We love family vacations, and we love off-the-grid travel, especially challenging treks to ancient ruins. Our last big trips have been to Peru, multi-day camping-hiking adventures that have taken us – two adults and two teenage boys — through cloud forests, along mountain ridges overlooking spectacular valleys, and inside the walls of secluded Incan ruins. We have gotten to spend time with people who live much the way their ancestors did 500 years ago, and learned up-close how coffee beans are farmed. We have seen the well-preserved treasurers of a 2,000-year-old tomb, and watched two male llamas have a serious duel. We also rode mules for the first time, and got a whole new perspective on butterflies (some of the most beautiful species we saw eat dung. Yuck.)

While adventure travel has its rewards, it also has its challenges. Our most recent trip to the Chachapoyas region of northern Peru involved some of the most rigorous hiking we have done, and after I described the trek to a colleague, his response was, “That sounds awesome but I never want to go on vacation with you!”

Over the next few days, I’ll share tips for planning a great family adventure vacation. I know it may seem early to start thinking about vacations now (didn’t school just start?), but planning ahead is an important part of a successful adventure vacation.

Today’s Family Adventure Travel tip: Choosing the destination

• Start with climate. You’ll want to avoid the rainy season, and stay away from regions where the temperature is at either extreme.
• Balance the length of time you have to spend on the vacation with the amount of time it takes to get there and back. For instance, it took us almost two days of travel to get from New York City to the start of our most recent trek, and two days to get back, including an 11-hour layover in Lima.
• Consider jet lag, especially if you are taking a trip right before the start of school, or during spring break when students will come back to mid-terms.
• Be honest about the abilities in your group. If your route involves any technical climbing or strenuous hiking, make sure your family can handle the demands. And don’t just take the tour operator’s word for ability level required – do online research to find blogs or forum posts written by travelers who have already done the trip you plan to take.
• If you are using an outfitter, ask for references. For treks in foreign countries, we’ve found it best to choose full-service groups that provide an English-speaking guide, a cook and porters who carry the gear and pitch the tents at the end of the day. (The dollar still goes a long way in Peru and in other South American countries, and adventure tourism is welcome in the region as a growing source of employment.)
• Try to avoid overnight flights at the start of the trip. You want to be well-rested when you begin.
• Include your whole family in the planning process.  Anticipation is part of the fun!

Have you ever gone on an adventure vacation? Was it a “successful” trip? Would you do it again?

The statistics are in, and happily there were no deaths from heatstroke among U.S. football players during the 2002 season (or so far in 2003), according to the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injuries at the University of North Carolina. About 1.5 million children play full contact football each year in the U.S., and in most years a few are lost to preventable heat injuries.

Children should have access to all the water they want during practice and games. They should drink cool water at least every 20 minutes throughout strenuous exercise, or a cool electrolyte drink if the exercise lasts longer than an hour.

Kids also need time out of their helmets at least every 30 minutes to cool off. In 2002, five players died from football injuries.

One was a semi-pro player, three were in high school, and one was in a youth league. All of the fatal injuries were head injuries. All players need to be taught never to make first contact with the head, whether blocking or tackling.

In 2003, for the first time, a new generation of youth football helmets computer-designed to prevent head injuries is available for young players. I’m excited when children are involved in sports or physical activity, but we want to do all we can to make those activities both safe and fun.

A summer festival in the park, splashing, swimming, enjoying new outdoor games, and old favorites… Dancing, biking, bouncing, jumping rope, roller-skating, playing volleyball or tennis or soccer…A festive tent, the aroma of a delicious picnic as participants learn how to grill low-fat foods… I’d like to introduce you to Hearts N’Parks, an exciting program now taking place at 56 sites across the United States, and available to hundreds of thousands of people.

Kids love it because of the good food and active fun. I love it because it can be a fun way to build habits of healthy eating and healthy active play.

Is it working? A preliminary study of 1200 participants was released on June 25, 2003. The results are as exciting as the days in the park.  Hearts N’Parks is a joint program of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA).

The programs for children and adolescents take place as after school activities or as summer day camps. In the study, children who participated in Hearts N’Parks increased significantly in healthy-eating knowledge, healthy-eating intention, and in actual healthy eating over a period of 7 to 11 weeks. They also reported learning or wanting to play again an average of 5 fun activities that they hadn’t tried before, and getting better at 7 activities they already enjoyed. (The program is also available for adults, who improved even more – adding an average of 2 hours of new physical activity a week after participating in Hearts N’Parks).

What a wonderful way to address the national obesity epidemic, using neighborhood parks for learning to enjoy good food and good fun! You might want to contact the NRPA at programs@nrpa.org or at 1-800-649-3042 to find out about bringing Hearts N’Parks to your area. Or you might want to take the family to the park for your own day of healthy food and healthy fun. Enjoy!

As parents, it’s our job to teach our kids about the wonders of the great outdoors. It’s also important to keep them healthy and safe so they can get the most out of their outdoor experiences. Dr. Greene’s Great Outdoors Topic Center is filled with information about what you might want to bring on your adventures- both big and small.

Whether your child is a baby or a teen, now is the best time to be sure that active, physical play is a part of her life for at least 30 minutes every day. Childhood obesity in the US has doubled in the last 20 years. February 2002 guidelines released by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education draw on evidence of benefit from over 40 scientific studies to urge those caring for children to be mindful each day of encouraging movement and motor skills. Boring calisthenics are not what the doctor orders. Instead, look for anything fun that gets kids walking, running, rolling, balancing, jumping, kicking, throwing, or dancing. If they’re too young for these, engage them in tummy-time or playing with a rattle. One of our important tasks as parents is to teach a lifelong habit of active fun.