It’s important to take your kids when you travel – not only are you exposing them to the world, but you’re teaching collaboration, patience, great food, different cultures, languages, history, and more. But it can be expensive to take everyone, while you’re traveling.

You've got a lot of stuff, you're tense, you're tired, you're waiting for a plane, and you have a 4 year old (or a 6 yr old or a 9 yr old - they're all restless at the airport).  Maybe you have one hour to relax before the first flight or, perhaps, you have 4 hours to enjoy on a layover.  Yes!  "relax" and "enjoy".

As travelers, we go to many different lands. We cross bridges, we break bread with strangers, we learn languages, and get bombarded by cultural change right and left. There are deliberate choices, those we have no control over. and everything in between. We visit particular places for certain reasons and others because…why not? But, throughout the entire process, there are times that we yearn for home. What is it that ‘home’ really means? When traveling, how do we find home?

Sure there's the obvious hand-held video games, e-book readers, portable dvd players, laptops, iPads etc. What are some other things that might be great to bring on a trip with kids that encourage safety, education, and adventure ... ?

Need inspiration on WHERE to go? Click here for a list of popular places for family travelers!