Posts Tagged ‘traveling with kids on business’

Business travelers who bring their kids out of town with them enjoy some unique benefits. While these parents have their own struggles on work trips, they get to appreciate memorable experience and quality time with their children.

1. Work flexibility – A key benefit of traveling on business with kids is the career flexibility it offers. Parents can arrange special programs for the kids that keep them entertained and happy, especially during long business meetings. These adjustments make it easy for parents to balance their work and family responsibilities, which helps to reduce parental anxiety.
2. Quality time with the kids – One of the biggest perks of business travel with kids is the ability to enjoy quality time as a family. Corporate workers who spend long hours at the office may have to be away from their children regularly. Getting to spend evenings and weekends with them out of town can ease the long hours apart.
3. Memorable family vacations – Business travelers who take trips to different locales and bring their kids along can make their time into miniature family vacations with a little planning. A weekend trip to a corporate conference can be fun for the kids with an afternoon tour of a local zoo or a swim in the hotel pool.
4. Helps kids learn about other places and people – Often, children spend their days with the same types of people, going to the same places, and doing the same things. This routine, while normal, can breed boredom and, possibly, a narrow view of the world. When children get a chance to accompany their parents on business trips, they learn new ways of doing things, meet new people, and begin to understand a vital quality: flexibility.
5. Kids get to see more of their parents’ responsibilities – Bringing kids along for work functions helps them see the value of the work their parents do. Seeing these experiences for themselves can help kids develop appreciation for the multiple roles their parents fill, including worker, parent, and caregiver. This may also encourage them to become more responsible, since they’ll understand how they can help their parents in their everyday duties.

Image c/o: Mollenborg

Going out of town with kids is a challenge of itself – taking them on a business trip is a whole different ball game. Parents often spend a lot of their time attending business meetings or conferences, while kids might be bored or, even worse, unattended. Taking the time to pre-arrange some activities for the little ones ahead of time can make traveling with kids much easier for business travelers.

1. Take it slowly. When you travel alone, you have the freedom to power walk through the airport, run down the block to catch a cab, or scarf down a business meal in a few minutes. Forget about doing that when you’re traveling with the young ones. You’ll have to slow your pace considerably to keep the kids along with you.
2. Prepare kids for the airport. A TSA pat down can be quite an experience for adults, much less kids. Explain the pat down process to the kids and let them know that they’re not in trouble but that the agents are there to help keep them safe.
3. Select a hotel with supervised kids’ activities. Several brand name hotel chains offer daily programs for young ones such as camps, field trips, and outings.
4. Consider using an outside agency for additional events. If your hotel doesn’t offer enough activities to keep your kids occupied while you’re in meetings, try an outside child care agency that offers additional programs.
5. Plan to stop for food and bathroom breaks often. Unlike most adults, kids tend to snack all day, rather than eat large meals. You may need to allow time in your daily schedule to stop frequently for snacks, or even better, pack snacks along with you to keep them full between meals. And, yes, expect to make multiple trips to the bathroom with them.
6. Be flexible. The number one key to traveling on business with kids is flexibility. Parents are generally familiar with this quality anyway, since taking care of children requires the ability to adjust quickly to changing circumstances. This is especially so on business trips. If a child suddenly becomes sick, you’ll need to adapt your circumstances accordingly. Make sure you communicate any particular needs with your employer to avoid potential conflict.

Image c/o: emmamccleary

As more and more parents engage in frequent business travel, hotels and corporate conferences are seeing a rise in small-sized guests. While parents may strike a work/life balance by having their kids accompany them on travels, they face a unique set of challenges, namely, keeping the kids entertained during lengthy conferences or meetings.

Between the years 1990 and 1994, the number of children accompanying corporate travelers rose 63 percent. This increase meant that employers and hotels needed to adjust to parents who wanted to spend time with their children while advancing their careers.

Several hotels and agencies provide activities and organized outings for little travelers. Large hotel chains such as Hyatt Hotels offer day camps for young ones for an additional fee. Guests of the hotel can pay a daily charge for the camp and have confidence that the kids will enjoy arts and crafts, field trips, and nature hikes, among other activities.

