Well we were planning Kids to go, but some off the places we really want to see i don't really feel comfortable or safe about bring my kids who will be 3, 4 1/2 and 9 1/2 when we go. ( Such as Africa)
My mum has come up with a solution, she is retiring early at age of 55, and has offered to take them for 6 months while we travel, my kids are extremely close to my mum, my oldest actually wants to go and live with her ( must be her swimmimng pool)
I feel this is the one chance i will get because i will be starting finishing my Law degree and will want to concentrate on my career, and will only have time for a few weeks holiday each year.
Has anyone else done this. I remember when i was 5 I stayed with my grandparents for 6 months while my dad had to work overseas and my mum was doing her police training, and despite my grandmother being an evil bitch ( she still is one) I didn't mind too much that my parenst weren't around, because i was in familiar surrounds.
Personally, I could never contemplate it. I would miss my kids too much, and would be worried about the youngest forgetting or hating me. 6 months is a loooong time in their eyes. Maybe wait till the youngest is a bit older?
(I know you didn't ask for opinions, but thats my 2 cents worth anyway!)
I've done it, still do it , was done to me as a kid and I'm not in therapy!
Now, to explain: both my parents worked, so, before starting school, I lived 5 days a week at "gramma's" and the weekend at home; after starting school, almost all my vacations were at granma's - lots of fun, and three other cousins to play with. This lasted well into high school, when I obviously did not need a sitter anymore but could still use some spoiling and less nagging. Grandparents lived in another town about one hour away.
I left my kid with my parents while travelling, about one year altogether when she was 2. Kept in touch with phones, letters and pictures, both ways. Yes, she needed about 2-3 days to reconect with us after that but not more than that and even now, about 10 years latter, she likes to hear the stories, read the letters and look at the pictures, both ours - from the road and hers - from home.
In the meantime we moved half-way across the world but my daughter spends every summer vacation ( 2.5-3 months) in the old country - it's her turn to have fun "at gramma's", even if she has to jump on a plane to get there. More so, she usually travels alone (well, I mean with the UAM service, obviously) and is self-assured and more confident, not to mention the envy of her classmates for it.
Consider changing your itinerary. While you're concentrating on your career, you will also have less time with your kids. Since you were originally planning to take the kids, would it be such a big deal to skip a few places? It's a big world with lots of places you CAN take your kids. That's what this board is all about. If Africa is your big stumbling block, stick to South Africa and Namibia- both should be ok for kids.
Speaking personally I would not leave my children with relatives while I travelled for more than a couple of weeks at the most.
We did it once for 6 nights when my son was 21 months. He stayed in our home in New York, with my in-laws who had been looking after him during the day in the previous few months. He seemed to be fine and we had a great break in Spain together.
We did it again a couple of months before my second child was born. We left my son, then 5, with my father in London while we took a 6 nights trip to Portugal. Once again we had a great time and my son was happy.
Both times we were able to leave him in his own home environment with a trusted grandparent.
For longer trips I would only contemplate taking the children with us - which we are! We are two month aways and counting down to our 3 month long adventure with our 6 year old son and 18 month old daughter (and yes the fact of the children has influenced our choice of location - we will be in Spain, Italy, California and the South Pacific rather than certain other places that my husband and I will just have to wait till later for)
Embrace every minute you can with your kids, because they will be gone all too quickly. My oldest will be 18 next fall. My youngest just turned eleven. In six years he will be a senior in high school, ready to leave. It seems just last week that they were all babies...
Go somewhere wonderful with your kids now. When they are gone, take 6 months off and go wherever. I should imagine your law firm will miss you a whole lot less than your kids.
Go for it. Lots of people send their kids off to boarding schools. The only difference here is your kids will be staying with people they know and who you trust. Maybe start out with 1 or 2 months though instead of 6.
I've been travelling by myself since I was about 5 - my parents would stick me on a plane (with my "own" flight attendant) and I'd be off to some other destination (always to visit family or friends) for a few weeks or a couple of months during summer breaks. I loved it and my parents enjoyed the break.
Theres a big difference between leaving your kids when they are 5, and leaving them when they are 3.
A 3 year old has no concept of time. Last year I went away for 10 days, and left my 3 and 6 year olds at home with Dad. The 6 year old was sad, but she knew I'd be back soon, and followed my progress on a bike through Cuba on her map.
The 3 year old asked every day when returning from nursery whether mummy was home yet. Then when my husband told them they were picking me up fom the airport, he said "no, I know Mummy wont be there". He didn't want to know me for days, then started waking every night about 4/5 times to check I was still there. It took a long time to convince him I wasn't going away and leaving him. As I said before, I would wait for a couple of years.
why can't you just take them with you?? If you're not confortable taking them to a certain country, go somewhere else!! I can't believe you could leave your kids for 6 months - go travel, meet new people, experience new things - and not share that with them?? Mindboggling to me. We have 2 kids (5 and 7) and travel with them to new places so that we can learn and share as a family. We have our kids in mind when we chose our locations - if its not 'kid safe', we go somewhere else.
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