THE CAMPERS COMPANION

Not all children react to travel with enthusiasm and the diplomatic aplomb of a Shirley Temple.  Some are beset with fear at any slight change in their environment: fear of strangers, of sleeping in a tent, of different foods, fear of heights, of a boat's tippy motion or the close proximity of water.  Even in the same family, one child might be intrepid and daring, another terror-struck at each new unknown.

As travel is full of changes, helping fearful children gain confidence and learn to feel comfortable is important.  Fortunately, much of this happens naturally as children travel.  The more adventuring experience they have, the more relaxed they become.  The thing to remember with any of these childish fears is that they are natural and quite common.  Forcing a child into a situation that scares him without providing any understanding help will only perpetuate the problem.

By using the following tricks, or others you devise yourselves to make children feel comfortable, their fears will gradually disappear of their own accord.  As Colin remarked one day while watching families on the beach with young children: "Why do parents always try to get their kids to go in the water?  Why don't they just let them play on the beach where they're happy?"  It's a lesson we parents could all learn from, allowing our children to expand their horizons at a pace they feel comfortable with.

Hardly anyone enjoys being stared at by strangers, including children.  The more unusual your destination, the more attention your young will attract.  As blonde twins, Tristan and Colin have endured everything from blatant stares to ritual head-touching, culminating in the time a particularly brave Moroccan boy rushed up and kissed Colin on the mouth.  For shy children, all this attention can be terrifying.

If you have a baby that doesn't like being passed from lap to lap, carry him out of reach in a backpack.  Let shy children stay close and cling to you during this early adjustment period.  Don't be irritated by their clinging to you, or embarrassed by their apparent lack of social graces.  They'll branch out on their own soon enough as they gain confidence.  Experienced traveling families all agree that children who travel become outgoing, even at a very early age.

For children who react with horror at the mere appearance of some new kind of food on their plate, play it safe with familiar items until their natural curiosity takes over.  Just about everywhere in the world has basic ingredients like eggs, milk, bread, noodles, rice, potatoes, meat and fruit.  As most types of adventuring mean you will be doing  your own cooking most of the time, serving children the simple foods they are used to shouldn't be difficult.  Don't bother insisting they try just one bite of something new.  If their mind is already set against it, they certainly won't admit to liking something even if they do.  After a while, watching you gobble down foreign foods with obvious relish will prove too much for them and they will give it a try, figuring if grownups like it, it must be something special.