{"id":184146,"date":"2018-10-03T07:36:49","date_gmt":"2018-10-03T11:36:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=184146"},"modified":"2018-10-03T07:36:49","modified_gmt":"2018-10-03T11:36:49","slug":"travelling-abroad-young-kids-tips-easier-trip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2018\/10\/03\/travelling-abroad-young-kids-tips-easier-trip\/","title":{"rendered":"Travelling abroad with young kids? Tips for an easier trip"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Some questioned my sanity: I was taking young children on a vacation abroad, mostly alone. (File Photo<\/a>: David Woo\/Flickr<\/a>, CC BY-ND 2.0<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Some questioned my sanity: I was taking young children on a vacation abroad, mostly alone.<\/p>\n

It was just the three of us \u2014 my infant daughter, 6-year-old son and me. We’d board a plane in Boston, fly to London and then take a train to Paris. We’d meet my husband, who was there on business, and spend a few days before I returned home alone with the kids.<\/p>\n

How would I carry the constellation of luggage? What about the baby’s naps and the early bedtimes? Surely this is no way to experience Europe, friends said.<\/p>\n

But I couldn’t quite let go of my adventure-seeking proclivities in life before children. I loved to travel to foreign cities and eat new foods. I was determined to keep doing those things.<\/p>\n

While researching this trip, I found that my desire to bring the kids abroad was hardly rare among parents.<\/p>\n

There’s debate surrounding what age children should be when travelling abroad. Some experts say it’s best to start around 5 if you want them to remember the experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cTravelling with children is an important part of education and it really strengthens the family bond,\u201d said Konrad Waliszewski, who founded the travel planning app TripScout. \u201cAnd travel can really stimulate a child’s curiosity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Waliszewski, who lives in Chicago, has so far taken his 16-month-old son, Miles, to eight countries, including Egypt and Greece.<\/p>\n

Among his tips for families new to international travel: Pack light, as in one or two sets of clothing per person. Leave the toys at home. And plan activities both you and your kids enjoy.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople go too far and do only kid-friendly stuff,\u201d he said. \u201cThen they come home feeling disappointed with the trip.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

BE PREPARED<\/p>\n

With my children, there were plenty of bumps on our first international trip. When we arrived at the airport, an impatient traveller made snide comments about my kids and our stroller holding up the security line. There’s nothing you can do about rude people \u2014 they’re everywhere.<\/p>\n

There are, however, steps you can take to significantly ease the stress of travelling.<\/p>\n

The biggest inconvenience on the overnight seven-hour flight to London was that I had to hold the baby. I didn’t know airplanes had infant beds \u2014 at no additional fee. Going back home, I did get a bassinet and the baby slept in it most of the way.<\/p>\n

Parents often worry that a child will become bored on long trips. Some rely on electronic devices to entertain children. I brought a set of noise-cancelling headphones for my son and hoped the airplane entertainment system worked. If it didn’t, I reasoned, he could find something to do without a screen.<\/p>\n

Viktoria Altman, a New York City-based travel writer and photographer, has been bringing her two boys \u2014 now 8 and 12\u2014 on trips to Mexico, the Caribbean, Ecuador and other countries since they were little. It’s gotten easier as they’ve gotten older.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first few times on a flight were challenging,\u201d she said. Age 6 seemed to be when the boys could handle the trips better. They bring cards along, and watch the in-flight movies.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmerican children are often used to being entertained all of the time,\u201d Altman said. \u201cIt can be a challenge for them to accept that being bored is OK.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

EXPECT MISHAPS ANYHOW<\/p>\n

No matter how well you prepare, there’s no way to completely eliminate travel stress for you and those around you, said Jodi Smith, who owns Mannersmith Etiquette Consulting in Marblehead, Massachusetts.<\/p>\n

When travelling with infants and toddlers, \u201canything that can happen will happen,\u201d she said, including spills, screams and dirty diapers. The latter, by the way, should never be left on the plane.<\/p>\n

\u201cGet a plastic bag and take the dirty diaper with you,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n

Be polite to flight attendants, hotel staff and others. Hopefully you’ll find kind ones.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you’re travelling by yourself with a toddler and you must leave Cheerios all over the floor, apologize to the flight attendants profusely,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n

But there’s no need to apologize for bringing your young child on a trip. Some parents have taken to making goodie bags filled with snacks for fliers sitting near their young child. Inside the bag, there’s often a note of advance apology for any annoyances the kid might cause.<\/p>\n

Smith said that’s a nice gesture, but unnecessary.<\/p>\n

\u201cParents have enough to do,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some questioned my sanity: I was taking young children on a vacation abroad, mostly alone. It was just the three …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":184147,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-184146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-lifestyle","mauthors-tracee-m-herbaugh","mauthors-the-associated-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=184146"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184146\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/184147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=184146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=184146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=184146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}