Medford mail tribune., May 20, 1962, Image 36

AMERICA
ON THE
GO
You Can Take
the Kids Along
The Book of Knowledge
has the answer!
All the answers to a child's
bursting curiosity. Science,
art, literature, history and
all of it written in a lively, en
tertaining language to delight
your child ... to keep him
learning without even know
ing he's doing it. How can
The Book of Knowledge do
-what no other set can? Sim
ply: things that belong to
gether are found together in
an easy logical arrangement.
Other reference books are al
phabetized and systematized
to a slide-rule's cold exact
ness. The Book of Knowledge
is not. It makes the child
want to read more and more.
SEE FOR YOURSELF. SEND FOR THE FREE
"MINIATURE" BOOK OF KNOWLEDGE
This free 24 page full color
booklet contains actual pages
of science, history, art, sto
ries, quizzes, things to make
and do and other informative
and entertaining features
taken directly from The Book
of Knowledge itself. Give it
to your child and see how
eagerly he reads it. Send for
it today. It's free and it's won
derftil! Do it now!
THE BOOK OF
KNOWLEDGE
opens the door to success !
1 1
" FREE 24 PACE FULL COLOR BOOKLET .
THE BOOK Or KNOWLEDGE I
Thr Droller Society Inf. 1
SIS Lc 1 1 nil an Avtnue, New York 77, K. Y. I
Send me the color booklet described ibove. '
I hve children In my family. Met I
I CH-
Children won't exclaim
over the scenery but
they'll bring along a fresh
sense of wonder that
can turn your vacation
into a never-to-be-forgotten
event
By
iTirvi UTP TAJPITvTf"' X DTFM Author of "You Can Take Them with You," a guide
TlUlJlll ItlilllUJUVlUll t0t
County
I
FAMILY WKKKLY S-fO-fl
THE FIRST TIME we took our children on a
vacation trip was almost the last.
The whole way from our home in Pleasantville, N.Y., to
the West Coast, we fidgeted about whether it was going to
work out. Finally, we arrived at Muir Woods, the first stop
on our tour of California. We marched our two daughters
into the heart of the soaring redwoods and told them to
look and ponder.
"These trees grow to a height of 364 feet," I read from a
guidebook. "And they were old during Biblical times,"
their father added.
Kathy, who was then six, drew herself to her full height
of 48 inches and peered upward.
"My, they're even older than Mommy!" she said.
"Bigger, too," commented her 10-year-old sister Jan.
Undaunted, we pushed into the High Sierras. We stood
them before Bridal Veil Falls; we showed them the Hetch
Hetchy Reservoir; we dragged them up to Glacier Point.
With glassy eyes they looked and said: "Uh-huh."
Finally, we were irritated to the point where we had to
do something so we decided to join them. As soon as one
of nature's wonders showed itself, we would call out,
"Duck, kids, scenery !" They in turn took to crying, "Lookit
the neat dump!" And from that moment on, some of our
best vacations have been spent with our children.
WE have taken them west to San Francisco, north to
Maine, south to Key West, and overseas to Colombia
and Greece. In all that time we have never well, hardly
ever pointed out a speck of scenery. If we felt they had
to look at Mount Katahdin after all that climbing, we
gave them the camera and told them to take a picture. We
figured they would see it through the viewer.
Children simply will not respond to scenery as such.
Skies, trees, rocks, ante-bellum mansions what do
they care about them? Their days are filled with wonder.
Like Thoreau, they can see the whole universe in a neigh
bor's meadow. They don't need the Grand Canyon.
This is why it is futile to expect children to be grateful
to you for taking them traveling. So admit it: you're not
taking them for their sake, but for yours. They have all
the time in the world to travel. But you have only a few
short years to travel with them.
Children are quite an asset, too. They will give you
4 Family Weekly. May 20, 1962
) traveling through Europe with children
fresh eyes with which to see, commentaries on the pass
ing scene you couldn't buy, audiences for your jokes, and
introductions to people you would never meet otherwise.
To enjoy these advantages, however, you have to make
a few concessions. A vacation with children must be tai
lored to their needs as well as your own. Here are some
pointers my husband and I have found helpful:
Age There are those who can make baby formulas
over charcoal fires and drive with two-year-olds in their
laps. Not us. We like our children old enough so they will
make a stab at throwing their jeans into their own suit
cases and be able to stay up late enough to have dinner
with us in a restaurant. It also helps if they can read. And
if they have had American history at school, they might
even give Civil War battlefields a second glance.
Transportation We try to avoid long unbroken
motor trips. If possible, we fly long distances and rent a
car for regional touring. But when going the whole way
by car is necessary, we look for ways to vary the trip. If
we can put the car on a ferry for a stretch, fine. If we can
detour to a side road, fine. And we will drive half-a-day
in preference to a whole day.
Accommodations Unless we are trapped in the
middle of a desert, the whole family never checks into one
room. We need to get out of one another's hair in the
coiu-se of a trip. Separate rooms do the trick.
We also try to find a motel with a pool; it doesn't mat
ter how big. One of the most satisfactory swims we ever
had was in an almost bathtub-sized pool near cabins
with outside plumbing in the Rockies.
Splitting Up Togetherness is the main reason for
touring with your children, but there are times when it can
be too much of a good thing. Fathers and sons can go to
baseball games while mothers and daughters shop. Chil
dren can dine at the motel restaurant while parents go into
town for dinner. Older children and parents can trot off to
the movies while the younger ones nap under the watch
ful eye of a baby sitter or an amiable chambermaid.
Sight-Seeing This should not be confused with
scenery watching. We take in every sight we can, and we
make detours to likely attractions. We do all the fascinat
ing, rewarding rubbernecking we wouldn't dream of doing
without our children. After all, why are you taking them
on a trip if not to get into the Children's Zoo, Disneyland,
and the Statue of Liberty?
A mfclVti f Owltw toe. 1M.UiIMIm.