Travelling with Young Kids

Travel Takeaways!…. Travelling whilst your kids are young

Some of our earliest memories are asking our parents “Are we there yet” as we spent what seemed like forever in the back seat of the car. So the thought of travelling with your own kids can at first instance seem a little daunting.  And the concept fo spending between 14 and 24 hours on a plane with them might seem even worse; but the opportunity for you and them to have unforgettable memories seems to good an opportunity, so we tried it out and found;

1. The look in their eyes;  When your children get to see something they have never seen before and scream out “wow” and then look at you, it’s a moment you will never forget.  The fist time they see an ancient city, a glacial mountain, a true surf beach or the light of Time Square.  The wonder and amazement is palpable around every corner and unfortunately the older they get, the less they seem to react this way.

   
   

2. They expand their palate;  We all know that young kids can be choosy about what they eat each night for dinner, but when you travel with them and immerse yourself in the culture of the places you go, they seem to become more adventurous with their eating.  Our kids have tried all types of different pastas in Italy, rice and noodles around Asia, fish in New Zealand and hot dogs in New York.  Yeah the last one is probably not really expanding the palate but you get the idea.  Then when they get home, we cook up one of those foods and sit down together and simply by reminding them the last time we ate this we were in…., they try it again.

   
   

3. They pick up the language;  We have all heard that it is easier to learn a language when you are young and we are constantly amazed at how our kids can pick up conversational language and use it appropriately.  Saying hello in the native language of each country you go to, as well as thank you and please are all done so easily by our kids and often much easier than we can do it.  It is a great way to really get into the culture and at most places we have travelled, we ask the locals for a few words to help us get around and our kids end up speaking half the language before we go.

   
   

4. They learn sooo much;  We often worried about taking our kids out of school for a week either side of school holidays so that we could extend our holiday, but if you are prepared (and with a little help from Wikipedia) you can give your children an amazing experiential learning experience.  Teaching them about the Roman Empire as you stand at the foot of the Spanish Steps, or about how Volcanoes made Hawaii as you stand on an actual cooled lava flow helps them truly grasp the things they are learning.  Whilst formal education is so important, learning life though living it is pretty cool. 

   
   

5. Getting there and getting home;  So the plane trip might just be between 14 and 24 hours and in a cramped plane with not great food, time zones that get confused not long after you board and the fear that your kids might be the worst behaved on the plane, usually drives most people to fear the experience, but being prepared is the key.  Even if you order a kid’s meal they can be pretty hit and miss so stock up with food for the plane, bring snacks you know they will eat.  Whilst many countries have strict bio security laws, they usually prohibit you taking food off the plane not on it, so we will take some fruit, juices, biscuits, kabana, yoghurt, whatever it might be.  Also the entertainment on planes these days always includes a kids channel and if they have iPads or something similar make sure they re loaded with games and movies.  Our Final tip is just to give up on trying to sleep too much yourself, the investment in getting your kids through the journey is well worth the effort.

We cannot recommend this highly enough, the sooner you start the easier it is.

And we would love your contributions as well, if you think we missed something or just want to say that you agree, then leave a comment and provide other Travel Coordinates clients get the most out of their next holiday and if you need any help getting your Travel plans Coordinated or advice on where to go, what to do or how to get there, then don’t hesitate to reach out.