带孩子出差合适吗

 Many readers were surprised when President Obama took his wife, kids and mother-in-law along on his recent trip to Russia, Italy and Ghana, based on the e-mail I'm still receiving. Some thought it was too expensive, others too dangerous.

It seems strange these days for anyone to take their kids along on business trips. A hot trend in the revved-up economy of the past, combining business travel with family or leisure pursuits has fallen sharply. 'The mood now is all business,' says Peter Yesawich, chairman of Ypartnership, Orlando, Fla., a travel-industry marketing¹ services firm.

Some 70% of business travelers in 2000 combined leisure pursuits with business travel, says the Ypartnership/Yankelovich National Business Travel Monitor, a biannual² poll. Many took along their spouses³, their children or both, sparking a boom in child-care services at hotel chains. But only 49% of those polled this year say they combine business trips with leisure, and fewer are taking spouses or kids, Mr. Yesawich says. ''Road warrior⁴' is a very appropriate expression' for the folks populating airline travel lounges these days, he says.

Seeing exotic locales with Mom or Dad can be an adventure, as we discussed last week. One Chicago executive wrote here that whenever she is overseas for more than a week, she takes her three-year-old daughter. This preschooler is 'an absolute trooper' already comfortable with foreign languages and foods, the executive writes.

But others say the stress of making sure children get the proper care outweighs⁵ the benefits. One author says she regretted bringing her one-year-old son on a speaking tour. Although a publicist offered to care for the child, the woman turned out to be a '20-something vision in head-to-toe Prada' ill-suited to tend 'my infant with mashed⁶ apricot splattered all down his front, giving off a whiff of laden⁷ diaper,' the author said. Her speeches were punctuated⁸ by her son's high-pitched crying as the publicist tried to calm him.

International travel poses other hurdles⁹ for kids. Jet lag can be brutal¹⁰ to a child who feels the effects but doesn't understand why. As much as I hated to split with my kids, I always left them home when traveling on business either in the U.S. or overseas. I couldn't imagine managing their care or asking them to adapt to my long hours and intense work schedules.

The Obamas, of course, had plenty of help along, including Malia and Sasha's grandmother Marian Robinson. And it isn't particularly unusual for presidents to take their children overseas, says Doug Wead, a presidential historian and author of two books on presidential families, who commented on the topic in my recent 'Work & Family Mailbox' column. He cites other examples, including Franklin Roosevelt and his daughter Anna, who accompanied him to Yalta in 1945 to meet with Churchill and Stalin.

Readers, do you ever take your children on business trips? How about overseas business travel? If you do, how has it worked out for you? Were your kids wowed by new wonders or cranky with jet lag?

美国总统奥巴马不久前出访俄罗斯、意大利和加纳时，妻儿和岳母也一同随行。从我收到的电子邮件来看，许多读者都对这种情况感到惊讶。有人认为这样花费太高，还有人认为太过危险了。

现在这个时候，任何人在商务旅行时带上孩子似乎都显得很奇怪。过去经济飞速发展的时代，将商务旅行与家庭旅行或休闲活动结合起来曾经是一大热潮，然而现在这种做法急剧减少。位于佛罗里达州奥兰多的旅游业营销服务公司Ypartnership的董事长叶萨维克(Peter Yesawich)说，现在流行的是纯商务旅行。

美国总统奥巴马与夫人及两个女儿一起，在工作人员的陪同下走向空军一号。他们将前往俄罗斯、意大利和加纳。一年两次的Ypartnership/Yankelovich全国商务旅行大调查显示，2000年时，大约70%的商务旅行者会将商务旅行与休闲活动结合起来。许多人带拖家带口地去旅行，刺激了连锁酒店的儿童看护服务热。但叶萨维克说，今年接受调查的人中，只有49%的人说他们将商务旅行与休闲活动结合起来，带配偶或孩子前往的比例就更少了。他说，对于如今充塞各家航空公司旅行休息室的人们来说，“旅途战士”是非常恰如其分的说法。

