Travel with Kids

If you really “get into” pageants, you’ll find that you run out of local pageant pretty quickly. If you and your daughter are enjoying pageantry, you’ll want to compete in out-of-town pageants sooner or later. Oftentimes lots of glitz pageants can be found near enough to your town for car travel to be in order. Of course, this means travel with kids – or at least with one kid.

Travelling with kids in tow can be challenging, at best. Because most kids are naturally active, tying them down in one spot for hours via a seatbelt isn’t usually their idea of fun. They get bored and restless, and when they’re unhappy, you’re unhappy. You’ll be bombarded constantly with “are we there yets” and “how many more miles?” Have a strategy beforehand for dealing with this!

Kids travel games

Kids travel games can make a big difference in how pleasant your trip is. You can find a variety of kids travel games online and in some toy stores. Be careful not to use games that require the child’s attention to be focused only within the car. This can cause motion sickness, which you definitely want to avoid. Books are something else that you don’t want. Reading and motion sickness are best pals.

One old favorite is the Car Tag Game. On your computer, make a list of all fifty states, with a line beside each state on which the child can place a check. When she spots a car with a license plate from a state, she can check it off her list.

You can make the game a little more challenging for older kids, too. Instead of just supplying a list of states, you can make it more complicated by asking questions like, “Which is the Peach State?” or “Which state is First in Flight?” The answers can be found on the license plates!

Not only is this game free and educational, it serves another purpose, as well. It draws the child’s attention outside the vehicle, helping to prevent motion sickness. You can create the same type of game with animals, too. You could include things like a black horse, a brown horse, a black-and-white cow, a goat, a spotted pig, a chicken, etc.

Motion Sickness

If your daughter has had trouble with motion sickness before, there’s a good chance that she’ll get car sick again. There are a number of over-the-counter anti-motion sickness and anti-nausea medications available, usually safe for children over the age of two years.

Many parents don’t like the idea of giving their children drugs – even over-the-counter preparations. If you feel this way, but you need something to prevent nausea and vomited when travelling with kids, consider a product called SeaBands. Sea Bands are “bracelets” worn on the wrists that work through the use of acupressure. They’re inexpensive, safe, and effective. Their effectiveness has been proven by studies at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Sea-Bands come in vivid colors that kids will love, and they work on adults, too. Order Sea Bands below.

To get more tips for travel with kids, just click! You’ll get more ideas for making travelling with children a pleasant experience, including prevention for motion sickness.

Pageant Directors: Host a Pageant Party!

As you know from my other blog posts, I have several grandkids, a niece, and a nephew who are or have been pageant queens or kings. They've been involved with a few beauty pageants that involved appearances and get-togethers. Some of these were for the winners only, while a couple of others had parties for all the contestants before the actual pageant - like the day or the weekend before.

I think this is a great idea! It encourages camaraderie among the contestants and among the parents. It gives the contestants a chance to get to know the director, and the director to get to know her contestants or her kings/queens. It also makes everyone feel more at ease, and in the case of a pre-pageant get-together for everyone, the contestants won't be nearly as nervous on stage. This is especially true with younger kids who might be entering their first child pageant or toddler pageant.

This doesn't have to be a fancy affair. In fact, laid back and casual is better! A cookout is a great idea. Find some great BBQ cooking recipes, and have an outdoor event. If the weather isn't suitable for cooking and dining outdoors, have a sit-down meal with some tasty Southern food. If you don't want to do all the work yourself, have each contestant's parent bring a dish for a pot luck supper.

Southern food is, well, uniquely "Southern," just like the glitz pageants phenomenon is. Sure, the rest of the nation might have a few glitz pageants here and there, but it's not ingrained into the culture the way it is in the South.

Believe me, when pageant directors "go the extra mile" for their contestants, the contestants and parents appreciate it and remember it. They'll be much more likely to enter one of your pageants again, and they'll be certain to spread the word, too!