Gender disappointment is the feeling of sadness when a parent's strong desire for a child of a particular, preferred sex is not met. [1] [2] [3] The feeling has been linked to the prevalence of the sexist and gender essentialist beliefs. my second daughter is 9 years. First is 13. Now 20 weeks with third. In the same interview, J-Hope said that his celebrity crush is the 'Mean Girl' fame Amanda Seyfried. Your boyfriend's parents' reaction to not knowing you had their child was very different from your own. He didn't know. Jun 27, 2018 · Suga / Yoongi Yoongi would try to play it off as cool as he could possibly manage to do so after These efforts give hope to parents like Dr Jones around the world. And with hope and understanding comes some degree of acceptance. PA crosses gender and socioeconomic lines. It is not known if physicians are at increased risk for PA. However, immersion in the practice of clinical medicine can make doctors emotionally unavailable and unaware. My parents hope to travel around _____ world next summer. Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following questions. Câu 297691: My parents hope to travel around ______ world next summer. A voice boomed down the corridor behind us and cut me off, Tom stopped and turned his head to look behind us, my head turned to follow the voice like Tom did. Nott was there, the rest of the gang, minus my brother, stood there. Nott stood at the front, his wand in hand like he was worried about something that will inevitably happen. According to the work of Dr. Craig Childress, parental alienation is first and foremost an attachment -based trauma. Attachment-based parental alienation is essentially a role reversal of a normal JF5Ay. Children have a stake in the game when it comes to what they want to see We’re dedicating our March features to family travel. Read on for insightful guides to the best road trips for different ages, the best hotels with amenities for children, and the changing face of family trip planning, as well as inspiring stories of traveling with a newborn, family travel post-divorce, the lowdown on family campground culture, and more. With travel on the rise, more and more families are planning to take their home life on the road, whether it’s for a weekend or a lengthier, unschooling-fueled trips around the states. And while traveling with kids can be stressful—with all those suitcases and gadgets and cries of "Are we there yet?"—it can also be a deeply rewarding activity. Indeed, as more and more parents are finding out, traveling with kids can be especially rewarding if they’re allowed to participate in trip planning. “Kids like to be part of the process and they like to know what to expect,” says Grace Bastidas, Editor-in-chief of Parents. “If you're making them part of the planning, chances are they're likely to get more excited instead of feeling like they're just being shuffled around from one place to another. And getting involved isn’t just for teens and tweens. Involving young children in planning a family trip might sound ridiculous, but it’s far more valuable than it might seem. While children might not always be able to advocate for themselves in the most cohesive fashion, that doesn’t mean they don’t have opinions or a stake in the game when it comes to what—or how much—they want to see on a trip. Sometimes, it’s just about leaving a little wiggle room in the schedule. Family travel expert Keith Waldon notes that younger kids might not necessarily be as excited about a city’s big sights as their parents or even their siblings. “You should not expect a 4 year old to spend eight hours in museums,” says Waldon. “It's really smart for parents to think as their four year old and realize, 'This is a 30 minute max type opportunity for my child.’” That attitude should help parents steer away from dreaded meltdowns that could waylay the rest of the day. Parents can also play into their child’s interests when planning a trip. If a little one is into dinosaurs, perhaps you’ll want to check out a city’s Natural History Museum. If they love animals, maybe there’s a way to incorporate a visit to a farm or an aquarium into the adventures, or maybe the family should prioritize a trip to Costa Rica’s rainforests over a jaunt to Mexico City’s urban jungle—this time, at least. It’s also worth noting that kids don’t always make insurmountable requests. Sally Black, travel agent and founder of VacationKids, says she was once planning a trip for a family with a “type A helicopter mom.” She says the mother “had planned the trip with military precision and you could tell she was trying to keep up with all the bus stop moms with all this educational stuff on the schedule, but I told her to put [her 4-year-old son] on the call and she thought I was out of my mind. I said to him, Zach, what’s the one thing you want from vacation?’ and he said, A pool with a slide.’” One of Bastidas’ favorite ways to get younger kids psyched for a trip incorporates something a lot of parents are already doing reading. “Books are perfect for little armchair travelers,” she says. “They let the kids get excited about the world before they even leave home.” Before a recent family trip to Puerto Rico, for example, Bastidas read her kids a book about a coqui, which is a type of frog known for its loud calls that’s often found on the island. Afterwards, she says, “My daughters got really excited to hear from this tiny little frog that sings at night.” "I said to him, Zach, what’s the one thing you want from vacation?’ and he said, A pool with a slide.’" Parents can also spice up the more grown-up friendly parts of travel with kid-friendly accents, like a scavenger hunt at an art museum or a promised trip to a local ice cream parlor after a stop at a historical monument. A lot of museums even offer special kids’ pages, which could make this kind of thing easier. Family travel writer Eileen Ogintz, of Taking the Kids, also suggests that, for a trip to a city’s Chinatown, for example, a parent could challenge their child to see who could eat the most new foods. “Kids are really big on challenges,” she explains. Catherine Ryan Gregory, who blogs about her family’s travels on her site To & Fro Fam, reminds parents that even the most minute choices can mean a lot to little ones. She recommends giving kids options around activities and letting them choose. For instance, she says, a parent could tell their kid, “We're going to go to the Natural History Museum this afternoon. There are two places that we could eat nearby. We could either get hot dogs in the park, or we could have sandwiches at this restaurant. Which would you rather do?” Giving a kid a fun choice can also help break them out of a funk or, as Gregory says, “move things along if a kid is having a hard time with the transition” to a new place. Elementary school kids can be a little more globally conscious, meaning parents can prep their kids for a trip by telling them about life in their destination. Waldon recommends showing kids a movie that highlights the destination and culture. It doesn’t have to be a documentary If you’re going to Paris, for instance, you could screen "Ratatouille" or "Madeline." “Eat a meal that is tied directly into the culture of the destination in your local town before you leave,” says Waldon, like getting spanakopita at a local restaurant before a trip to Greece. “Having a very culturally specific experience before you leave home can really get kids very excited," he says. Family travel expert Kirsten Maxwell, of Kids Are A Trip, says that making memories with elementary aged kids doesn’t have to be expensive, either. When she’s in a new city with her family, she says, “we go to the local grocery store versus a big box store. That way, we’re getting more of that local experience. If your little ones are learning a language, this could be a good time for them to test it out—or just a good time for them to pick up some intriguing new snacks. “They'll be like, Oh my gosh, you see what they call Sour Patch Kids here?’” says Maxwell, noting that her kids have developed a particular interest in the different flavors of Pringles available around the world. That kind of experience might seem a little disposable, but it really can matter. Black says that she thinks the most important lessons kids learn by traveling are the “soft skills,” like “patience, flexibility, and being open to trying new fruits.” Getting a glimpse at someone’s everyday life can also make kids start to think about what kids their age are doing in those countries. Black says kids may ask “How is their life different than mine? How is their life similar to mine?,” and notes that picking up a sense of humility can be a virtue. Getting a glimpse at someone’s everyday life can also make kids start to think about what kids their age are doing in those countries. Sometimes, the best planning for a trip with tweens can just be to let go. Waldon says that agreeing to a tween’s requests, even if they aren’t your preferences, can even teach parents a thing or two. “We don't need to stop evolving just because we're older,” he says. Going on that trip to swim with dolphins might not have been your cup of tea before you did it, but actually getting in the water could be a game changer. On top of that, giving into a sometimes sullen tween’s request could actually make them open up a bit. As Waldon explains, “Our joy is directly tied to the joy of our kids, and when you can bring that to life and see the happiness in your child, there's really not much of anything that's better.” If your tween is into social media, they might want to help you plan out some spots to stop at for photos, whether they end up on the gram or not. Bastidas says that, like a lot of parents, she’s “terrible at printing out photos of birthdays and everydays, even though [she has] thousands of those,” but she has made a commitment to herself that she’ll always make a travel album after each of her family’s vacations. Giving your kids a hand in making that book can help inspire them for future trips—or at least make them more involved in the one that you all might currently be on. Travel can even make school a little more exciting for teenagers. A family could choose to go somewhere relevant to a teen’s studies, like a Central American country for a kid who loves Spanish class. They could also incorporate a teen’s classes into an already existing trip. Family travel expert Jessica Griscavage, of travel agency Runway Travel, says parents should ask about their kids’ interests. “What subjects do they like? Do they love art? Do they have a favorite sport? Would they want to catch a soccer