Taking the Kids: On a vaxcation

Mitigate the risk by traveling by car, he suggests, camping (my latest book, The Kid’s Guide to Camping, a partnership with KOA will be out next month), or staying in a rental house. (AirBnB will debut mom-centric rental tips in time for Mother’s Day.)

Consider less visited state or national parks. Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas, for example, turns 100 this year and BOASTS 47 natural thermal springs; You can soak, drink spring water and, of course, hike, though some areas may currently be closed. The park typically gets 1.4 million visitors a year—as compared to nearly 4 million at Yellowstone National Park. (Some parks, including Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, have instituted a timed entry (available starting May 1 through www.recreation.gov). During National Park Week, starting April 17, there will be digital as well as special in-park experiences that can help your planning.

If you aren’t a camper but want to enjoy the outdoors, consider a cabin resort like the family-owned Kishauwau’s Starved Rock Area Cabins – 17 cabins on 65 acres located 10 minutes from Starved Rock State Park, the largest in Illinois. On Cape Cod in Massachusetts, you can opt for the new AutoCamp Cape Cod with custom-designed airstreams and “glamping” tents. The 16 Yogi Bear-themed Jellystone Parks, meanwhile, are adding new water slides, lazy rivers, floating trampolines and more.

Theme parks have initiated strict health and safety protocols, including mask-wearing, reduced capacity (you will need advance reservations), hand-washing stations and more. (Orlando is open: California parks are beginning to reopen, including LEGOLAND California on April 15, and for Californians, Universal Studios Hollywood on April 16, and Disneyland at the end of the month.

One plus: Because of reduced capacity, you likely won’t experience typical summer crowds.

Avoid flights when possible and international trips. The CDC still advises against all non-essential travel i.e., traveling for vacation, Dr. Kirkilas said. “The reason for this is that while it is true that the vaccines are very effective, they are not 100 percent effective, and unfortunately we have new virus variants that often spread via travel.”

“The virus can still spread among those who haven’t vaccinated, including children,” said Dr. Mercedes Carnethon, an epidemiologist and vice chair of the Department of Preventive Medicine at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

For that reason, Dr. Carnethon said she wouldn’t recommend flying with young children yet. “There isn’t a large enough portion of the population vaccinated and contraction rates are going up. It’s not a risk worth taking based on my calculations. ... The risk of younger children becoming severely ill is small but is it a risk worth taking?”

Mitigate the risk even more by seeing what the community spread is like where you want to go, especially as some states have relaxed restrictions, potentially leading to more cases. “You definitely want low community spread and base your decisions on that,” Dr. Kirkilas suggested. (Visit the state health department for the location you intend to visit; For overseas, the CDC’s travel website tracks community spread in foreign countries.)

“This summer is going to be tricky,” acknowledges Dr. Kirkilas, himself the father of young kids. “For a family it is what is their acceptable risk factor. ... What is acceptable to each family is their decision, but the last thing people want to hear.”

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(For more Taking the Kids, visit www.takingthekids.com and also follow TakingTheKids on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram where Eileen Ogintz welcomes your questions and comments. The Kid’s Guide to Philadelphia, the 13th in the kid’s guide series, was published in 2020, with The Kid’s Guide to Camping coming in 2021.)