Some travel agencies have been formed specifically to cater to the young companions of business travelers. For example, the New Orleans agency Accent on Children’s Arrangements focuses on providing child care on-site at conferences and meetings so that parents can stay in close proximity to their children while attending work functions.  The company has done business with several large corporations, including Piggly-Wiggly, McDonald’s, and the American College of Surgeons.

Parents that plan on bringing kids to an out-of-town business event should clear it with their employers first. They should also take the responsibility for arranging supervision for the kids. While some companies offer this assistance, many do not and planning for child care in advance can avoid any difficulties in scheduling.

If a parent has trouble finding an organized activity for their children or locating a qualified child care provider during the trip, they may enjoy making a small family trip out of the event. Spouses can talk to one another in advance about clearing their schedules to make the trip together. This way, the parent that needs to attend the business meeting or conference can relax, knowing their children are in the best of hands. On a family business trip, parents can spend some quality time with the kids after the work conference is over for the day and children get to see more of the world around them.

Image c/o: livingonimpulse

Thanks to more moms juggling the demands of work and family, businesses are offering incentive programs for parents. Onsite child care is just one of the many incentives; now, some companies encourage their employees to take their children along on business trips. While this may not always be feasible, it may work on some endeavors and allow you to be with your child.

If you do decide to bring your children along, there are a few factors to keep in mind. You will need to upgrade your room to a suite, include a free day in your travels and discuss what you expect from your little ones. You will also need to bring along things to keep the kids busy such as movies, video games and coloring books.

But what do you do when you get to your destination? Surely, your kids can’t sit in on the business meetings or stick around all day at the product show. No, but there are other options that are enjoyable for your children, while providing the peace of mind that your children are kept safe.

First, you can hire a babysitter using a national database of reliable sitters in the area. While this may seem like you’re pulling a name from a book, these databases run background checks and give detailed information about the candidate, such as whether he or she is CPR certified, has experience working with children or other certifications you can rely on.

A second option is to go through an onsite children’s program that provides entertainment and care for kids. These facilities are specifically designed to care for children whose parents are working nearby. They understand that the children are along with their working parents and provide stimulation and fun for kids of all ages, within the boundaries of a safe and often times, accredited facility.

In many cases, your company may arrange the care prior to the travels. For example, they may partner with an onsite child care facility that will arrange activities, meals and care for the employees’ children.

If you bring your children with you regularly, you’ll find what works best for you and your family. Having a one-on-one sitter that can show your kids around the city may work best, or you may feel most comfortable leaving your children at an onsite facility that is licensed or certified.

The best part is – there’s no need to leave your kids at home if you don’t want to. With more incentive programs, companies are partnering up with other child care arrangements that allow you balance both traveling and parenting.

Image: gopackandtravel.blogspot.com

Have you ever thought it would be great to take your kids with you on your next big trip but couldn’t figure out how?  Or what about taking your kids with you to great cities all over the world to explore and have fun while you participate in a conference, meeting, trade show or other business event?

If you’ve had those thoughts but couldn’t quite figure out the logistics you are not alone.  And the good news is you’ve come to the right place.

Welcome to the ACCENT on Children’s Arrangement Blog where we will be discussing all topics related to traveling with your children while you are on business.

What We Do

ACCENT on Children’s Arrangements, Inc. is a national company with staff trained to provide convention, conference and meeting child care and babysitting services. We will supervise and entertain children with age-appropriate, curriculum-enriched environments containing many hands-on creative activities. ACCENT’s talented staff produces stimulating children’s programs on-site with scrupulous attention to children’s health and safety needs. Our specially trained, professional supervisors are CPR and Pediatric First Aid certified. ACCENT’s on-site staff includes teachers, professional child care providers and mothers who simply love working with children and have completed ACCENT’s specialized training program.

ACCENT employees’ references have been thoroughly checked. ACCENT’s goal is to produce positive and lasting memories for the children attending the Camp by adhering to high standards of quality and building educational curriculums to engage the children.