Is This Crazy?

I moved to Saudi Arabia to work for the US Army Corps of Engineers in 1981 and my kids were 5 and 11.
We traveled in Asia and Europe for five years, later I moved to Germany in 87 until 91 had my kids (Daughter in college) and two step kids in their teens. We traveled all over central Europe.

All my kids and step kids are avid travelers. They love to travel. The biggest issue with kids under 12 is museums, after half an hour they are ready to go.

Still, I remember my 7 1/2 year old when we entered the Sistine Chapel. He was enthralled with all the frescoes. He wanted me to explain to him all the frescoes. Fortunately, I had a guide book and do so, sitting on the floor. He didn't want to leave.

For your toddler, you are facing some serious restrictions on what you do, unless you take turns with someone caring for the toddler at a hotel.

Italy in mid-August is not in my comfort zone. Too hot, too crowded. For me.

Only you can decide if it's wise to gently suggest they consider rebooking at a better time (better for me would be late September/early October). If they are tied to summer calendars, then maybe not.

Bob, it is unclear to me whether "whole family" includes you and your wife. Edit: I see your clarified it was just the four of them. Thanks.......

I absolutely agree that you should say absolutely nothing about your son-in-laws decision to buy tickets unless it somehow impacts you directly in a negative way, and then I would still think twice about it.

Absolutely mad 😆

Why wouldn't it be? It's hot here too, and I think the avoid August thing is often overblown. Even if they went to a beach resort, it could be a memorable experience.
Now would I relish overseas travel with kids that young, nope, but this seems to be more concern of the timing than the ages of the travelers.

To me, with a young toddler, Rome in August sounds absolutely bat crap crazy. We travelled with our kids internationally from the time they were babies. But we were careful to consider how appropriate each destination was for them, and weather was one of the considerations. Very young children just can't tolerate heat the way adults can. A beach trip, or one where there are plenty of green spaces are one thing. Rome is another thing entirely.

However, if my kids had planned something like this, I'm not sure I would voice my concerns unless I was asked.

Looking forward to your report in Sept once they are back and have filled you in on how the trip went.

Presumably the younger child is still in diapers, and that alone would be sufficient reason for me to not to do such a thing.

Bob, if you don't mind what websites do you use to check on flash sales?

It sounds great as long as everyone understands what it's like in Italy in August.

I think it sounds like a lot of fun! I wouldn’t personally pick Rome, but this comment in your post tells me they will figure out options: “Both our daughter and SIL have spent a lot of time in Italy.”

I am at lake Como with my 3 grandkids, ages 7 and 3. They LOVE ITALY. Did great on the flight,, we just do kid friendly stuff

I don't think it is crazy at all. The first opportunity we had as a family for International travel was me flying with both kids (ages 4 and 7) by myself to meet my husband on a port stop in Portugal the first of September. I did not know a word of the language, was traveling by myself with the kids, and it turned out the be the absolute best thing ever!!! It got all of us hooked on traveling and we continued to take our kids all over Europe with us. We never even gave the time of year a thought. We did Scotland in February during a blizzard for instance. I think no matter what, we always worry about our kids, even when they are adults, so I get that. But, making trip plans on a whim is one of life's great adventures, IMO.

I am trying to figure out why any of you would think about saying anything negative (and sounds like you, OP, and your wife opted for the wise choice). So much in life depends on attitude and if they think it’s fun, it will be. And nothing is particularly relaxing when you have little ones, but that never meant (to me) stay home. Staying home wasn’t a piece of cake all the time either.

Excitement and encouragement mean a lot to young parents. And if they do come home saying, “Whew, that might not have been my wisest choice”, it doesn’t have to cross their minds you might be thinking “I told you so.”

I try hard not to rain on anyone's parade. Any travel is better than no travel.

Rome in August isn't for me (too hot) but tens, maybe hundreds, of thousands of tourists can't be wrong, right?

