Anyone with children knows they can be tough customers. Even the biggest brand names in travel don`t always make the grade with kids. The few companies that do should be singled out. And other travel firms may gain from some helpful suggestions.

Giving due credit

Some travel companies deserve kudos for innovative service to their youngest customers. Here are a few:

• Have you recently tried to rent a car with a child safety seat? Then you know how tough it can be, particularly if you`re booking online. The Web sites for the largest rental firms are full of missing or mushy language when it comes to securing those vital seats: ``available at many locations,`` ``available at most locations`` and ``available at some locations.`` Alamo Rent A Car stands out, with a simple, straightforward guarantee that your child`s seat is confirmed at the time of booking at all locations in the USA and Canada.

• For families taking to the high seas, Disney Cruise Line sets the standard. The company offers a variety of programs and options for different age groups, including babies and teenagers. The Oceaneer Club (for 3- to 7-year-olds) and Oceaneer Lab (8- to 12-year-olds) provide a level of supervised care that is not available on any other line. My son was five when we sailed on the Wonder, and I was reluctant to leave him by himself in the Oceaneer Club — until I saw firsthand how well it was operated.

• Many hotel chains have focused on families recently, but Embassy Suites Hotels has been at the forefront. Earlier this year it polled local kids ages 6 to 16 in 20 vacation destinations around the country. Their input resulted in the Kids-Eye View program, with survey recommendations for the best activities, sights and eateries.

• Children`s playrooms are offered at airports throughout the country now, but the facilities run by Delta Air Lines are tops. Dusty`s Den clubs in the airline`s busiest hubs are staffed during peak vacation times to offer respite from busy terminals for unaccompanied minors. (Tip: Children of military personnel are sometimes offered special airport playrooms by the USO.)

• For many families, the additional cost of flying with kids keeps them from traveling very far. To its credit, Amtrak continually offers a variety of ``Kids Ride Free`` promotions, even on the Auto Train along the east coast. The rail company`s standard fee structure is 50% off fares for kids 2 to 15, with no charge for infants.

Listening to the experts

To better understand the travel needs of the young, I formed my own panel of underage frequent fliers, ages 10 to 13 (my son Nicholas and my nephews Brian and Sean). Then I put it to them: How can travel companies make life easier for kids on the road? Their suggestions:

•Hotels should stock mini-bars for kids. Milk, juice boxes, cereal, fruit, yogurt. Sure, the properties will gouge on the pricing, just as they do with adult mini-bars featuring $3 bags of chips and $7 cans of beer. But while breakfast is the most important meal of the day, any parent can tell you it`s also the most nerve-wracking. If kids could eat healthy in the room, the whole family could get an earlier (and less stressed) start to the day`s activities.

•Airlines should offer entertainment for older kids. Many planes with in-flight audio and video offerings sandwich adult music selections and R-rated films between tunes for the toddler set. Kids who have outgrown sing-alongs and Blue`s Clues would be content (and quiet) for hours with Lindsay Lohan tracks and PG movies.

•``Family`` cruise lines should adopt kid-friendly programs. Our panel members know they`re not welcome on all sailings, and that`s fine with them. But cruise lines that promote ``family travel`` should walk the walk (or sail the sail), by offering kids-only activities and clubs, early dinner seatings and at least one night of entertainment suitable for all ages.

•Pets need care too. When your best friend is riding in the airplane`s belly or locked in the hotel`s kennel, it`s stressful for all concerned. A modest suggestion: Allow for visitation during layovers and longer stays.

•Note to Greyhound: Please show movies onboard! Many smaller motor coach lines now offer this service, but the country`s largest bus company hasn`t followed suit. Anything that keeps kids quiet on a long ride makes adults twice as happy, so please, invest in entertainment.

•Car rental facilities need distractions. If you`re going to make a family wait more than an hour for that minivan to be vacuumed, at least offer some coloring books and crayons.

•Some airlines need to tighten their unaccompanied minor policies. Okay, this one`s from me — but it`s on behalf of the kids. Caregivers who choose this option won`t fret over the service fee charged by most carriers. But in return, they expect diligent care and no screw-ups. (And thanks to the many airline employees who look after other people`s kids as their own.)

•One from the ``what the heck`` file. We`ve seen commercial airplanes carry passengers 10 across, on two decks and faster than the speed of sound. So our young panel would like to request a tall, thin airplane built in a vertical configuration, to allow for stadium seating, better views of in-flight screens and improved safety during an emergency. Hey, they laughed when Boeing suggested twin aisles.