match if it's a European trip?” she asks. If they’re taking a world history class, perhaps they’d want to hit up the Colosseum in Rome or the Churchill War Rooms in London. Teens also typically have pretty strong opinions when it comes to family vacations, which can lead to some hairy family dynamics and stressful travel moments. Those could help bring a group closer together, though, especially if a teenager gets to see their parent dealing with a plan that’s gone awry. Black says those snags can show kids that their parents are just as human as they are, “and, when you’re all in a new situation together, [parents] have to learn things just like kids. Everybody is learning at the same time.” Ogintz agrees, reminding that, “No family trip goes without hiccups. People think it's gonna be one Instagram worthy moment after another, but that never happens.” When kids are involved and it’s not all on mom and dad, then they can become invested in getting through those hiccups and learning to soldier through and work things out together, as a family. Disclaimer This post contains affiliate links to handpicked partners, including tours, gear and booking sites. If you click through or buy something via one of them, I may receive a small commission. This is at no extra cost to you and allows this site to keep running. Want to go travel for a long time? Here’s how to tell your parents you are going travelling. An honest guide on what to do and say. How to tell your parents you are going travelling can be one of the hardest situations to face when planning a long-term trip. I often reflect on those difficult moments I faced when I left home eight years ago to go backpacking, and where I am today. “Mum, Dad. I have something to tell you… I’m leaving to go travelling.” As you can imagine, it’s met with a mix of emotions, and opinions. Saving for an around the world trip? Want to take a GAP year after school? Want to travel after graduating from university and taking your first steps on the career ladder? Randomly want to fulfil your dream to travel? There’s that indulgent and somewhat selfish moment when you decide to travel for a long time and you really couldn’t care less about what people think regarding your decision. Why? You are taking control and doing what some people only sit and daydream about; you are changing your life to accommodate this ambition and you are realising the dream that many see as impossible. Yet that doesn’t mean you should ignore the reactions of others though, especially from those that mean well, like your parents. Going Alone – How to Tell Your Parents You Are Going Travelling I’ve been lucky that my parents have been very supportive. I had always undertaken much smaller travel stints before and they saw my big one looming, which meant it wasn’t so much of a shock of them. But it doesn’t mean that my parents didn’t have their moments’ once I announced my plans a year before I left. And by moments I mean questions, questions and more questions, sad conversations and the dramatic and inevitable “Will you ever come back?” Despite being confident, independent and determined, I’m also their only daughter and I was doing this alone. Telling my parents I was leaving for an around the world trip was one thing. Telling my parents that I was leaving to travel as a solo female was another. Realistically, I couldn’t blame them for not having something to say on the matter. Other reactions from people, aside from kind words from friends, were mainly been the result of ignorance or jealousy and so I ignored them. The only reactions you should be responding to are the ones that matter. So here is my low down on some of the parental scenarios I came across when I planned to leave, how I told my parents about my travel plans and how I helped them to deal with it. ContentsParents – A Different Generation of TravelHow to Tell Your Parents About Your Travel Plans Keep them updated with your you have the time face-to-face, explain travel to your Your Parents You Are Going Travelling By Getting Them InvolvedWhat NOT to Tell your Parents about Going TravellingYears Ahead Parents – A Different Generation of Travel Your parents are genuinely worried and they care about you. Full stop. You have to remember that our parents are not from a generation that could drop everything and backpack around the world. Your mother and father probably left school and worked, stayed at the same company for years, married young and had families – because security was the normality. And that’s what made them happy. You could say we are extremely lucky to be a part of a generation where we have the confidence to walk away from something if we don’t like it because deep down we know it will be OK and to build up a career and qualifications so that we have something to fall back on. Where to delay getting married and having children is actually not frowned upon by those around you. More importantly, to be living in a time where the opportunity to see the world is both cheaper and more easily accessible. So don’t blame your parents for asking you a multitude of questions about your travels, or simply not understanding at all. They are trying and they do mean well. How to Tell Your Parents About Your Travel Plans Keep them updated with your itinerary. When I had a new addition to my destination