Eileen Ogintz
Eileen Ogintz's 3-year-old son, Matt, once pushed a hapless kitten into the pond at a Wisconsin cottage her family had rented for the weekend. "I thought the kitty wanted to go swimming," Matt explained. The furious owner insisted they pack up and leave immediately. The embarrassed parents drove home four hours to Chicago in a downpour, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
Eileen Ogintz was a national news correspondent for the Chicago Tribune then. The Tribune's travel editor encouraged her to write a story about her son and the Wisconsin cat. That story led to others and soon Eileen's family-oriented travel pieces evolved into the nationally syndicated weekly column "Taking the Kids."
The Taking the Kids series of travel guides for children and the book "Are We There Yet?: A Parent's Guide to Fun Family Vacations," which won a Parents' Choice Award, followed, along with numerous books, including her two latest, "A Kid's Guide to New York City" and "A Kid's Guide to Cruising Alaska," both co-written with her daughter, Reggie Yemma.
"Taking the Kids," which is syndicated by Tribune Media Services, appears in major U.S. newspapers and on Websites like CNN.com and is the only national family travel column in the country. The column has won several national awards, including most recently the John Southam Award.
Today, Ogintz contributes to numerous national publications and has appeared on "Today," "Good Morning America" and "The Oprah Winfrey Show." She is often asked to speak on family travel and how those in the travel business can best meet families' needs.
Ogintz, a 20-plus year veteran of the newspaper business, holds a master's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and has taught journalism at Northwestern University, New York University, Colorado College and Quinnipiac University. She lives in Connecticut.
Eileen Ogintz Samples
Taking the Kids -- tips from the first lady on staying active on vacation
Ready to let the kids lead the way on vacation? First lady Michelle Obama suggests that's one way to get everyone more active on vacation this summer.
Taking the Kids -- and heading to see what's new at theme parks
Got a change of clothes in your backpack? "Otherwise you are going to be wet all day after the water rides," explained KateLynn Schlenker during a recent visit to Disneyland.
Taking the Kids -- to where we honeymooned and seeing how much family travel has changed
The kids are everywhere. They're chasing lizards in the glorious tropical gardens, building sandcastles with resort-provided sand toys, paddle-boarding, kayaking, fishing, playing beach volleyball and basketball and doing cannonballs into the pool.
Taking the Kids -- a Mother's Day gift guaranteed to be a winner
Enough with the flowers. Ditto for scarves and those fancy overpriced Mother's Day brunches.
Taking the Kids -- to California beach towns
Ready to show off? If you've got any gymnastics moves, now is your chance to strut your stuff -- and it won't cost you a penny.
Taking the Kids -- to Chicago
The hardest thing about visiting Chicago is deciding where to take the kids first -- Chicago's famous Lakefront where you can ride bikes and in-line skate, or Lincoln Park where you can visit one of the few free zoos in the country.
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