Michelle Duffy, better known as Wandermom tells this story

“In Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, my son asked for the first time about the differences between the comforts he was used to in our home and what he had observed while we were traveling. He was eight years old and was intrigued by the people who were selling trinkets on the beach outside our hotel.

One evening, as we walked along the far end of the beach, he noticed these vendors inhabited shacks. He wanted to know why their living conditions were so poor. Although this is a complicated topic, we felt that he deserved an answer. My husband and I explained the differences around the world. We talked about our lifestyle in the U.S. and revealed that not every child has a house or school like him.”

I have certainly discovered that traveling with kids has a way of surfacing important by topics that don’t always come up in everyday life.  Some have easy answers and others not.  I am a firm believer in exposing children to real life even if some of it is hard to swallow.  Rather than shielding them from the pain and injustices that others experience, our family sees the natural questions that kids ask as teaching moments. My kids have never ceased to amaze me with their thoughtful responses.

Michelle Duffy (aka Wandermom1), author of  Wanderlust and Lipstick: Traveling with Kids, and mom of two, shares her widsom of how to approach these delicate topics that come up as you explore the world with your kids in her article, “Kids Conversations on the Road:  What is Poverty Mom?”

Other Related Articles:

• 17 Tips for Traveling Internationally with your Kids
• Preparing Kids to Travel
• Passports for the Junior Jetset

I don’t know how many of you are fans of Jon & Kate Plus 8, but they are quickly becoming the Brittany story of 2009.

Last month, Kate was the cover story for this month’s US Weekly Magazine. In a nutshell, Kate was caught at the pool in Bald Head Island, North Carolina texting on her phone, cuddling with her bodyguard/loveman and ignoring her kids.

“When Kate sat on the edge of the pool, she told one of [the twins], ‘If you splash me, you’re dead meat,’” Sweeney says. “She was not joking at all.”

The child’s response?

“She said, ‘Mommy, you are mean!’”

This whole thing begs the question of how do you handle kids while on vacation.

Whether on vacation or just in the backyard, there are plenty of times where I came be downright rude to my son because it’s just been a long day or I didn’t get enough sleep the night before because he was coughing or work is stressing me out and I say something that I don’t mean and want to pull a “rewind.” Unfortunately, Kate won’t be regretful of her actions until she sees herself on the cover.

I think that it’s important, especially while on vacation with kids to bake it time for yourself and your hubbie to rejuvenate. Whether that’s time at the spa, a quick nap, or just grabbing a froyo topped with heath bar crunch, taking some R&R time is key for my sanity. With a quick snooze or sugar inhalation, I can usually transform back into a normal functioning citizen of the world as well as a mom of a 2 year old.

So, how do you do it while on vacation? My husband and I make sure to do something we find relaxing during our son’s 2 hour afternoon nap. He usually heads off to the golf course to hit a bucket of balls and when it’s my turn, I typically go for a sugar fix.

We’d love to get a babysitter, so that we can actually do something together, but unfortunately we’re total weenies when it comes to having strangers take care of our son. He’d probably be fine, but we’d be totally stressed.

I can’t even imagine what it must be like for Kate to have 8. I’m glad that she has nannies to help her with the kids each day especially since Jon is a totally jerk and has walked out on her and the kids. The amount of time that’s available to her as downtime must be pretty sparse. If she wants some time where she doesn’t have to focus on the kids, put them in a kids program so that at least they’re having fun and someone’s focused on them having fun and step away. People often don’t see the whole picture and forget that kid’s are often watched by other helping hands. Also, given the fact that Kate gets so many freebies these days, I’m sure a hotel would be happy to have her kids in their children’s activities program.

This week, our family did something crazy together.  We took to the waves together for the first time.  There we were, a 6 year old with his mom and dad totally clueless about what to do, and nervous about how we were going to survive the next 2 hours.  (3 year old brother posed for some pics on the surf board but was too young for the lesson).   The experience was phenomenal to say the very least.   First of all, we were so happy with our surf instructors from the Surf Academy by Dane Keahole on Waikiki.  But more significantly, the experience of trying to gain a new skill that none of us had ever tried before was such a bonding experience.  There are such rare moments where you are at the same starting point as your 6 year old, struggling and fearing the same things.

For our 6 year old, the experience of watching mom and dad take on a new challenge alongside him seem to be particularly energizing.   He seemed determined to out do us…and it really wasn’t hard for him to do so.  For me, I found it wonderfully freeing to know nothing more about something than my child.   I didn’t feel the need correct him or give any tips.  We were all in for the ride together.   This will be a memory that we carry with us for many many years to come.  So, if you are thinking of putting yourself out there to try something totally novel!  Go ahead and take the whole family with you.  This is the stuff great memories are made of.

Other Kid-Friendly Activities in Oahu, Hawaii

Would you vote an 18 year old to the school board? Did you even know that an 18 year old could run for public office?  What about voting a 20 year old to be your mayor?

Jason Pollock, film-maker, writer, activist and twitter fanatic (@Jason_Pollock) just released a movie called “The Youngest Candidate” in partnership with Oscar winning producer Lawrence Bender (“Inconvenient Truth” and “Pulp Fiction”), Worldwide Pants (David Letterman’s Studio) and Balance Vector Productions.  Here’s the trailer:

The film is about the few remarkable teenagers who have the passion to run for public office despite their youth, inexperience, and the cynicism directed towards them.  This documentary follows four boys and girls who are coming of age through the electorial process.  It captures their exuberant enthusiasm, unbending idealism, and the unfettered passion of youth.  These brave young politicians face ridicule on every front, but persevere through to election day.

The topic that Pollock covers in this documentry is fascinating, but what I find even more intriguing is the preciousness of unbriddled optimism, passion, and idealism that comes with youth.  Those of us who are able to maintain this through the curve balls that life throws our way are the ones who will be able to rise beyond ourselves.  Unfortunately, these qualities are often beaten out of us by life circumstances or by well and not so well meaning adults well before we enter our teens.

As a first time entrepreneur chasing after a dream, I find myself identifying in many ways with these young passionates.   Before starting Trekaroo slightly over a year ago when we decided to jump in with two feet, our hearts, our paycheck, and bank account, I couldn’t even begin to imagine the merciless challenges that would face us daily as entrepreneurs.   Without the same unbriddled optimism that these teens possess to face the seemingly insurmountable, we would have given up even before launching Trekaroo.  Recession or no recession, being an entrepreneur is both the most exhilarating and nerve wrecking thing I’ve ever done in my life.  It is also a journey our family could never have persevered along without family and friends.  Family who have indulged our dreams, sometimes blindly, but most of the time by biting back their fears and instead choosing to help us.

As parents, most of us want our children to believe that they can accomplish anything.  We offer countless words of encouragement starting when our little ones can barely rollover.  We make personal sacrifices to ensure that our kids receive an education that puts them in good standing on the path to success.  Some of us practically sell our souls to provide our children with every opportunity to discover their unique talents and passions. At the same time, we also have a strong urge to shield them from any disappointment, ridicule, failure, and poverty.  Essentially, we tell our kids to reach for the sky but as soon as we think the sky is too high, we pull down heavy rain clouds to drown out their dreams. What a paradox!

When I picture myself as a parent to one of these young candidates, I just know that I’d be the one trying to adjust my child’s expectations or attempting to talk him into a smaller dream.  Of course, failure is painful. But as with most jourynes, it’s not the final desitnation that matters most, rather it’s about the lessons we learn on the road through struggling and overcoming challenges. The faith to embark on new and unknown journeys is something we are born with, but it is delicate. I believe that as parents, we should take great care to guard it.

“…we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope…” Romans 5:3