categories. The 2006 Southam Award winners were announced Thursday, February 15th at the Miami Boat Show. Thursday, January 25, 2007 AP Carries Eileen’s Tips for Coping with Tantrums on Airplanes
Air tantrum: How to avoid becoming the family escorted off the airplane
NEW YORK (AP) _ How do you avoid becoming the family that got kicked off an airplane after their crying 3-year-old refused to take her seat? Experts say rewarding kids for cooperation, distracting them with simple games and telling them in advance what’s going to happen can help. But at the end of the day, you may just have to take control, restrain the child, and comply with the rules. The family, Julie and Gerry Kulesza and their daughter Elly, were headed home to Boston on Jan. 14 from Fort Myers, Fla., when they were told they had to leave the plane because Elly wouldn’t get in her seat. FAA rules require children age 2 and older to have their own seats with buckled seat belts before takeoff. The airline, Air Tran, said the flight had already been delayed 15 minutes when the family was told to disembark. Air Tran reimbursed the family the cost of their tickets and offered them three roundtrip tickets anywhere the airline flies as compensation. Here are four tips for getting children to behave on airplanes. —Bring the child’s car seat along. The Federal Aviation Administration says children are safest on planes when strapped into their car seats, and “young kids are often more comfortable in a familiar seat,” said Eileen Ogintz whose columns appear online at http://www.takingthekids.com. Seeing their own car seat on the plane may also make them more willing to climb in and buckle up, just like they do in the family car. —Bring small items you can use as entertainment, distraction and rewards. “We’ll stop in the magazine store and get one of those silly little books where the kids get a magic pen,” said Pauline Frommer, the travel guidebook writer and daughter of travel guru Arthur Frommer. In addition, she buys gum as a special treat for her daughters to have in flight, and brings pipe cleaners along to play with. Holly Hughes, author of “500 Places to Take Your Kids Before They Grow Up,” suggests reading a story or even strapping a doll in the seat belt first. “Everyone around you is anxious and kids are likely to pick up on that anxiety,” she said. “Distraction is a big thing.” Michele Perry, director of communications for TripAdvisor and mother of a 3-year-old, says if toys don’t work, “I have a Plan B, which I’m not proud of but it works: A lollipop.” —If the child is old enough to understand, explain in advance what’s going to happen and stress the importance of following the rules. “Explain that the pilot and flight attendants need their help when preparing for take off,” Ogintz said. “The whole idea is the preparation before. Explain what’s going to happen and make it something to look forward to,” said Nancy Shankman. Her grown son, Peter Shankman, began traveling with his family from a very young age; today he runs AirTroductions.com, a Web site that allows people to choose their seat mates before boarding. —Finally, if rewards, explanations and distraction don’t work, you may have to calmly say, “These are the rules, you have no choice,” and restrain the child. “I do feel that preparation for any kind of adventure is important,” said Nancy Shankman, “but if that didn’t work, I would have just strapped the kid in the seat.” Peter Shankman said that the opinion of about half of the moms weighing in on the subject on the AirTroductions Web site was, “‘We would have had that kid down.’ They blamed the parents.” The other half felt badly for the parents, he said. “A lot of this comes down to parenting,” Perry said. At the end of the day, “I know I can get my daughter buckled in that seat.” Steve Loucks, a spokesman for Carlson Wagonlit Travel, the travel agency, said parents need to realize that, “in the post-9/11 world, there’s no room for error on airplanes. Unruly passengers, regardless of who they are, whether it’s an elderly person or a young child, can be grounds for turning the plane around and letting them off. ... If ever there were a place where you need to make sure your children were behaving, this is the place.”
On the Net:
Monday, December 18, 2006 Eileen’s Column in United Airlines’s Hemispheres Magazine
Eileen’s tip and hints for getting the most out of your holiday family getaway is featured in the December 2006 edition of Hemispheres, United Airlines’ award-winning magazine. Tuesday, August 08, 2006 Eileen Tells WTNH (CT) Viewers How to Plan a Last-Minute Getaway
(WTNH, Aug. 6, 2006) So what if the summer is half over and you haven’t planned a vacation yet. It’s not too late. You might even score a bargain as long as you plan smart. Besides, last-minute travel means there’s less time for plans to go awry. Even better, it can be a chance for an unplanned adventure. Syndicated family travel columnist Eileen Ogintz, who has headed off on many spur-of-the-minute trips with her three kids, can tell you how to get the most bang for your vacation buck-even at the last minute. 1-Opt for a mini-getaway a few hours from home so you don’t have to fly. You can take a cruise (there are more than two-dozen ports around the country), see the city lights on a weekend when business people have cleared out of hotels or resort areas during midweek. 2-Check websites like http://www.priceline.com, http://www.hotels.com, and http://www.cruisemates.com for last-minute deals. 3-If you want to fly, book an air-hotel-rental car package for a better last-minute deal. Try websites like http://www.expedia.com or http://www.orbitz.com 4-Call the hotel where you want to stay and see if they can offer a better deal. What about upgrading your room? Free breakfasts? Remember, you’re filling a room that otherwise will go empty. 5-Use your favorite airline and hotel chain website to see what specials they’re offering in the coming week. 6-Once you decide on a destination-Boston or San Diego, New York or Denver-check that city’s official tourism website. You’ll find discount hotel deals as well as discounts to area attractions. 7-Think off-season. Rather than heading to Newport Beach in August, for example, try a California ski area. Ski areas have as much to do in summer as in winter, with great rates on lodging. Mountain biking anyone? 8-So many families go to the Caribbean during summer that it’s called “family season” with resort deals that can be as much as 40% off and airline bargains to get you there. Just in case of hurricanes, make sure you’ve got travel insurance or a guarantee from the hotel. 9-Consider the National Parks. Often there are last-minute cancellations. Many lodges aren’t as full as you might think either. They’re often affordable with many family activities. Check http://www.nps.gov and link to the parks you’d like to visit. 10-If your kids are too little for school, plan a trip in the fall. You’ll avoid the crowds and get a good deal. Cape Cod, for example, is spectacular in September. Thursday, June 15, 2006 Eileen Offers Practical Advice to Wall Street Journal Readers
A grandmother wrote to Walll Street Journal “Work & Family” columnist Sue Shellenbarger to ask what to do about taking her two-year-old grandchild on cabs and tour buses when she travels to Washington DC this summer. Shellenbarger turned to Eileen for advice. Eileen suggested a stroller-car seat combination, and said, “If a car seat isn’t an option, your grandchild will be safer on buses, trolleys or the subway ... “ (June 15, 2006, p. D2) You can read the entire article here (subscription required): Work & Family Mailbox Q: I’m a grandmother who will be touring Washington, D.C., with my two-year-old grandchild this summer. How do people travel by cab with babies? And what do parents do on tour buses—just hold the baby? K.P., Tucson A: One solution many parents use for small babies is a stroller-car seat combination, says Eileen Ogintz, a travel author and founder of http://www.takingthekids.com One option is the Sit ‘n Stroll Car Seat Stroller, at http://www.onestepahead.com The car seat is convertible for use with children up to 40 pounds. After separating the car seat, you can put the stroller in a cab’s trunk. Buckling in the seat should take only a minute. If a car seat isn’t an option, your grandchild will be safer on buses, trolleys or the subway, Ms. Ogintz says. Most parents hold children or sit next to them, a safer option because the cars are much bigger. In Washington, Ms. Ogintz suggests the Old Town Trolley Tour (http://www.historictours.com), which are fun for kids and let you get on and off easily at will. |
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