list, I let them know about it and talked to them about why I was choosing to go there. If they know you are confident about your choices they will have less reason to worry. For example, my mum was not best pleased when I mentioned North Korea. But she was a little calmer when I explained why and how. That I was joining a reputable tour company for example. That I would be with other people. That I wouldn’t have any means of contact while in the country and therefore not to worry. You are probably thinking that I shouldn’t have mentioned it at all. But then why lie? It would only make it worse if I announced it while I was in China, without being able to talk to her properly, where she would worry so much more. While you have the time face-to-face, explain travel to your parents. What you plan to be doing when in particular countries that to them are deemed a little unsafe, lesser-visited, different or unknown. The reality of any misconceptions that may lead to unease. My dad told me he wasn’t sure if he could visit me in Cambodia because he likes to stay in hotels’ – he soon learnt otherwise! How you find and book a hostel and how you might get from place to place. Again, announcing from a country afar that you are about to board a night bus for 38 hours with a bunch of strangers may be best announced and explained now. How you can and WILL meet people along the way and that you really won’t be completely alone 100% of the time. That you will take measures to stay safe. I once had a 20-minute discussion with one of my parents about the use of motorcycle helmets. It was painful but I was glad it was 20 minutes before my trip than 20 minutes during my trip when the time to catch up was more precious. A discussion with your parents, before leaving for travelling, will save you having to explain it all when you are on the road when, quite frankly, you won’t have the time or patience. Use modern technology and practice with them. A few months before I left, my mum bought a microphone for her PC and we set it all up, raring to go on Skype for future chats. My dad is a gadget geek and knows his stuff, but my mum got her practice time in. Because that’s what made her feel better, and I felt better knowing she had the resources to stay in touch. Spend time going through the absolute basics of travel with your parents before you leave, if you absolutely have to. There will be times when you only have 10 minutes to chat when on the road and you don’t want half of that to be a tutorial. Make sure they realise that there may be countries where mobile phones won’t work or you can’t find a sim card. Or wi-fi, or even an old PC with a decent internet connection. Explain to them and troubleshoot, even before you get to the next country, that contact might not be as easy, or quick running, as it is at home. Tell Your Parents You Are Going Travelling By Getting Them Involved There is knowledge in life about certain things that your parents would trump you on, 10 times over, like finances and wording in policies. Therefore, ask for help when you need it as parents feel joy when they get to help you. And there are things in life that you know a lot about and they don’t, like volunteering, flight planning and adventure activities, so get them reading and interested! Parents and financial insights I know my dad gets mad at me if I don’t make correct financial decisions and so I got him involved from the very start. He might not have known much about half of the things I had planned on my 15-month trip, but he sure has helped me find the best ISA and savings accounts which I had used to save and help fund my trip and he even helped me to lock down the best pre-paid travel card. In the end, at least he knew that my money was going to be well spent as it was being well invested. Do your parents have friends abroad? If your parents know people in different countries or have friends who have been to certain places on your list, ask them to seek out further information and advice for you. Or even someone to visit or a place to stay! I am sure they will love knowing that they have contributed to your travel plans and decisions. Take your parents travel shopping with you I found that taking my parents with me to travel shops was also a handy way for them to learn about your expenditure on certain items, why you need particular things and that, all-in-all, you really are well equipped for your time away. It gives them another reason not to worry. Send them documents for reference Send them links to websites, PDF’s of travel itineraries – anything they can read to fully understand some of the things you are doing and where you are going. I know my mum felt a lot better about my pending volunteering stint in Cambodia after she had a good read of the charity’s website. Be brutally honest with your parents Lay it ALL out now. You won’t be texting back straight away, you won’t be calling from every available phone and you won’t feel the need to Skype every time your heart skips a beat at the arrival of decent Wi-Fi. You love them, but you will love your travel life a whole lot more. What NOT to Tell your Parents about Going Travelling Don’t Tell them horror stories. Really, don’t. Bad things can happen and if it happens to you, you will deal with it, unless you really and seriously need help. I didn’t tell