Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
What is your opinion about traveling with kids? or too much traveling?
I am in my early 30's. I got introduced to traveling in my mid-late 20's (like 26, 27ish). I loved it. But then I turned 30, got married, my role changed at work reducing travel & single trip turned into double & we need house..etc We still traveled 3 times a year. But I told my husband, I don't plan on traveling much when we have kids. Paying multiple fares, having screaming/cry baby who is disrupting everyone.. just doesn't seem fun. Do you think that is a bad plan?
Quote:
Originally Posted by gentlearts
Bottom line is, of course you don't spend the money needed for other things on vacations when you are young, but we all only have today, and tomorrow may never come.
My youngest and his wife are still childless, and they really just work to afford trips and recreation, and I think that's great.
Once you have kids, except for a few trips to the beach or Disneyworld, it is too much of a hassle. Also, when your kids hit middle school age, sports take over all the school vacations.
I think with children that already out of diapers one can travel but usually these trips are based on activities centered around children's friendly places.
What is your opinion about traveling with kids? or too much traveling?
I am in my early 30's. I got introduced to traveling in my mid-late 20's (like 26, 27ish). I loved it. But then I turned 30, got married, my role changed at work reducing travel & single trip turned into double & we need house..etc We still traveled 3 times a year. But I told my husband, I don't plan on traveling much when we have kids. Paying multiple fares, having screaming/cry baby who is disrupting everyone.. just doesn't seem fun. Do you think that is a bad plan?
We traveled with our boys. Not much plane travel with babies, but starting at 3 yrs old with no problem. You have to get your kids accustomed to being away from home and out and about from birth. Teaching them how to behave in restaurants helps too. Then when you start to travel with them, they know how to deal with change.
Be sure to do things that they are interested in and are age appropriate. i.e. don't try to drag a 3 yr old through a museum for 2 hrs. Tell them AHEAD OF TIME about things like not kicking the seat in front of them or standing on the seat and staring at the people sitting behind. Make the first plane trip a short one. Have a little bag of new little toys they have never seen available to pull out if they get restless.
What is your opinion about traveling with kids? or too much traveling?
I am in my early 30's. I got introduced to traveling in my mid-late 20's (like 26, 27ish). I loved it. But then I turned 30, got married, my role changed at work reducing travel & single trip turned into double & we need house..etc We still traveled 3 times a year. But I told my husband, I don't plan on traveling much when we have kids. Paying multiple fares, having screaming/cry baby who is disrupting everyone.. just doesn't seem fun. Do you think that is a bad plan?
Kids will obviously increase the cost of travel.
Traveling is a learned skill, and you can help (teach) your kids become good travelers so that traveling with them becomes more fun for everyone. If you just plan on bringing them along and do whatever you would have done if you had not been with them, that trip will be a nightmare. But as soon as they are old enough to be a part of trip planning (6-8 years old perhaps), then you can make them understand that since you're going together, then the trip needs to cater to everyone in the group, so don't complain when we spent 2 hours in an art museum because tomorrow we'll spend the whole damn day at the zoo. Eventually you'll find some kids really dig art museums too.
Travel with kids? Road trip! I did most of my international travel pre kids and recommend that, for cost and ease of exploration reasons. But now I am seeing more of the US.
When my youngest was 4 (I have girls and they sit still very well) we did our first road trip to Chicago from Seattle, where we have family. They've been to Glacier National Park, the Badlands, Wind caves in the Black Hills, Mt Rushmore, Arches, Bryce Canyon, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, the Oregon Coast, Redwood National Forest, the Cascade Mountains, San Francisco, Chicago, San Diego, the UP in Michigan, Hawaii, Disneyland, etc (not all of those were road trips). We've also taken them to Canada (BC) and Mexico.
We are cheap travelers. We look for deals and don't need the best hotel rooms. We have fond memories of all those trips. We can go to Europe when they are older, or Manchu Pichu, but there are plenty of other things to do and see. We've only been to Disney once and my kids aren't asking to go back. They've seen other places they like better. We do keep the kids in mind when traveling with them, but don't think I didn't enjoy all of those places myself. South Dakota was a real shocker for me - in a good way. :-) My kids have done steep 8 mile hikes and flat 12 mile hikes. Talk about a great way to expend some energy and see cool places!
Traveling while still working is marred by the low amount of vacation days which puts a limit on places we can visit. I'm now semi-retired but hubby has 10 years until retirement, the one thing I'm looking forward to is a month in New Zealand and perhaps the same in South Africa (both a little too far to visit in two weeks less traveling days)
Bottom line is, of course you don't spend the money needed for other things on vacations when you are young, but we all only have today, and tomorrow may never come.
My youngest and his wife are still childless, and they really just work to afford trips and recreation, and I think that's great.
Once you have kids, except for a few trips to the beach or Disneyworld, it is too much of a hassle. Also, when your kids hit middle school age, sports take over all the school vacations.
This part is so true and I am living it now. Vacations are a hotel in some end of the world town at a baseball tournament or dance competition.
I wasn't sure where to put his. DH and I are retired, and pushing 70. In our prime earning years, we took nice vacations...probably 8 cruises and some others.
My reason for posting is to tell you to take them now, not put it off for someday.
Now that we are retired, we can't afford to take vacations anymore, but we don't care very much because we took them when we could.
That's the approach we have taken with life. Forget waiting until retirement. People our age are not expected to really have a retirement. You also never know when health issues will keep you from traveling. My husband lost both of his parents when they were fairly young - before 70. His grandfather lost wife 20+ years before he died. He struggled with what to do. He had friends he traveled with, but it wasn't the same.
You could be hit by a bus tomorrow. I don't live for what life will be like when I'm 80....who even knows if I will make it to 80? And what shape I'll be in?
Unless you are very healthy, You probably cant do Machu Picchu at 70s. It is also difficult to endur the long international flight as well.
Long international flight?? First of all, flying to Peru isn't exactly the same as flying to Hong Kong. Hell, it's a shorter flight for me to Lima than it is to Seattle. Secondly, and even more to the point, what exactly is to endure? You're sitting in a chair eating, drinking, and watching movies. Or perhaps, even sleeping! How difficult is that? Now I can understand other aspects of the trip being too much for someone who is elderly and/or has health problems, but the length of the international plane flight itself is not really relevant.
If we'd put off lavish vacations because we're still working, we would have missed:
- Flying on British Airways Concorde
- Cruising on Queen Elizabeth II transatlantic several times and to Bermuda
- A Hawaiian Circle cruise with his mom, aunt and uncle
- A Panama Canal cruise with his mom, aunt and uncle
- Seeing the remains of the twin towers at Ground Zero
I'm sure there are more, I just can't think of them now.
The world is constantly changing. It won't wait for you to retire. I worked as a contractor for the first six years we were together so I could take as much time as I wanted -- I just wouldn't get paid for it. Now I own my own business and I can still take as much time as I want -- only now I do get paid for it.
Long international flight?? First of all, flying to Peru isn't exactly the same as flying to Hong Kong. Hell, it's a shorter flight for me to Lima than it is to Seattle. Secondly, and even more to the point, what exactly is to endure? You're sitting in a chair eating, drinking, and watching movies. Or perhaps, even sleeping! How difficult is that? Now I can understand other aspects of the trip being too much for someone who is elderly and/or has health problems, but the length of the international plane flight itself is not really relevant.
DVT, sitting in these tiny seats.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
