Fears about Traveling with children

Hi all

Great posts from many people and enjoy reading them.

My partner and I are about to get married and looking to start a family and are keen to continue our travels once we have kids.
A lot of friends and family are against the idea of traveling with young kids but we are excited….. and want to learn as much as we can from others who have done it too.

We would be very interested in learning about what fears, desires, frustrations other people had before they travelled for the first time with their kids as we think this would be a worthwhile thing so that we don't plough ahead without respecting things and being prepared.

Looking forward to hearing about people's feelings, emotions and experiences.

Thanks

Hi mate, the main reason I travel is to educate my kids, when we large school we go to uni and then a work placement to gain experience, I'm a painter and decorator, I learnt on building site and at college, so why should school be any different? I think it's great that parents are willing to give up their time to go travelling as apposed to "package holidays" from a education point of view my kids learned more in the 7 weeks we went around Egypt that they ever would have at school, the have won awards on the projects they have done and has helped there confidence and outlook on life, there are so many benefits that I could be here all day, the down side for me was the negative response I got from travel forums like this! Lol ,I have been called a child abuser because I took my kids out of school for 8 wks!!!, when going anywhere backpacking with kids you Do need to do all your home work, I find reading the local newspapers online gives you a better understanding of things on the ground, also there are plenty of cheap hotels to stay in (as am sure you will know) but you can take the kids to a fancy hotel like the hilton and use the pool for the day! Great fun for you and the kids lol ,my youngest was 6 and my oldest was 9 when we first went backpacking , for me it was a good age they where very helpful and understood everything around them (once they where told )
In all honestly I have found that when it comes to planning for a adventure the only people on my side where the kids school and doctor! My mum keeps asking when are we going on a "normal"holiday lol
People on tripadviser and here , in the past the help has been more infuriating that anything else!, I only say this last line because we are off again soon ! And I have had no helpful advice , just a few basics answered, But after much research I'm happy to say that at long last we have a workable itinerary,
Traveling with your kids is more rewarding that you could imagine, it's not only beneficial to your Childs education , but also allows your child to experience life out the BUBBLE, my kids visited people homes and local schools, got on a rat infested train! , went sandboarding in the biggest desert in the world , visited the great library In Alexandira sailed the longest river in the world and they have seen some of the oldest foot prints in the world too, to be honest the list goes on and on , and before you think it , no am not bragging lol well maybe jet a bit! lol , but the things above are things they will get taught at school ,
I wish you and your future wife all the best , and just remember , where here for a good time , not a long time!
Have fun
Tammy

Usually the first thing people notice when they have a baby is that they feel very protective towards it and this usually changes the way people want to travel (to some extent - at least while the children are young). So, if your friends and family already have kids and have never traveled much, then this will be the feeling they relate to.

I have two youngish kids (aged 6 and 3) and have been moving round with them since they were 2 months old. The biggest issue for me are the various health concerns and I would probably list this as the most important issue to consider. I live in India with my kids and are very aware of the health concerns in countries like this. I notice that traveling families often vary between being concerned and careful with health issues, to those that don't give them much thought (which, I believe comes from thinking it won't happen to them). What I recommend is that you give the health concerns serious consideration before going anywhere. This doesn't mean you have to give up on an idea, but don't go believing it always happens to someone else. Make sure you are comfortable with the risk and prepare for it. Also, keep in mind that kids become more robust as they grow (babies are not robust to the serious diseases present in many developing countries) and sometimes it may be better to take those more risky holidays with an older child. There are still plenty of challenging and interesting destinations to take with a young child!

Second, people seem to vary between choosing easy destinations with kids, to those choosing a place for themselves and fitting their kids interests around it. This also applies to traveling styles (slow or fast). Anything is actually possible and you have to figure out what you are most comfortable with - and it may well change as your child grows. For example, many people like to go slowly and have a base with a baby or toddler, but I've never really enjoyed this way and like to be on the move every few days. I also like to do things that are a bit challenging so have downgraded this with kids, but still try and include different experiences in a holiday.

Third, travelling with young kids is very different since you no longer get to do exactly what you want, when you want to do it! But, in most ways people find it a more enriching experience. Local people treat you differently when there are kids and you get to do things you never dreamed of before kids (going to a local park for example, which means you interact with local families). Also, I really enjoy my kids interests and these days I usually plan a holiday around what they like and where they could get hands on experience (fossil hunting is the latest).

My kids were born in Borneo of all places, so whilst it's a great place to visit, it's quite boring when you live there day in day out :-)
We didnt stop travelling just because we had kids. I remember catching a flight with my one year old, whilst 3 months pregnantt with no2, on my own, to meet my husband in KK who had been scuba diving (I wasnt allowed to dive whilst pregnant).

Having kids makes you see the world through their eyes which is so refreshing - I love it. I havent stopped travelling since I have had kids, but I have lowered my expectations on what to get from each trip to match their (ever increasing) abilities. Getting both out of nappies was a fantastic step forward!

My husband and I have two children and are in the process of planning to travel long term with them. My side of the family is mostly very supportive of the idea, if a little worried. My husband's side is not as supportive and have made many a mention about how we are endangering our children. I have learned to take the negative comments in stride because I know that the underlying reason is love and concern.

What you really need to do is search within yourselves and decide what you are comfortable with. For us, we decided to travel to places we have been before and feel comfortable with before we go any place new. We also plan to travel very slowly, renting places month by month in the places that we love. We feel this will help to provide stability and reassurance to our children who are still quite young.

Also a big thing for us is going to places where we will not need to take anti-malaria's, something we are not willing to give our kids. For places we go where there is some risk we plan on being super vigilant with mosquito bite prevention.

Traveling with children is going to be way different from when we traveled pre-children but we are so excited and committed to it that any fears we have don't really take hold on us. I write about our preparations on my blog http://worldschooladventures.com

Good luck to you!

We recently experienced a great trip to London and Paris with our 3 children, we found a great concierge site offering helpful advice prior to us travelling which set up most of our itinerary for us and took a lot of stress out of moving around with the children.
For anyone visiting London we highly recommend looking at the website http://www.concierge4kids.com/home for helpful advice

Edited by: TheDrakefamily