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Berger’s Burg: Family travel

By Gloria Berger

This is August, the month when most shrinks are away, kids are through with camp and many families take long car trips. This is unfortunate, because nothing makes a person crazier than taking a long car trip with their kids or grandchildren.

Why is it that the moment children are placed into a moving vehicle they need to be entertained? Most reasonable people (meaning adults), are perfectly content to let the miles roll by while listening to the radio or talking to other passengers.

But are these perfectly pleasant activities acceptable to children? No way. Fifteen minutes without a television or a computer and they act as if you have just strapped them in for a tooth extraction without Novacain.

As a family-gathering grandmother, I am a sucker for every car toy ever invented. Even for the half-hour ride to Jones Beach, my car is stocked with amusements for my young grandchildren. I have Travel Bingo, books filled with mazes and anagrams, magnetic Tangram, electronic Hangman and miniature Colorforms.

I am not the only one. I checked out a few children