Parents Traveling for Business

Although the availability of webcasts and conference calls has decreased the amount of business travel, for many parents business trips are still a necessity. The following tips should help to make the adjustment easier for the entire family.

• If you travel frequently, create a list of household instructions, routines, and emergency contacts that can be re-used. Then add the information just for the current trip, and you won’t need to re-create the instructions every time you plan a trip.

• Put stickers on a map or globe to show the children in advance where the parent will be traveling. Add one for home base. As the trip progresses, the children can follow the parent’s progress.

• To show how long a parent will be gone, make a calendar and indicate where the parent will be as well as the activities happening at home. Children can cross off the days to better understand when the parent will return. Older children can give parents a schedule of their activities, so the absent parent will know what activities the child has.

• Leave a package of small gifts (books, bubbles, note paper, markers, stickers) or notes at home and suggest the child opens one each day the parent is away. Counting the remaining items is another way for children to understand when mom or dad will return. Discussing which gifts or notes have been opened is a good topic of conversation during phone calls with the parent.

• Make phone calls more productive by asking specific questions like, “How was the Little League game?” “What did you do when you went to the park today?” or “What did you have for dinner tonight?” when you call. Using a speakerphone will allow everyone at home to hear what the parent has to say. If a young child wanders away, the conversation can still continue. Calling right before bedtime may be more difficult then after school or in the morning.

• Fax machines can be used to send or receive detailed messages. They can even be used to help with homework or see a special drawing or school report.

• E-mail is another great way to stay in touch especially when different time zones make telephone contact a challenge. If possible, send a few pictures of the area mom or dad is visiting. Postcards are fun for children to receive, but frequently parents are back home before the postcards arrive.

• Pre-record some of the children’s favorite books, so that the parent at home can play them as a bedtime story. If parents are so inclined they could even take a duplicate copy of a favorite book with them and read it to the child over the phone while the youngster follows along at home.

• Children are thrilled with a present from the returning parent. Try bringing a gift representing the area where you traveled, such as a small doll in native garb or a tiny model of the White House from Washington, D.C. Some parents will bring home a new book and make a habit of reading it to the child the first night they are back home.

• Readjustment is inevitable. It may be at this time that a child will lash out with increased tantrums or rejection. Patience and empathy will go a long way towards facilitating the readjustment period.

Before and after the trip, parents need to be aware of the signals they give regarding business travel. If parents complain constantly or seem overly stressed, the children will pick up on these signals. Business trips need not mean parental guilt trips, and the positive parenting tips above should make business travel more enjoyable for the entire family.