Dawn Wilson loves traveling and is proud her children know how to travel, whether the family of five hits the road or boards an airplane.

When they see her organizing her car, her children ages 9, 7 and 5 ask if she's going on a trip and if they can join her. When they head to the airport, the two older children know how to carry their luggage, and the youngest has stopped bolting from her parents.

When any trip is announced, "They ask, 'Are we taking the short way or the long way?' " says Wilson, a stay-at-home mom in Dallas. "Meaning: Are we driving or flying? They're used to spending a day or two in the car, and they're getting a sense of how big the country is."

Wilson makes sure the destination has something for the children to enjoy, whether it's a beach, pool or amusement park. They often took night walks on the beach during their Vero Beach, Florida, trip, looking for crabs because the 7-year-old inspired them to do so.

When they drive, she plans a nice break in the trip. They took four days to drive from Texas to California last summer, stopping for two nights at a Tucson, Ariz., resort with a pool.

"They always say it's not the destination, it's the journey," she says. "I always incorporate the journey into the trip.

"My husband and I have had opportunity to travel without them when the grandparents offered to stay with them for a week. We don't want to go without them. We love traveling with them as family."