How to Calm Down Nervous Parents when You Travel

Just wait until you have kids; that's what I tell my daughters when they get irritated at me for getting worried about them traveling abroad. If you have parents like me--who freak out when you tell them you're off to India or Thailand next week--here are some things you can do to calm them down.

1. Forget the power struggle. If your parents want you to call or text them you when you land, do it. It takes about 20 seconds to text, "Just landed!" from your cell/mobile phone. That's all you have to do and your parents will be happy.

2. Forward your itinerary to your parents before you leave. There's no need to write down any more information. Just simply forward the itinerary you receive from your airline or booking site to your folks. They will have everything they need: flight numbers, departure and arrival times, airline contact numbers.

3. There are many reliable and user-friendly flight tracking applications and websites available the days. Encourage your parents to visit or download one so they can follow your flight in progress. That often helps alleviate some anxiety. But warn them, however, that the information can sometimes be delayed by several minutes and to not panic. For example, it may take about ten minutes for the flight tracker to indicate you landed.

4. Give your parents the phone numbers and emails of the parents or relatives of your traveling companions. Encourage them to be in contact with each other. This way your parents will have someone to commiserate with.

5. Give your family the names and phone numbers of your hotels, tour company or anything else that will help your parents feel more secure in case they want to reach you. In fact, this is necessary for you, too, in case something happens at home and you need to know about it.

6. In the unlikely event that something happens where you are traveling, such as an earthquake (G-d Forbid), call your parents immediately to let them know you're OK. It's not enough to think that because you know you're OK that your parents will be fine once you have the time to get in touch with them. Parents and other family members go through hell when they hear about something happening while you're traveling. This is the time when you owe it to your loved ones to be in contact as soon as possible.

7. If you know there will be places that your cell phone won't work or that it may be difficult to reach you for some reason, let your parents know beforehand. This way they'll be prepared.

Yes, it may be a pain to have to report to our parents just to keep them calm while you're abroad. But this kindness may come back to you someday. Just wait until you have kids,
and they go prancing around the world.

Ilene Springer lives in and teaches EFL in Malta. She is author of An-American-in-Malta.com.