When we become parents, we constantly think of ways to entertain our kids. One of the things we do is plan for family recreation. In Malaysia, I find we can do so many things. We can go fishing, camping, trekking, going to the malls, playing at games arcades in the malls, etc. Possibilities are limitless.

One thing I wanna do is going camping with my family when the kids are grown a little more. As far as I know, we don’t have recreation vehicles in Malaysia. Otherwise, I think, there will be a lot of families with rv’s that have rv extended warranty.

There are actually websites that offer warranties for recreational vehicles, motorhome, etc. All we need to do is surf the net.

Anyways, with or without rv, I’m sure we’re going camping with my family next time.

good quality car seats are important for traveling with kids. when my first child was born, we bought a brand new carseat for him, sponsored by a friend from the US. i was told to never buy a second hand car seats as we don’t know how the first owner handled it or whether it had been in a car accident already. but of course, when baby girl, my second child, came out and we desperately need to have a car seat for her, i looked up from e-bay for some secondhand ones. i found one which was fairly new, the baby barely used the car seat. and it was for a good price. i forgot the brand but i think it’s mothercare. you know if it’s mothercare, you would know it’s of good quality. in UK, you are not allowed to travel with kids without car seats. here in Malaysia, they haven’t imposed it yet. but when my family and i have a long-distance travel, we make sure to use car seats for both my kids. better be safe than be sorry.

can’t afford a big family vacation? take mini vacations close to home. day trips can provide a great deal of fun and a much-needed break. next week will be my son’s school vacation. we’re not going far for a holiday but we’re planning on going for a day trip to some of the nice places in malaysia.

by: janet

As a family, it is important to go for a break or getaway from time to time. It fosters bonding between members of the family. Fathers could be busy because of the nature of their jobs and gets few or no time alone for the family. Mothers could get very busy keeping the household together and yet not enough time to spend with kids and husbands. Children could get very busy playing or studying or by being with peers they spent less and less time with the parents. The very obvious solution is for each member of the family to pause in whatever they’re doing and go for a vacation just with family alone. How do we set family time and how often?

• once a day – set aside one hour a day to talk. It could be around the table for a meal. Talk about the experiences you have had for that day.
• once a week – set aside one day a week to be with the family. Usually, Sunday is the best time to do so. You may go to church for worship or go to a park, or go to a cinema. The possibilities are endless. We just started going to the cinema as a family. My boy is already almost 4 years old and my girl is almost 2 years old. Glad both of them did very well inside the cinema. We watched Wall-E. The first ever movie we watched in the cinema as a family
• once a month – stay overnight somewhere else.
• once a year – go for a 3-5 day vacation. There are a lot of holiday destinations available and you can check them online. Cheaperthanhotels.com offers a last minute accommodation deals for the family. The offers could come with free breakfast, free usage of facilities or even free access to the internet. They have hotels all over Europe.

One of the best memories we have as a family is when we go for a break. We could do things together without interruptions. We could discover new things together. And the best of all, we could create a more special bond as a family.

by: janet