Travelling with kids!

Hi Kira,, We too travelled alot pre kids,, and thought we could continue along once kids arrived. First thing that changed was finances,, we found airfare for 5 ( we had three kids) alot different then airfare for two,, and many places insisted we rent one bedrooms suites instead of regular hotel rooms( I guess I mean Hawaii specificaly, which where we took kids a few times when they were smaller)
Secondly we discovered one of our children was not a good traveller. He has varying issues that made travel difficult. So, for years we stuck to close to home, doing RV vacations, Hawaii, and some ski holidays where we rented a chalet.

Europe was something both hubby and I wanted to expose our kids to( having both family and ties to Europe ourselves) , but all the factors conspired to make it not realistic for us as a group.

Until I hit on the idea of doing one on one trips. Cost less ( smaller hotel rooms, only 2 airfares at once) and the ability to enjoy the trip one on one with each one of our children. Trips became a project, each child had to research destinations and find three sites they wanted to visit etc.

I took first son when he was 14, then two years later hubby took next son when he was 14, then I took our 11 yr old daughter( she was younger but handled the whole experience better then older brothers, simply put, she is an "easy" child)

We all had great trips ,, and trips were all different as different kids enjoyed different things.

In a perfect world I would love to do more Europeon travel with our kids, but , our oldest in now almost 20 and on his own, and our next son really is not interested( he has issues, LOL) ,, but we do anticiapate returning next summer with our now 14 yr old daughter. She will accompany us for part of trip, then will stay with cousins in Germany while hubby and I maybe scout out some other places.

I agree travel is great for kids, but not all kids can handle it well( you frankly are lucky to have two girls

who handle and adjust well,, as I said , same parenting in our family still produced three different kids, and one is by far easier then other two).

Money is partly a factor for us too, less so now then it was 15 years ago,, but still it was something we had to consider.

Enjoy all the trips.

My only thought process is kids when they are very little are pleased with the simple things, a three year old enjoys a trip to the lake or the Rockies as much as a trip to Europe,, maybe more in some ways, so for us, ,even if we really had no money issues we still would have RVed with kids when they were very small.. they loved it, and we have some great memories of it. I personally would be happy to never RV again,, but did it for the kids.

Hawaii was great too, as vacation for us when kids were very little always seemed to involve water( lakes beaches or hotel pools). We also took them on a two cruises they enjoyed.

Hello Kira. I am not certain that I understand your question. You said your children went on two trips to Europe, and they were good travellers, and they enjoyed all of it. So, what kind of opinion do you want from us ? I think most children at age 7 would not appreciate the history and art in Europe. My friends who have several children took their oldest children - age 14 and 16 - to Europe (London, Paris, Rome). The next year, they took their young children to the Big Island of Hawaii : the young children enjoyed the submarine ride (the submarine has many windows), deep below the surface of the Pacific Ocean water, at a coral reef where they saw several species of colorful fish. And the children enjoyed seeing tropical flowers, birds, eating tropical fruit, ... I think that was a good choice. Young children can appreciate things of nature. I observed that children do not appreciate things made by humans, in museums, because they do not know the significance or meaning of those things. But I guess there are some exceptions to that.

I guess I wasn't really asking a question per se, just wondering what others thought. We encounter so many people who think we're crazy and I just wondered if anyone else has had the same experience.

As for man made things our kids have appreciated them immensely - whether it's the Eiffel Tower, Pont du Gard, the canals of Bruges and Amsterdam, or Buckingham Palace. Of course it's a different experience with kids, we need to take more breaks and visit playgrounds now and then but that's often when you run into the most interesting people and see things that (as adults) we never would've seen!

And honestly, I'm not a huge museum person myself either. We did a 'scavenger hunt' at the Louvre last summer where we all chose a postcard from the gift shop and then had to find it inside. It was actually great fun (although I feel my husband cheated by picking the Mona Lisa!). I don't want to spend hours in a museum myself so I don't expect the kids to either.

So, I guess I was just wondering if anyone had done some interesting things that they may not have experienced without their kids, and whether or not they felt it was 'worth' it to take them.

We've travelled a lot with our kids (who are now 15 and 11yo), but primarily in the U.S. Each of them had their first trip to Europe when they were 10yo.

I would have taken them earlier, but husband didn't agree. Interestingly, after our daughter's first trip to Italy, she said she was glad she was older (10) because she got more out of it! And I do feel sad, especially for our younger child, when I describe a trip we took (in the U.S.) that she enjoyed at the time, but doesn't remember, because she was so young at the time.

