First time traveling away from family. Tips? (day care, parent, wife)
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I am traveling for business for the first time and I will be away for four days and I will be about 8 hours away. This is the first time I will be away from my kids and wife for longer than one day. My kids are ages 5, 3, and 11 months.
I am already worried I will miss my family too much and that is all I will think about. I know it sounds sappy and probably won't happen like that, that is just my thoughts.
I know my wife will be ok with all three of them, but we have always split the duties with the kids amongst ourselves and I hope she will be ok. At least her grandma is available to help her.
Is there any tips or pointers for me to help ease my mind?
you love your family, that is a great thing. worse than anything is the fear of the unknown. once you have gone and doing your business it won't be as bad as you fear. call them evry morning and every night. bring the kids home a fun gift.
I am traveling for business for the first time and I will be away for four days and I will be about 8 hours away. This is the first time I will be away from my kids and wife for longer than one day. My kids are ages 5, 3, and 11 months.
I am already worried I will miss my family too much and that is all I will think about. I know it sounds sappy and probably won't happen like that, that is just my thoughts.
I know my wife will be ok with all three of them, but we have always split the duties with the kids amongst ourselves and I hope she will be ok. At least her grandma is available to help her.
Is there any tips or pointers for me to help ease my mind?
Business travel isn't that bad. Usually, you're kept pretty busy so there isn't much time to think about home. But, if you aren't busy, then you can skype with your family or look for some souvenirs for your kids.
Enjoy the quiet and enjoy having someone else pay for your meals and clean your room. The time will probably pass quickly.
FaceTime or Skype in the evening. Bring back a little souvenir for the kids. Enjoy any relaxing you can do. I don't know...my husband travels once or twice a month on business. And he works long hours often. I have friends whose husbands travel 6 months of the year.
I was planning on doing FaceTime every evening and will read the kids a story before bed.
Thanks for the advice.
I've only traveled once from my little ones (8 and 9). It wasn't as hard as I thouht, I was pretty busy. But every night I did the full tuck in routine via FaceTime. It was so fun. I also took a lot of pictures of my travels and texted them to daddy to show the kids where I was in real time. They loved that.
My husband travels occasionally for work and I have two little ones at home and work full time myself. It gets pretty chaotic in the mornings and at bedtime, adjusting to having one parent instead of two in the usual routine. But, typically we manage just fine. The 5 year old will appreciate the Facetime, maybe the three year old, but dont be insulted if they wander off after a couple minutes. Kids can be pretty, out of sight, out of mind. Similar to what they tell you at day care. Five minutes after you are gone they forget you exist.
If you want to do something nice, give your wife a day, or even just a few hours, on the weekend to herself, if she is the type that enjoys some down time. Take the kids out in the morning and keep them busy for awhile. The best thing for me after watching kids solo all week is to be able to sleep in a bit Saturday morning, finish a coffee while it's still hot, eat an entire breakfast without getting up 10 times to fetch something, enjoy a walk or manicure, and maybe grocery shop alone. Its the little things
the good part is that it is a vacation for them too
yes they love you, yes they miss you, yes you miss them
but it's fun for the kids and for mom when they can do stuff they wouldn't ordinarily do, like have dinner together on the couch instead of eating at the table; wear their jammies all day instead of getting dressed, have cheetos for dinner instead of peas, it feels delicious to do something different
so you have pictures with you and you miss them
being apart is a breath of fresh air, and there is the mini-love fest upon return for all involved because by being away and then coming back everyone gets both a break and a re-appreciation of what might otherwise grow routine or taken for granted or just plain overlooked and not seen or felt, without the break of being apart
plus bring back a silly tiny gift
postcards were a big hit with our little ones, write something silly on the back, not to be mailed but to be given when you get back
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