my mother about a serious incident travelling until around five years later. At the time it was something very personal to me and which shaped me. It wasn’t something for her to worry about from afar. Dwell too much on the potentially dangerous. It’s not really a word to use in a conversation with the parents, is it? Dangerous to you may translate into adrenalin-fuelled activity or driving along the world’s narrowest mountain road, but to them, it means instant death. Promise them set times to catch up. Plans always change and missing a catch up will only make them worry that something has happened to you. Not that you are just out sightseeing or having another beer in the bar with your new friends. Lie. Do what you have to do and do what you want to do. It’s your life and your unique travel experience so enjoy every moment and let them react to it how they will. My plan was to travel for 12 months, increased to 18 months and then to two years. The reality is, I never came back. Well, I did and still do for a week or two, but once I had left, I found homes all over the world before eventually settling in Vienna, Austria. Years Ahead What do I tell my parents now about travelling around the world?? That I am happy. That I turned it into a job and its fruitful. That it’s a passion and a part of my personality. What do my parents see? A happy, well-rounded, well-travelled, incredibly curious daughter who adores people and cultural immersion and craves the adrenalin of adventure. I’m their child who got to do the things they never could. Or one who pushed them beyond their own boundaries when they travelled with me or at least tried to. A reaction from a parent, however extreme, is just a sign that they care. Work with them, not against them – because with more knowledge will come greater support and the chance to go travelling, on your own terms. READ MORE Top Excuses Not to go Travelling and how to Overcome them. When I first started down this path to curating all these answers on “why to travel with a baby“, it really was just a fun idea. Some crazy idea I had while out for a walk. It seemed like a good way to generate some content for our baby travel blog and our social media channels. But as I continued to reach out to more and more people to get their reason for “why they travel with a baby”, I started to get comments back about how much they enjoyed our Instagram feed and our website. People told me they found it inspirational. Then it hit me… of course, that is WHY we do it. When we first started Baby Can Travel it was after the return of our first trip to Barcelona with our 3 month old daughter. We were so in love with the idea of traveling with our kids and we had just proven to ourselves that it could not only be done but be enjoyable. We HAD to let everyone else know! We had to help other parents keep traveling once they had kids. Our mission was to encourage, support and inspire other parents to travel with their baby. At the time we didn’t know a lot of other people having kids and traveling, but our original idea was to create a community of parents traveling with their babies. Who knew we just needed to get on Instagram earlier to find all these amazing parents…. So here we are. This is not only a collection of reasons “Why You Should Travel With Your Baby“, but a community of like-minded parents who love travel with their babies and toddlers. We invite you to grab a coffee and read through this post it’s long we know, be inspired, and more importantly take the time to get to know some of these incredible parents. Follow them on Instagram and let them know you love what they are doing! Finally, we ask that you use this post to inspire someone else. Share it. Show others that you don’t have to stop travelling when you have a baby. When someone tells you your travelling days are over because you have a baby, point them in our direction. If you are new to our site and like what you see here, come follow us on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram too! NOTE Some of the answers might seem similar, but if you take the time to really read them you’ll feel the individual personalities behind each answer and I guarantee you will leave these pages inspired to take your first trip with baby! 1. “Traveling with our baby has brought us to places which we will never go as a couple. It also stretches our horizon and limits as we love to challenge ourselves with the things we can do with a baby. At the end of each trip, we had a closer bond and sometimes find out more about our baby. A family that travels together stay together through hardship and happiness!” By Adeline of lilmsraelyn 2. “Having had the travel bug for a long time, my husband and I never thought we could enjoy traveling more, until we stared traveling with our daughter! coratheexplorer We booked our first overseas adventure to Sri Lanka and the Maldives before she was even born, so that we didn’t chicken out! It was by far our best trip ever!” By Angela of 3. “We love traveling with our twins, because we are relaxed away from the city and we can enjoy them more. Also, we were avid travelers before I was pregnant and we want to keep on traveling the world – with the twins!” By Anna of & Find all the best double travel strollers for travel with twins! 