Rather than coming from a place of negativity (like saying "don't do it"), I would just offer some helpful suggestions based on your own experiences traveling to Europe in the summer. Which I assume you've done. And based on your knowledge of what travel is like not only in Italy in the summer but also all of the chaos of traveling in the summer of 2022. Obviously it's their decision, but I don't see anything wrong with saying -- have you been reading about all the problems with flights in Europe this summer? Delays, cancellations, lost luggage, etc.

Many years ago, before I had children, I went to Italy with a friend and we met a couple at our hotel who were traveling with a 6 month old. We ended up hanging out with them for a couple days and I came away swearing the next time I came to Italy I would bring a small child. Shopkeepers, waiters, schoolchildren, the hotel staff...everyone doted on that baby. Now, after I had my own kids, the thought of talking children to Italy sounded exhausting and I never did it.

It probably depends on how flexible they are. But you're right to keep your opinions to yourself.

They might have a great time, they might not. But it won't kill any of them!

With an hour on the train from Rome, they could easily get to a more child-friendly town like Orvieto or Tarquinia. But that's all I would dream of saying. I know all about biting my tongue as a mother, mother-in-law, and grandmother!

We took our older son, daughter-in-law, almost 4-year-old grandson, and 5-month-old granddaughter to Italy for 3 weeks and had a great time.

The only crazy I see is the spontaneous purchase of the tickets. But they seem good with it.
I guess the second crazy is why this is a even post at all on here.

We took our daughter all over Europe at age 11, and she really enjoyed it.

Last month, we took her 10 year daughter to London, Athens & Venice. I don't know she really got that much out of it. She'd previously been to Madrid, Granada, Barcelona and Paris pre pandemic, and I think she was more aware of everything then.

When our daughter was young, she stayed back with my parents while we were gone 2 weeks. I'm not big on taking really young kids to Europe.

They could have asked you to babysit the kids. That’s what we did. Grandma and Grandpa to the rescue.

There is a Hilton resort a little bit out side of Rome with a pool. Might be a good compromise. Of course, you and your wife could jump on the trip and tag team the grandkids.

Been there, done that, not crazy.

My kids are a tween and a young teen but we traveled with them from very early. Looking back I don’t quite understand how we enjoyed it (little kids are hard as you well know!) but we did. I wouldn’t trade those memories or pictures for anything. My younger one doesn’t remember his first trip (Paris, age 18 months), but he has the pics and talks about it as a part of his identity as an “adventurer”. LOL, gotta love 12 year olds.

I think everything is hard with toddlers so why not have it be hard in Rome as opposed to Disney World. Which, by the way, is the hardest and most expensive travel I’ve ever done and no one thinks twice about taking kids there. Compared to a theme park or a beach, Rome is a piece of cake! And if my parents had advised against it I’d still be giving them a (good natured) hard time about it today!

I like the babysitting option. We took two toddlers to Rome and it was a "great memory" in the sense of Army boot camp, in that I don't want to do that again. It was hot as blazes and the kids were miserable. No AC at the hotel so that added to the fun. At least at Disney there are rides for them, even though it is comically expensive.

But no question it will be an adventure with great memories.

Having taken this trip when our now 26-yr-old daughter was 15 mo, if you are interested in seeing the Vatican Museums, I would stay at the Hotel Museum just down the steps from the Museums so you can take turns staying at hotel with kids while the other parent enjoys the museum. You could take the 5 yr old back to hotel when they tire of the museum. I don't know if the Museums would let that parent return without paying another admission price.

I would then spend the rest of my time at a hotel conveniently located to the Forum, etc.

People told us this was a bad idea but we didn't have anyone to leave her with-this was a family trip with my in-laws in association with a meeting my husband had attended in Paris immediately prior to our trip. I'm so glad we have these memories now that they are no longer with us.

I strongly recommend some type of "leash" for the toddler, although the one we had around her waist did not prevent her from eating a piece of bread put out for the pigeons on the dirty plaza before we could stop her. My stomach still turns thinking about that moment!