Both of our kids like a lot of the same things we do - food, culture, museums (really), old castles, so I don't think the experiences have been that different. I've found great old castles all over; we might have gone to them without the kids, but I was probably more active in locating them knowing we all enjoyed them. And of course, hearing their perspective on what they see and learn is invaluable!

My son loves spies and wanted to see the War Museum in London when we took him there - I would not have chosen that museum, but I did enjoy it.

I would definitely say that their travels, in North America and in Europe, have added hugely to their life experiences and understanding of history, its role in the present, and how other cultures can do something differently than ours, with no right or wrong way.

Kira,, let me introduce you to James,, who thinks his smart aleck posting equal being helpful ,, but who is so terribly geographically challenged ( Montreal,?) that I would take any advice he offers under careful scrutiny.

Edited to add,
Nice delete James.

My sister took her son on several trips when he was quite young, thinking that she was benefitting him in some way, just as you do with your children. The first trip was when he was about 18 months old, to Ireland and Scotland. When he was three, they went to France and the Netherlands. And when he was six, it was back to Ireland. Now that he is 16, he remembers absolutely nothing about any of the trips. The adults who were on them, though, tell endless stories of not being able to get him to eat anything unfamiliar, messed up sleep schedules, difficulties in finding suitable/right-sized hotels, etc. It's great that your kids are good travelers, but many kids are not. And a trip to Europe is a very expensive experiment if it doesn't go well. Even if the trip goes well, really young children still aren't going to remember it years later like they would if they were older.

I think if you can afford it travel with kids at any age is great. I took my 2 for the first time when they were 4 1/2 and 11. They both loved the experience. Next year we are finally returning to Europe and they will be 8 1/2 and 15. I am also taking my niece who will turn 7 on the trip. Yes, it is more expensive but we have learned to rent houses or apartments and cook in. We will rent a gite in Brittany for a week and take day trips then its off to Paris for a week in an apartment. If you look at ways to save money on the ground you can make the airfare work.

All 3 kids have been on long flights to Hawaii, have traveled by car and are great at sitting for long periods of time. They are all willing to try new foods and my youngest can't wait to try snails and frog legs and eat oysters in Cancale.

Kira:

I believe there are two schools of thought based on past threads on this board. The following is my generalization and I'm sure some folks will take exception to some of it.

The first school believes that Europe is expensive, a long way to travel to, and very young kids aren't yet at a stage to appreciate and understand the beauties of Europe. And further the kids are not going to remember anything of their trip. I think, these folks tend to try and look at the trip through the kids eyes and forget the enjoyment the parents get by having their kids along with them. Yes, there is new food, new sleeping arrangements, different time zones, etc.- but, you as a parent learn to deal with this.

The 2nd school believes in taking their kids along with them hopefully recognizing that everything is not going to be like back home. They know they have to deal with nap times and long flights and are ready for the challenge. Depending on the age of the kids the motivation with having your kids along with you is either to travel as a family (very young kids) or to start exposing your kids to different cultures (preteens).

To me it comes down to affordability - if you can afford to take your kids, either with free tickets (airline perks), frequent flyer miles/hotel points, or pay for it yourself, then by all means take your kids to Europe, regardless of their age. If not, hold off on traveling with the kids till a time when they can appreciate Europe.

Lastly, very young kids will for the most part not have any recollection of their travels, be that Europe, Disney world or Hawaii. Also, based on other posts I've read, lots of folks (generally relatives or friends of the poster) seem to spend more to go to Disney World, Hawaii or our US beaches than to Europe. In this case, why not Europe.

Kira,

We traveled recently to Europe with three kids in tow: 15, 13 and 7. We waited until the youngest was old enough to pull her own luggage and we knew we wouldn't have to carry everything for her. Will she remember all of the things we saw? Most likely no. But ... will she remember the experience of traveling and will it leave an impression that you can travel and there is an entirely different world out there? Yes. In fact, she was the one who was most excited to go - got books from the library ahead of time to see Rome through the eyes of kids - and saw things we didn't. Does travel with kids limit the parents' freedom and flexibility. Without a doubt. But the positives make up for it.

We're very fortunate that we get to take our kids to Europe because my husband works for an airline, making airfare affordable for us. We probably wouldn't go if we had to pay full fare for all 4 of us.