4. “My husband and I travel with our 18 month old daughter, Merritt, to ensure she experiences the world. Plus we love making memories as a family!” By Ashlee of 5. “Traveling has always been important to us. For all the reasons that travel is important to most people – a sense of adventure, discovering new sights, smells and sounds. But traveling with our baby daughter has opened our eyes to our strengths as a family. It has also given us the gift of time. If you ever want time to speed up, have a baby. Between work, commutes and other day to day requirements family time is usually limited to weekends. Travel gives you the opportunity to spend all day, every day with one another and to reconnect as a family. You are forced to problem solve, be resilient, and adapt to the unplanned. But most important, you get to make memories. For this gift, we are grateful, and will always make travel a priority for our family.” By Courtney of fromyowwithlove & Recommended Reading Best Toddler and Baby Travel Hacks 6. “This was the first trip we took with Axel and discovered the amazing warmth of the locals while traveling with him. Traveling with a baby really broke down the barriers and we ended up speaking with so many locals that normally wouldn’t have bat an eyelid at us.” By Dana of mondays_child_ 7. “Why we travel with our baby? Travel together gives my husband a chance to bond with our daughter in a way that’s hard to duplicate in the regular day to day at home. It gives us the chance to experience the world through her wide eyes and become closer as a result.” By Erin of erinmarisha 8. “So often I find myself being too busy or distracted in the midst of everyday life to be the Mom I truly want to be. Something about exploring a new place forces you to just be present which is the best gift you can give to your family.” By Jaime of jaimekgordon 9. “I travel with my baby, because why not! My husband and I have always been drawn to exploring, learning about different cultures and trying different foods! Most importantly travel makes you realize that no matter how much you know, there’s always more to learn! We are grateful to share these experiences with our daughter!” By Jennifer of jenniiiferrrj Recommended Reading London with a baby or toddler 10. “As long as I can remember, traveling has always been my hearts happy place. There is just something phenomenal about that feeling you get when you are in a new place, soaking up every detail & just letting your heart be exactly where it’s MEANT to be… which is on the road. Now that I am married and a mom to one very busy 9 month old baby, that longing to be anywhere and everywhere has multiplied dramatically. Experiences are worth so much more than anything else in my opinion and getting to share them all with your child is perfection. Building memories and teaching him about different cultures is something I look forward to doing for years to come! One day when he’s older, he will have the coolest stories to tell & I am just happy that we get to be a part of them.” By Kendra from hereverwanderingmind 11. “We’ve always been big on travel and we want to share that passion with our daughter. We’re very grateful that we can spend this first year together as a family and travel at the same time. For us it actually worked out cheaper to live abroad for the year then to live in wet and cold London, so we knew where we’d rather be! I know some people couldn’t think of anything worse than traveling with a baby, but it’s all about your mindset. We’re quite easy going people and to us we’d be enjoying those special moments and tackling first year challenges wherever we are, so why not do it in a lovely little spot of paradise?” By Kim of _nomadic_mama 12. “Travel has always been an important part of my life. My parents instilled the travel bug in me and I hope to pass it to my littles. Though we haven’t gone far yet, we have had the opportunity to introduce our daughter to a few places.” By Kyleen of kyyrose04 13. “We travel with our toddler Noë because we want her to be exposed to different experiences including people, food, culture, music, art and scenery. We are a multicultural family with ancestry from all over the world.” By Melissa of DoeEyedNoe Recommended Reading Best Places to Travel with Toddlers 14. “We travel the world with Cirque du Soleil, moving every few weeks, so it’s important to try to slow down and enjoy family time whenever we can.” By Sarah of sarahmorales13 Read the guest post about traveling with a 2-year old Sarah wrote for us. 15. “I’ve always loved travelling and I’m incredibly fortunate that my 17 month old loves it too! Whether we’re at home in London or abroad, I watch her beautiful eyes light up with wonder when she sees new people and sights and sounds and even if she won’t remember these moments, I will and I know they will help shape her into an even more beautiful, open minded and considerate person.” By Surayya of surayya_a 16. “I’ve learned more traveling than in any classroom… It’s fun to see new places through the eyes of my 5 month old twins. They are amazed by the simplest sights that sometimes as an adult we take for granted. We want our babies to keep their sense of wonder and love traveling as much as we do. They were 3 months old when we took our first trip to beautiful Iceland. While the logistics of air travel with two were a little