正如我们上周所讨论的那样，跟着父母一起见识异国他乡会很有意思。芝加哥的一位高管说，只要她出国超过一周，就会带着3岁的女儿一起去。她写道，还没上学的女儿是不折不扣的“空降兵”，已经能够自如地适应外国语言和食物了。

但另外一些人说，确保孩子得到合适照顾的压力超过了带孩子一起旅行的好处。一位作者说，她很后悔去做巡回演讲时带着一岁的儿子。她说，虽然一个推广人员提出帮忙照顾孩子，但结果那姑娘才20来岁，全身名牌，根本不适合照顾幼儿，要知道，他胸前到处都是压碎的杏肉，尿布也被他尿得沉甸甸的，发出一股子味儿。她的演讲不时被儿子的高声哭闹打断，而那个推广人员则要拼命安抚他。

出国旅行也给孩子们造成了别的不适。对于孩子来说，时差会非常难受，他们能感觉到时差的影响，但不明白这是为什么。虽然我极度不愿跟孩子们分离，但当我在美国或是海外出差时，我总是将他们留在家里。我无法想像拼命想办法照顾他们，或是让他们适应我时间长、强度大的工作日程。

当然了，奥巴马夫妇在旅途中会得到诸多帮助，包括玛丽亚(Malia)和萨莎(Sasha)的外祖母玛丽安?罗宾逊(Marian Robinson)。研究总统家庭的历史学家、就此着有两本书的道格?韦德(Doug Wead)最近对我“工作?家信箱”( Work & Family Mailbox)这个主题发表评论时说，总统带着孩子出访也并不是十分鲜见。他援引了其他一些例子，包括罗斯福总统(Franklin Roosevelt)和他女儿安娜(Anna)，1945年，安娜曾陪同罗斯福赴雅尔塔，会晤丘吉尔(Churchill)和斯大林(Stalin)。

读者们，你们在商务旅行时有没有带着孩子一起？出国商务旅行呢？如果有过这种情况，那你进行得怎么样？你的孩子是为新鲜事物啧啧称奇，还是因时差而烦躁不已？

1 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

2 biannual   

adj.一年两次的

参考例句：

• I have to make a biannual report next Monday.下周一我得作半年度报告。
• Our school doctor recommends a biannual visit to the dentist.我们校医建议一年去看牙医两次。

3 spouses   

n.配偶，夫或妻( spouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Jobs are available for spouses on campus and in the community. 校园里和社区里有配偶可做的工作。 来自辞典例句
• An astonishing number of spouses-most particularly in the upper-income brackets-have no close notion of their husbands'paychecks. 相当大一部分妇女——特别在高收入阶层——并不很了解他们丈夫的薪金。 来自辞典例句

4 warrior   

n.勇士，武士，斗士

参考例句：

• The young man is a bold warrior.这个年轻人是个很英勇的武士。
• A true warrior values glory and honor above life.一个真正的勇士珍视荣誉胜过生命。

5 outweighs   

v.在重量上超过( outweigh的第三人称单数 )；在重要性或价值方面超过

参考例句：

• Her need to save money outweighs her desire to spend it on fun. 她省钱的需要比她花钱娱乐的愿望更重要。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Its clarity in algebraic and analytical operations far outweighs any drawbacks. 文化代数和解析运算中的清晰性远远胜过任何缺点。 来自辞典例句

6 mashed   

a.捣烂的

参考例句：

• two scoops of mashed potato 两勺土豆泥
• Just one scoop of mashed potato for me, please. 请给我盛一勺土豆泥。

7 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

8 punctuated   

v.（在文字中）加标点符号，加标点( punctuate的过去式和过去分词 )；不时打断某事物

参考例句：

• Her speech was punctuated by bursts of applause. 她的讲演不时被阵阵掌声打断。
• The audience punctuated his speech by outbursts of applause. 听众不时以阵阵掌声打断他的讲话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 hurdles   

n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 )；跳栏；（供人或马跳跃的）栏架；跨栏赛

参考例句：

• In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时，必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句

10 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。