Spending a Vacation in Kochi, Kerala with Your Children

For today's children, knowledge and academic skills will be critical to their future success and happiness. But come vacations and its that time of the year again, when it's a fun time for children after almost a year of some hectic studying. With tour companies cashing in on the holiday spirit promoting short trips both within the country and out, fairs and exhibitions luring people with exciting shopping offers, theme parks beckoning, vacations can be great time for many families.

Sight-seeing
If you are planning a holiday in Kerala, India, you probably have decided how you are going to spend it. Sometimes your plans may not go right. If you are stuck in such a situation here are some ways both you and your children can enjoy the time. How about spending some time visiting in and around Cochin (the commercial capital of Kerala) and give your children a feel of God's Own Country. Take a boat ride with friends along the backwaters, visit the Kerala History Museum at Edapally, enrol with your family in an adventure trip to the hills of Munnar, go bird watching, go on an elephant safari at the Periyar Wildlife sanctuary, spend your time exploring the beaches or enjoy water sports at Kumarakom. Most tour operators in Kerala offer good deals. Children will often be proud they have had a world-class holiday in a home away from home.

Work for a good cause
Encourage your children to work for a good cause. Get together with friends and help out at an orphanage or a special institute. Raksha, the Society for Care of Children with Special Needs at Kochangadi, Kochi has a paper project where children sort different kinds of waste paper, shred them and bale them to be sent to a recycling unit. Ragini Menon, Hon. Secretary of the Institution says, "The recycling unit pays us per bale of paper and the money is divided among the ten children and a few parents who work on the project. This is an eco friendly project that also helps in the rehabilitation of the severely disabled children." Children can collect old newspapers and other waste paper from companies or their friends and neighbours for the project. This way we can help create awareness among children for their counterparts who are less fortunate.

Adventure trips
For the adventurous at heart, enrol your child in an adventure sports camp. You can organise one yourself with friends or take part in a camp organised by tour companies. Camps provide opportunities for children to build independence and new friendships and pursue interests. Kalypso Adventures at Panampilly Nagar and Far Horizon Tours Pvt. Ltd based in New Delhi are companies worth investigating. The former organises a variety of adventure and nature journeys including youth camps, while the latter boasts of conducting everything from classic tours to safari tours. They own and operate the world's largest wooden houseboat with 10 bedrooms along Kerala's backwaters.

Local children's activities
If your child prefers to stay at home and catch up on reading his treasure of books, check out bookstores and libraries about interesting programs. Dee Cee books has wonderful activities filled with contests and fun activities every Saturday at their book store on Chittoor Road, Kochi.

Involve your children
Involve your child in planning for a day trip or family outing. Such trips call for help in figuring out where to go, where to stay, how to get there and getting information. They not only feel important but also proud about having helped with the decision-making.

If your children are at home, make sure they have access to enough reading material, and monitored computer access. Connect with other parents or co-travellers and allow children to stay in touch with their friends and make new ones. Unsupervised time, money to spend and peer pressure to 'have fun' can often be a recipe for risky behaviours. If you are parents of teenagers, it is often a good idea to discuss rules and monitor how they spend their unsupervised time.

Try some of these out and have a great holiday worth writing home about!