This is the fourth in a series of eight articles about family vacations.

Q: What are some tips on packing for family vacations?

A: Packing needs to be thought out and planned ahead of time. All the family members can pack their own clothes and toys or electronic entertainment items. Even a 3-year-old can pack a bag of toys and clothes, subject to parent scrutiny, of course.

The first step in packing is to create a packing list. Saving vacation packing lists that can be updated from year to year on the computer is one way to expedite making lists.

Organization for travel reduces vacation frustration and the expense of replacing forgotten items. All family members can make their own lists, but they need to be checked against a master list for the family. Children have different priorities from their parents. For example, nonessential items for children would include toothbrushes, adequate clean underwear, shoes other than flip-flops, and first-aid kits. There needs to be give and take between what children want to take and what parents think they need to take.

Packing light is a great idea, but does not seem so great when packing at home. However, dragging heavy suitcases through airports or in and out of motels quickly dampens enthusiasm for having packed lots of options. However, short of discarding some of the luggage along the way, families are stuck struggling with too much luggage.

Packing enough clothes to last the entire trip or not depends on whether or not the family has access to laundry facilities. Washing during vacations is an individual preference for different families. The secret is to figure out before leaving home how many clothes everyone needs depending on whether or not the family plans to do laundry.

Irreplaceable items and valuable items should be left at home. Parents need to check toy bags to make sure they can be zipped shut. There needs to be a box, such as a plastic container with a lid that snaps shut, for DVDs or CDs. Otherwise, children will return home with fewer DVDs or CDs than they had when they left on vacation.

If traveling by car, suitcases and packing the car should be arranged to avoid having to unload the entire trunk while en route to destinations. Small bags can be packed with one or two outfits and night clothes for time on the road. Toiletries, medicine and first-aid supplies should be kept easily accessible.

When traveling by plane, carry-on bags should contain medicines, toiletries, nightclothes and one or two outfits. Rarely do airlines lose suitcases altogether, but frequently families and their luggage do not arrive together.

Included in packing are data and information about the trip. Maps, if traveling by car, brochures about destinations, weather information about the climate and lists of places of interest in the area are desirable items.

Entertainment bags for the children with games, activities and favorite snacks are invaluable for long car trips and airport delays. The entertainment bags can contain surprises for the children and games they can play with parents, such as travel bingo. A tip about airport delays is to use the existing airport technology to entertain the children. These features include moving walkways, escalators and trains. They are popular with children. In addition, large airports have play areas.

A packing tip for adults is to organize wardrobes around one basic color such as navy, black or beige. The ability to mix and match clothes will eliminate the need to take a lot of shoes to match everything. This suggestion is obviously more geared toward women, as not too many men match their shoes to their outfits.

Taking pictures is a goal for most family vacations. Packing cameras and film saves time and money rather than making purchases on the trip. In addition, nonexpensive disposable cameras are good investments for any of the children who are interested in photography.

Next week's discussion will present information on how to budget vacations and how to travel economically.

Judith Caprez is associate professor and director of social work at Fort Hays State University. Send your questions to her in care of the department of sociology and social work, Rarick Hall, FHSU.