complex, the joy to get to see a new place was priceless. Overall, it was relatively easy to travel as long as they were fed, clean and able to take naps… here they woke up just in time to see the Geyser… wow!” By Lucia of luchick Recommended Reading Europe with babies and toddlers 17. “I love travelling with my baby who is 9 months now 8 months in the photo because she not only makes my husband and I smile every day, she makes many strangers smile. Whether locals or tourists, we find everyone welcomes us abroad when you have a baby and we know and have been told that she has made many peoples day by smiling at them or babbling to them or touching their face. It makes others happy to see you travel happily with your baby.” By Elizabeth of heyitsmeliz 18. “We love traveling with our son Finn. It truly is magical. We really wanted to try to maintain our traveling life style once Finn arrived last August. And we’ve done a pretty good job! So far he has been to Mexico, England, Ireland and various spots across the US we are Canadian. We love traveling with Finn because watching him enjoy new sights, sounds, people, food, and culture is wonderful! Watching him experience everything for the first time is what I enjoy the most, and while traveling we try to visit with friends we’ve met from our travels long before Finn was in the picture. It’s pretty special and he makes each trip our best adventure yet!” By Natasha of Terminato9 Recommended Reading Ireland with a baby or toddler 19. “When you have a baby, nights will be filled with multiple wake ups, days will probably have meltdowns, eating healthy veggies will require negotiation, taking a bath will include a bribe as will getting out of the bath when it’s over, getting things done will always be a challenge… no matter if you are home with your babies or out exploring the world. Might as well go through the daily challenges of parenthood while traveling and exploring exciting and new places!” By Daniela of a_baby_abroad & Recommended Reading Practical Tips for Managing Baby Food While Traveling 20. “My husband is a traveling consultant for 2 years and the company is generous enough to pay for me and our son Lincoln to come along too. We have been on the road so far for 10 months since Lincoln was 6 days old! and have traveled to 8 states so far. We will be traveling to our 9th state next week Washington.” By Danielle of danielledigges 21. “I love traveling with my baby because both traveling and my son are part of my life. Being with my son without traveling, or traveling without my son, would be half done. I would miss knowing the destinations with the look of a child, I would miss the curiosities that only they can see, I would lose out on being able to share the happy moments with him and would miss opportunities to create happy moments with me in his memory. Memories last for ever.” By Tere of conchupeteymochila 22. “We love to travel with our baby as you get to board the plane first … only joking although that is a nice perk when flying with a baby! The main reason we love traveling is seeing how much he learns and develops in such a short time. Even on our first trip at 8 months, his sign language and interaction with adults he didn’t know came in leaps and bounds by having quality one on one time with both parents present and not working, cleaning up or making dinner. It’s the undivided attention, amazing experiences and the way they remember events on holiday and recall them with such joy, from a favourite water slide, to feeding elephants to enjoying ice creams every day! Show babies the world and they will show you an insight into theirs!” By Rupreet of rupeat 23. “I travel with my babies because I want them to experience life outside our comfortable little bubble at home. It’s never easy, especially not with infant twins and a toddler, but it’s ALWAYS worth it. Silas and Ezra are now almost 10 months old and have taken three family vacations to Burlington, VT, Lake Placid, NY, and Nantucket, MA. We are talking about taking our three kids to visit their Aunt in Scotland in a few months!” By Mary of bartranboysandme Recommended Reading Best Places to Travel in the US with a Baby or Toddler 24. “We love traveling with our baby daughter, because we really enjoy discovering the world through her eyes. While saying that it can be exhausting is to state the obvious, most people forget to mention that it’s also way more fun! You are less likely to rush from place to place and more likely to enjoy the experience as it comes. Being with her while we travel has allowed us to be more present, noticing sights and sounds and experiences we might not have otherwise!” By Leila of itisleila & 25. “We believe a baby is no reason to slow down and stop traveling if this is something you are really passionate about. In our case, travel gives us richer experiences than we could possibly get back home. It also allows us to combine work with family time very easily and create everlasting memories in stunning destinations.” By Madalena of ontheroadwitholivia Recommended Reading Best Places to Travel with a Baby 26. “We travel with our baby because we believe it helps us connect as a family by going to new places together. We also believe family travel helps make us and him more flexible and offers global perspective that fosters