Traveling with children (general)

[strawflower]

Originally Posted by Shizzles

Food for thought:

I don't remember much of anything before age 8 or so, but what both science and personal experience says is that the human mind expands most rapidly from birth to age 5. Sure, they'll never be able to come to you in their 20s and say "Mom, remember our trip to the Louvre when I was 3?" but in terms of sheer mental development there's nothing better than exposing children to as much of the world as possible. The sounds (different languages), smells, tastes, sights and feelings will shape their ability to process and operate in the world for a lifetime. It's no different than when studies show that the more words we speak around them from 0-3 the more they hit the ground running once kindergarten hits.

In short, even if they do not form conscious memories they can later communicate on, the psychological growth and foundation that comes from the new experiences found in traveling can put them a step ahead. Take the little nuggets along for the ride I say!

I love this post and agree with every word.


I think travel is one of the absolute best things parents can do for their children.

[Cdarocks]

I think everyone is answering this through the filter of their own kids and what they can handle. This varies wildly from kid to kid.

I have 3 kids. The first two were mellow, mellow, mellow. I could take them anywhere at anytime to do anything. We did loads of road traveling from the time they were born, but I don't think we did international flights until age 10. I remember the stewardess seeing us walk into first class with two kids and grimacing. I also remember the crew thanking us for having such wonderful kids when we arrived at our destination. It didn't even occur to me we would have any issues because these kids just rolled with everything. Once we reached that magical age of 10 we took them to so many places.

Now child number 3 is another story. He doesn't have a laid back bone in his body. He doesn't stop moving from the time he gets up until the time he drops into bed at night. We have only done limited travel with him because it wouldn't be fair to him and would be miserable to for us and everyone else around us. So those memories are just going to have to wait. There was a family wedding last year and I waved goodbye to my hubs and kids as they flew off to have a great time with all our loved ones. It gutted me to miss out, but there was no way I was going to subject my little guy to a cross country trip and time change. Sure enough, there were flight delays all over the place. It would have been a nightmare with a toddler. He's 3.5 now and can easily do a 5 to 8 hour road trip which is a big improvement for him. I actually had a lovely 2 hour uninterrupted lunch at a restaurant this week with him sitting right next to me at the table, so we are getting there. There is another family wedding in a few months on the other side of the country and my husband insists on flying him out. I completely disagree, but I am probably going to lose this one. I hate putting kids in a position to fail, and this is a big one for me.

I think at age 5 most kids are probably equipped with enough skills and training by parents to be fine travelers for many things. But I don't think (for us) international travel is worth it before age 10. I think I can take mine to many inspirational, different and cultural places domestically until he's that age. Have you seen how big the US is?

[strawflower]

Originally Posted by Vegabern

I don't understand some people's mentality. It seems a trip is only worth it if the kid is benefiting. Parents be damned. There seem to be way too many people whose lives revolve entirely around their kids. That's not the way we roll. Sometimes we do something mom and dad want to do, sometimes we do something the kids want to do. Either way, we plan vacations together.

When our kids were only 5 and 6 we offered to take them anywhere for Spring Break. We even begrudgingly offered to take them to Disney. They wanted to go to NYC (thank God). Now at 8 & 9 they still make plans together for when they're roommates in NYC. For Thanksgiving we offered Bali or Costa Rica. We showed them what each place offered, discusssed the pros and cons and everyone agreed on Costa Rica. The sloth in our AirBNB yard is still talked about almost daily. When their class started a segment on insects my youngest told the class all about all the creepy crawlies we found in the yard when the sun went down. There are some crazy big insects in the jungle. They also are acutely aware of the differences in living standards in the US and more poorer countries. Or how my 9 year old was so confident in the San Salvador airport that she wanted to find the gate and walk by herself. Or how they could see the Fuego Volcano erupting while we were coming into Guatemala City. My youngest has become infatuated with voodoo, cemeteries, and horror and gore since our trip to New Orleans. Even a seemingly boring trip to the Tennessee State Capitol became the highlight of a trip to Nashville. Since the state assembly wasn't in session they were allowed to try out the speaker's gavel, check out the senator's desks, try out the podiums. They spent more time there than anywhere else in Nashville.

Yes! We travel because I like to travel and want to travel, and don't want to put my life on hold. I am not doing it just so the kids have memories of it.


*I* would know the difference between Peoria and Peru, and if I would rather go to Peru than Peoria, I’m not going to go to Peoria just because the kids won’t remember Peru. Traveling with kids is different than traveling just with adults I know you can’t do as much with kids as without kids but we also get to do some cool stuff with the kids that I probably wouldn’t have otherwise done. Sometimes it’s good for everyone to take time smell the roses but it took traveling with kids to get me to do that!

[kineki]

You have to remember it's not all about their experience or what they will remember, it's for your benefit too. I wouldn't be able to stop going on vacations just because I had kids, and children learn how to behave on an airplane or restaurants by being on airplanes and in restaurants. We sacrifice enough with having children, I don't think it's necessary to sacrifice our vacations too.