Flying With Youngsters

A few thoughts on flying with young children:

1 - Up until 18 months, it makes a lot of sense to fly with your child as a lap baby.  We found that our son wouldn't really stay put in his own seat anyway.  Between 18-24 months, things get a bit tight.  After 24 months, airlines will make you buy your child his/her own seat anyway (and frankly at that point you probably won't want to keep your son/daughter on your lap anyway).

2 - Think in advance about food.  Airlines have cut WAY back on in-flight food.  Gone are the days when you could expect even a mediocre in-flight meal, unless you're flying across the country.  Even on long flights meals frequently aren't served -- United eliminated meals on its SFO -> Chicago flights long ago.  While you can sometimes buy a sandwich or a box of crackers and junk food in flight, some kids won't eat that stuff even if you'd let them.  Bring some food with you.  Bring an empty bottle and/or sippy cup and buy your drinks once you get past security (and give yourself a bit of time to do that).

3 - Think in advance about what your child is going to do while in flight.  Bring some activities.  We've found sticker books to be great on a long flight.  Bring some headphones that your child can wear comfortably and hook into a computer with a DVD player/iPad with some saved kids shows/videos.

4 - Pack your diapers and wipes where you can get to them quickly.

5 - Bring 2 changes of clothes for your child on long flights -- "just in case."  Also, bring some cloth diapers or a small hand towel (again, just in case, to clean up messes).

6 - Make sure your bags have wheels (if at all possible).  Helps on long walks through the terminal.

7 - Where you can't do #6, spring for the push cart that you find in the terminal.

8 - Find out if your child seat will actually fit on the play you'll be flying on.  We've frequently found that the seat takes up so much room there's no place for legs or feet to go.  The person in the seat in front of your child will have an especially bumpy ride as your son/daughter kicks the seat (especially if they try to recline).

9 - Try to be mellow.  Note - this is way easier said than done.  A corollary:  try to give yourself time to get to a connecting flight (especially if you're flying into an airport with a large terminal).

--TC Daddy

Toddlers in Class

Our experience with our 3-year old son in Capoeira class has generally been very positive.  He is enthusiastic.  He enjoys it.  He particularly likes running around and practicing a few of the poses that they have learned (eg, "the crab" and "the bear").  He also seems to be getting pretty good at doing high kicks and dropping into the Capoeira defensive posture (crouched down, arms bent at the elbows and held on either side of the head to block kicks/punches).  The music is rhythmic and fun.

Our hope is that the class also helps teach him listening skills.  This isn't an easy skill to acquire, especially since he doesn't attend a class on a daily basis.  Sometimes the instructor is tough to follow from a 3-year old perspective, and is teaching more complex moves to the 5-year-olds in the class.  And if it gets too hard to follow, our son is creative and will do his own thing.  We think that creativity is an important quality to develop.  But, that can get disruptive in a martial arts class with many 3-5 year olds, which depends on maintaining some semblance of discipline.

So, we've been talking to our son before getting to class about how he's going to listen to the teacher, he's going to follow instructions, it's important to do that, etc, etc.  This seems to work pretty well.  But if we asked the instructor, he'd probably say that this hasn't entirely resolved things.

On balance, we think our son is getting something out of the experience.  We'd recommend it, and we're likely to continue the activity.  That said, this raises a broader question about classes that are offered to kids in multiple age ranges.  3-5 doesn't seem like a big spread, but the attention span and ability to process and carry out complex instructions seems to be pretty different in a toddler who just turned 3 and a child either about to -- or actually in -- kindergarten.

--TC Daddy    

Capoeira in Berkeley

We have had an interesting and mostly fun experience with a pre-Capoeira class in Berkeley.  Capoeira is a "dynamic Afro-Brazilian martial art that incorporates movement and music in an enjoyable and spirited atmostphere."

Offered by the United Capoeira Association - Berkeley at a studio on San Pablo Avenue (just north of University Ave.), the pre-Capoeira class includes kids ages 3-5.  As you can imagine when 10-14 kids at that age get together for a very active class, it is indeed both enjoyable and spirited (as you can see):

Good Night [Insert Location Here]

I really wish that I had come up with the concept behind the "Good Night World" series of books.

If you're not familiar with it, these books take a child through the day in a given geographical location, with cartoon-like pictures of kids and adults in various memorable locales.  The books frequently also take the child from sight to sight and/or from season to season.

For example, the book "Good Night California" starts out on what looks like a southern California beach and pier.  It then ranges through many of the geographies of California -- Hollywood, Yosemite, San Francisco, Mt. Whitney, Sacramento, a Central Vally-ish scene, etc.  The text is simple, and pretty engaging for little ones.

The authors/publisher clearly know they have a good thing going.  The "Good Night World" books have proliferated wildly -- there's Good Night Washington, DC.  That one progresses through the seasons, going from spring at the start of the book in the morning, through summer in the middle of the book, and ending with a set of snowy scenes at the end.  Some folks might like that; I got used to it.  Good Night New York (complete with construction workers building at Ground Zero).  Good Night Charleston.  Good Night New Jersey.  Etc, etc.

At one point a bit over a year ago, I was reading "Good Night Beach" (link below) to my son on a regular basis.  There's a line in there along the lines of, "Good night surfcasters, catching fish from the beach."  I vividly recall my son, just around his second birthday, whispering the words when he saw each page, before I read them -- including the bit about the surfcasters (I am not a surfcaster, and I don't think I had used the word before reading the book).  He had memorized the text.  

Anyway, given the many, many hours I've spent reading these books with my son, this series has a special place in my heart.

--TC Daddy

Lunch Spot

Looking for a great place for food for a picnic, play date, or lunch date (or perhaps need catering for an event)?  Try La Boulange de Danville (405 Railroad Avenue, Danville, CA 94526; telephone (925) 838-1200).

La Boulange is a local favorite in the Alamo and Danville area.  It is a wonderful place to pick up breakfast or food for a picnic before heading to the park, to meet for a playdate.  Also for food for a birthday party or other event (they do catering, too).  

I discovered  this place through friends living in the Alamo, Danville, and San Ramon area when all eight of us met for lunch there with our little ones.

La Boulange has locations around the Bay Area, including Lafayette -- and nine stores in San Francisco.

Livorna Park

Livorna Park in Danville is a great place to go on a lazy sunny day.  The park features a volleyball area, basketball court, playground, large grassy area, and picnic tables for small and large groups (also public bathrooms, which can be important).

The only drawback to this park is that it is near a main road.  I wouldn't advise going there without help with more than one child.