Yeah, sometimes people give us funny looks for taking our kids to Europe. And sometimes people are quite impressed. I haven't regretted any trip we've taken them on. Yes, when my son was smaller, the plane ride was hard (he's not good at the sitting still and being quiet part), it helps now that the newer planes have touch screens in the back of the seats.

Europe has been a much different experience after kids than before kids. There's more planning involved, we like to rent cottages or apartments for a longer time period than before when we would show up in town, find a room, and leave in a couple of days. But this keeps it still affordable, and the kids are happier when they have more room to run around. The pace is slower and more relaxed. And renting an apartment in Europe can be much cheaper than renting one in the US.

We don't do as many museums, and when we do, we get through them a lot quicker than before. But Europe through the eyes of a child is a whole new playground. There's rocks to climb, different animals to see, new kids to meet that talk funny, castles to explore. I think a lot of people have the impression that Europe is all museums and churches and there's nothing for kids to do. It's like they don't know that Europeans have kids, too.

We know lots of people who go to Disneyworld EVERY YEAR and spend more than we do to go to Europe. As a friend of mine said, "I could take my kids to Florida to see a fake castle, or take them to Germany to see the real one." My son's super excited that we're planning on going to Legoland and riding luges in Bavaria next summer. Where in the US can he get to do that?

Plus, now I have an excuse to eat ice cream every day on vacation.

One more thing -- as far as remembering where they've been -- our son was just shy of 2 the first time we took him to Europe. He doesn't really remember it. He was 3 the next time, and has a lot of memories from that trip. It was one of the best trips we've ever taken, with or without kids. And I'd still rather be in Europe with a toddler than at Disneyworld with one.

We went to Greece when my son was 6 and he certainly remembers being there. He remembers the hedge hog he caught, grilling outside with our Greek neighbors, helping to prepare an octopus, seeing a scorpion and trying to speak Greek. I know I have memories of things that I did and saw from when I was 6-9 years old and that was just living in boring old Ohio. I am sure that if I had gone to some cool city in Europe at this age, I would remember it.

In working with the American Consulate over the years, I have had a lot of contact with younger children who have just moved here. They seem to ask a lot of interesting questions, they want to know a bit of the history, the language interests them, they love riding the trains, going to castles, seeing armor, and even walking into the majesty of a vaulted cathedral.

It does depend on the child of course, and it needs some preparation. Does the parent read stories about the places to be visited, look at photos online or in books, does the whole family try and learn some phrases in the language of the country being visited? All these things can make a child excited about being here, and they will come home with wonderful memories. If they are old enough to write, have them keep a little journal, and even younger children can take digital photos. Go pick up a cheap camera at a yard sale for them to use.

When you get home, work on a scrap book together, try and cook some of the food that you tried together as a family, and look at the photos often. These things will keep the memories fresh for a lifetime.

My first trip to Europe was living there when I was 1 to 4, and I certainly remember parts of that. ; ) My youngest was almost 3 on our last trip 2 years ago, and she doesn't remember much more than her Opa (the most important part) and step-Oma, but my then 5 year old remembers a lot.

We are a family and do stuff together, whether going to the beach, locally, or going to Europe. If you were only taking your children, once, I would not recommend going when they were infants and toddlers, they will not remember it. In our case, we also had older kids and a teen (and an aging grandparent)- we can't stop life because the younger ones were too young.

We started taking our kids (1 girl, 1 boy- 9 years apart) when they were between 9 and 11 years old. We didn't take them everytime we went, but planned trips we thought they 1) would enjoy and 2) would learn from. They really did like it and it definitely enriched their education. They took their own cameras and were able to use THEIR pictures and experiences in school projects later. Personally, I wouldn't want to do such a vacation with children younger than 8 or 9. But that is just me. I think it is great when parents take their kids to different places. We wanted our kids to have well-rounded experiences- we took them to Europe AND to Disney. I think they enjoyed not always doing the same thing.

Kira, I certainly can't comment on what's in your children's subconsious, but it sounds like you have children that are good travelers and you've all enjoyed your trips to Europe. So I say -- keep doing it!

We were one of those parents that took our kids to DisneyWorld every year when they were young. It wasn't cheap, but the four of us could fly for the price of one ticket to Europe and we only needed one hotel room. We all loved those trips and treasure the memories, so I don't regret it. As they got older we started taking them to places in the US so they could appreciate the history and beauty of our country. We also took a few trips to Canada because it is so beautiful, and eventually a couple of trips to Europe.