Sounds like a great idea. I hope they have a great trip!

It is interesting to read all the responses. I will report back when they return from the trip. Our concern is handling the needs of a toddler as well as dealing with hot weather.

AMann--Exactly! I remember being home with the kids as babies/toddlers with my husband deployed for 6 months at a time.

Bob--Truly, I would not worry. They would have the same issue at home, so why not go and enjoy themselves somewhere else:)

Smart move Grandpa, shutting your mouth. :--). A lot of us can empathize.

I think they'll be fine. When our son was five, we all flew to Mexico in August. Our hotels weren't air conditioned, and we traveled by bus. But our son, a French speaker, could communicate a bit. It was an excellent experience. In you kids' case, adding a second child triples the work, but they'll get it figured out and be fine.

Daughter, SIL and grandkids are now in Rome. The flight over was OK (nonstop From Boston on Delta). Based on photos they appear to be having a good time. It appears that the 21 month old found the overnight flight to be tough, and it took her a couple of days to adjust after arrival. The five year old is very much the adventurous type, so I’m not surprised that she is having fun. They rented two adjoining apartments in the Trastevere neighborhood (where my daughter studied for her semester abroad). The weather has been hot, but not unbearably so (high of 90 each day). The all went on a tour of the Colosseum and the almost five year old and her mom took a mosaic class. Today they are going on a golf cart tour of Rome - Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon and more. The family has been enjoying eating out, and I saw that they went to the Rome McDonalds!

Sounds like they are having a great trip! Glad to hear, and thank you for sharing!

The first trip we took overseas was two families with 5 kids between us (ages 3-6). We had a great time. It is a bit of a different trip, more gelato, less museums; more pizza, less fine dining. But the Italians love children and we found that we interacted much more with them when we had little kids in tow. I would encourage that it is never too young to travel as long as you have helpers (both parents or maybe other family members along). The two families worked well because each couple had a night with "all the kids," so the other one could go on a date night. These days, you don't even need the backpack of new items to keep them busy on the flight (altho still not a bad idea) because each seat has it's own tv screen.

Just received word - the family has landed in Boston and are now driving home to Connecticut. After they recover, we will find out about the trip, and whether they will be doing this type of traveling again in the near future.

Here is a report on the trip.

The parents said they all had a good time, although the weather was beastly hot. All tested negative for COVID after returning home.

The flights went well as they had first class seats. They did not purchase a seat on the plane for the 22 month old, but were able to use a vacant one for her on the flight home. As you might expect, the five year old did much better on the plane trip than her younger sister.

Rome was having some issues with garbage pickup (nothing new there). The city was not too crowded, and most restaurants were open. Occasionally there were service issues related to reduced staffing. Visiting Rome can involve a lot of walking and this was challenging for the little ones. I asked if Rome was kid-friendly, and they felt that people were generally tolerant and accommodating of the needs of young children.

The dollar/euro exchange rate worked in their favor. I recall a trip we made in 2008 when it cost $1.50 to buy a euro.

The five year old’s favorite memories were eating gelato every day. She is old enough to retain memories of the trip, and this experience may foster a life-long love of travel. The parents said they were thinking about another journey to Europe next year.

What a wonderful report, Bob! Makes me smile.

Thanks for reporting back, and I’m glad they had a good time!

In some ways Rome isn’t the most kid friendly place (city, traffic, walking, lots of churches and art that kids might not like yet). BUT to me in the ways that really matter it is. That’s the simple fact that kids are welcomed in lots of places like restaurants, they can play and run around in parks and squares (obviously depends on the exact place), and most people are welcoming to kids. And American kids can generally find food they like - gelatos, pizza, pasta! Other places that may have more obvious kid-friendly things like lots of open space are culturally more difficult. If it’s formal and kids aren’t welcome in restaurants or museums or are expected to be silent, that makes for very tough travel for families.