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Rock'n'Mouse
Traveling With Kids
We spent some nice family vacation in Crete recently and even though there are many articles and blogs about this topic I receive quite many questions and prejudice about travelling with children. So I decided to share my opinion, observations and maybe some advice as well.
Our experience
We were ready for our first journey when my oldest daughter was 11 months. Few vacations later my youngest was only 3 months old when first travelling. The farthest trip we made together was to Srilanka – connecting flights and approximately 24 hours one way. And you know what? It was not a nightmare. Even though I don’t think that exotic destinations are the best choice as it is hard to see and do everything you would like and it is a shame when you don’t know if you will ever come back. Mostly I choose resorts and closer destinations.
The most important thing – an attitude
Travelling with children is not the same as going alone of course and there are some challenges. It is very important to identify possible risks – to take some snacks and water with you (they usually allow it through airport security if you are travelling with children), additional diapers (if necessary) and all main medication. But the main thing is to relax and take it easy. Stress won’t let you enjoy holiday and our little ones are like sponges – extremely easy influenced by our mood. You should honestly answer to yourself – will it be possible to relax a little bit, let it go and not to be a nervous wreck.
A lot of outdoor activities and time spent together – it positively affects children’s sleep quality. I know that proper sleep during the day is necessary for my girls and I know that I don’t want to spend all those hours at the hotel. Therefore I always take stroller – if girls are sleeping in stroller I can use that time sunbathing or sightseeing. Stroller is an extremely useful thing while travelling even though my three-years-old doesn’t use it for a long time already. Baby monitor can also be v Want to add a caption to this image? Click the Settings icon. ery useful – if the hotel room is by the pool, for example. And sometimes we plan longer trips during the sleeping hours as I know that cars, buses and even tuctucs makes them sleepy very easily. In some families there is a very strict regime in other – there is no such thing at all, but in my opinion it is easier to be elastic while traveling. The same regarding eating – at home we tend to eat more or less at the same time and to ensure balanced diet but during our trips I don’t mind that my 3-years-old is eating ice cream twice a day and orders pasta almost all the time. We are on holidays. And I know that after returning home porridge, soup and vegetables will be on top again. Switching to normal again usually is not a problem for us.
Is it relaxing?
I think it depends on each individual. It is relaxing for me. I like changing environment and clearing my head. I love if we can go somewhere just the two of us with my husband from time to time. It is very different. But I definitely don’t want to travel without kids all the time.
It is pretty great to go together with nanny or granny – we had such an experience once – so we could spend a lot of time together but still had some time just for us. But even though my girls love their grandma if we are all together they always choose mommy and daddy.
I don’t hope that my one-year-old will remember any of our trips and it has never been my goal. But family trips mean spending so much quality time together and having so much fun!