I have to note that when we were driving the Icefields Parkway between Banff and Jasper National Parks in Canada, as my husband and I were oohing and aahing over how beautiful it was (it is magnificent!), one child was reading Sports Illustrated while the other was playing with his Gameboy. Kids don't always get out of trips what you hope they will!

Every child is different and likes different things. So you have to base your vacation decisions on your family's finances and everyone's personalities. There is no answer that works for everyone.

Thanks everyone, it was very interesting to read your responses. I thought it would be fun to hear what others have done and I agree that it completely depends on the parents, the kids, the finances, and a myriad of other things. I think back to my childhood and I wonder how many of my memories are based on the pictures I've seen and stories I've heard so I think it's important to go through your albums every now and then and talk about what you've done. And to not underestimate kids and what they can do - as most of us have realized they are smarter then we often give them credit for! (As they repeat verbatim some comment you'd said a month ago...)

I agree with the poster about just simply enjoying being with your kids and the fun of travelling with them - and even if they don't remember everything it's a great family experience and you learn how to tackle new things together.

Thanks everyone, happy travels! (However and wherever you chose to do them!) :)

Kira, I traveled extensively with my daughter at all ages. I felt that even though she might not remember the vacation, the essence would stay with her. As she matured, I had a 4 year old that was drawn to sculptures in museums. I had a 10 year old that was interested in history, and seeing the sites where 17th century history took place that didn't even exit any longer; ie, a massacre site in Virginia. I had a teenager who photographed people in Europe, enjoyed the history, but wouldn't go in a Cathedral. We also did a lot of people watching. She has grown into a kind and broad-minded adult. She has not lived in the United States since she graduated from college. She has a Masters in Early Modern history. She now goes into cathedrals. Was it the travel or was it her? We never know for sure, but I think the travel was a huge part of her raising and had to have had an affect on her choices and broad-mindedness. But we will never know for sure, at least not in this life! However, the more we expose our kids to, the better off they will be, IMO.

Kira,

Our children are currently 14, 11 and 7 and we started annual trips to Europe with them three years ago by saving all year long for it. We did a pilgrimage to Disney World the year before and told them why we were doing it - because we were going to do a bunch of grown-up trips after that.

The children grew up doing car trips around the USA so they were familiar with the routine. But we also had to prepare them for the more intense (and long) trips to Europe. They have been great. They know that every day is like a cool field trip/adventure. They pack light and carry their own stuff.

We never considered traveling without them. Simply put, we would miss them too much to enjoy the trip that way. But we did purposely wait until our youngest was four years old so that there would be some realistic chance he would remember a little of it.

There are too many benefits to list, but the biggest benefits are the ones you don't even forsee. My youngest and I had this conversation in Nürnberg last month;

Him: "So why did the German's bomb Nürnberg?"

Me: "They didn't. We did"

Him: (with a concerned look on his face) "Was that a good thing?"

And then I proceeded to give him a little 60-second lecture on military tactics as they related to WWII in Europe. We never would have had that conversation without that trip.

We are taking our soon to be 7 year old daughter on her first trip to Europe this Christmas. Her brother will be studying abroad for college and we are going to visit him on his break. She is so very excited. My husband and I and our college aged son have traveled to Europe several times. Husband and son took a couple of trips together when our daughter was a baby. Son's first trip was at 13. My first trip to Europe was when I was 12.

I fortunately have kids that have zero interest in Disney parks.

I am concerned about her extreme pickiness about foods. We will be in Germany and Czech Republic. I have a feeling she will be living on bread and fruit. It is just for a week, but I am concerned about that.

Late response, but when I read this I had to post. I hate it when people say, "They are so young, why would you bother?" Too many of my friends leave their kids home every time they travel! Travel can be such a wonderful learning experience for kids! Too many people just drag their kids along and expect them to do whatever the adults want to do. You have to plan as a family. Get the kids involved in planning the trip. Have them read some books on the location - both fiction and non-fiction. Plan some kid-friendly activities. Make it fun! If you're traveling in the U.S., the new Scavenger Guides books are a great way to get kids involved. We took our kids to Europe two years ago on Spring Break and they still talk about it. They learned so much! If you can afford it (yes, I know adding extra plane tickets, meals, etc. for kids can really add up), it is SO worth it. Take your kids! They won't be little for long, and you will soon wish you had those opportunities back.