Escapees May June 2015 Demo

Different V iewpoints

Traveling with children? Connect with other RVers at www.fulltimefamilies.com .

Photo courtesy of www.rvia.org .

You, too, may be an avid RVer if:

1. A thorough housecleaning takes 15 minutes. 2. When you dislike your neighbors, you move away. 3. When you drive a small car, you have to be careful not to make wide turns. 4. When you talk about “dry-camping,” you don’t mean it’s boring. 5. When you hear the term “dump valve,” you don’t think of a body part. 6. When a stranger asks how often you need to dump, you’re not offended. 7. When the host on the nature show refers to toads, it finally dawns on you that he’s talking about frogs. 8. The best show you’ve seen in the past year was an RV show. 9. When your RV is in storage for the winter, you visit a different RV dealer every week to get your fix. 10. You had to repair 37 things on your new RV the first month you had it, and you still love it. 11. Your home-sweet-home has a steering wheel and gets really bad fuel mileage. 12. Your first cross-country trip with your new RV is a tour of RV repair shops. 13. You’re in your 60s and still living in the first home you purchased when you were 24, but you’re on your ninth RV. 14. Your RV is less than a year old, and you’re dream- ing about the next one you’ll buy. 15. When some people you meet hear that you are an Escapee, they think you broke out of prison. Terry Hager #48315 Terry Hager has been an avid RVer for 40 years and a full-time RVer for 18 years. Besides his passion for travel, he also has a passion for writing and has published numerous articles, many in Escapees magazine, and three books with Amazon, including one of RV humor.

RVing with Children: Safety First Traveling with children can be both fun and challenging. It is fun to watch them experience first-time adventures, but challenging if you can’t keep them occupied while enroute or during an excursion fit for a 40-year-old. Another factor when traveling with kids in an RV is their seat location. If the child is under 40 pounds, or if you are in, or traveling to, California, under the age of six or 80 pounds, your child must be in an approved car or booster seat. RVs may limit the location of that seat since you can’t place a seat in a side-facing or swivel seat. That means the safest place for the child may actually be in the front passenger seat if no other seats within the RV are fixed for- ward. Check the manufacturer’s recommendations if this situation applies. If your children are older, don’t fall into a false sense of safety from being in a recreation vehicle to think it is okay for the children (or adults) to run free and not be seat-belted in while the vehicle is in motion. I think every parent has a story about distractions when traveling from sibling squabbles or sudden loud unex- plained screams or other bodily functions that take us by surprise. Remember that driving your RV is not the same as your compact car, and sudden swerves or stops can be more dangerous to your family than the impending doom that you will administer to get the children to settle down. If you are a grandparent and it has been a while since traveling with under-age tikes, take a few minutes before leaving to ensure you have child-proofed your cabin. You don’t need a three-year-old to find that a spray bot- tle of glass cleaner or another eye-stinging substance can be “fun” for a time to kill the road boredom. Take some precautions so you don’t have to locate an out-of-town medical provider. Along these lines, stow away in a safe location your children’s current shot records and medical information with your health insurance card and a list of any allergies or other conditions that would be helpful if medical atten- tion is required. The same is true for your pets. A small

64 . ESCAPEES | May/June 2015 | www.escapees.com