compassion for those that are different from us, and an awareness of life outside of our comfort zone.” By Kara of tropicsnowflake 27. “We travel with our little babe because we want to see the world through her eyes. The look of awe and joy when she sees something for the first time or all the fun she has running around Jardin des Tuileries; we saw another Paris with her around. And honestly, we’d miss her if she wasn’t with us.” By Abby of mrsabbys & Recommended Reading Paris with a Baby or Toddler 28. “We love travelling with our family. We are all at our happiest and most relaxed when we are away. A happy wife means a happy life for everyone! We enjoy exposing our kids to different foods and getting us all out of our everyday routine. We love the heat, sun & beach. I’m 43 and traveling keeps me young! We travel to Bali 3 to 4 times a year, as it’s only a 3 hour flight from Perth Western Australia.” By Elyse of mumspassport 29. “We love to travel with our baby, as it makes you stop and smell the flowers, chase the butterflies and really take in the sights and sounds of this fascinating big wide world! We also like the wee added bonuses, like skipping customs and airport security queues when you have a baby in tow!” By Rebecca of chasingsummerfamily & 30. “We love to travel with our two daughters because travel is the best education they’ll ever get. I love seeing the world through their eyes. I travel a lot for work and take my 6-month old with me – she’s been on 20 flights already! I can’t wait to see how their views of the world change as they grow. For now my oldest is never as excited as when she sees the luggage come out.” By Christy of winetastingmama 31. “We decided to travel as an extended maternity leave when my husband got a new job as a teacher through an online school. I left my job as a Physician Assistant and am savoring the added time together as a family. Our goal of travel is to build a family foundation of openness, a desire for connectedness and a focus of collecting memories not things. It is also a promise for my husband and I to still cultivate our own dreams and feel our family will flourish as a result.” By Heather of whitmerwanderlust 32. “We travel with our toddler son because it’s FUN! Not always easy and definitely not always relaxing like pre-baby vacays? BUT seeing the world through his eyes and watching him connect words and feelings to new situations and environments is worth it all! Our toddler brings out the inner-child in us and we get to do things we would’ve missed out on without him… like children’s museums, aquariums, beautiful parks, building castles at the beach, watching trains, buses, planes, and trucks go by, and stopping to check out rocks or sticks on the ground and realizing the beauty of wherever we’re at! I hope everyone gets the chance to travel with their baby and see the bond that it brings to the family!” By Kayli of Kayli_sells 33. “We have always loved traveling and wanted to continue even after our daughter was born. We just did a month long trip in Europe with her and even though there were times where it wasn’t easy, it was an amazing experience to see things through her eyes. We look forward to making more memories in different parts of the world with our little cutie pie.” By Dipika of dipikap 34. “I love traveling with my baby because it is so fascinating seeing the world through her eyes! Even though she can’t verbally express how she feels or what she thinks, I can see her mind rolling and it is incredible. Simple things turn into something entertaining even for us. For instance, when we went to Texas, the first time she saw a mule I walked her close to pet him but instead she leaned her head on him almost cuddling, it was unexpected and such a precious moment.” By Cassie of cassielorenblog 35. “Why do we travel with our baby? We want to instill a passion for travel in our son from an early age because travel can be such a powerful force for good, not only for the world at large but for us as individuals and as a family. Learning about the world first-hand has the power to remind us of the vastness, diversity, and beauty to be found if we take ourselves out of our comfort zone to find it. Traveling with our baby allows us to experience this world together and gives us precious time to just be in the moment with one another. To us, no other experience can provide the unforgettable moments like travel can.” By Mike of totntow & 36. “Traveling is one of the most important things in my life, for me it’s the meaning of life. My husband and I met for the first time after 8 years of distance relationship in Egypt and we started our first dates exploring Egypt and since then we did not stop traveling. I’m so excited to share this passion with my son. Traveling with a baby is so much fun, you build memories all over the world.” By Fadoua of fadoua_91 Recommended Reading Egypt with a Baby 37. “A 6 month trip with our 2 year old started as a dream and has now became reality! Most people told us how brave we are and some people told us they do not understand why we are doing this with a little kid. But this is just an example of making your dream a reality instead of fearing what could go wrong. If Milou has an off day we plan a relax day. The first two weeks were already awesome. Seeing our daughter grow and teaching her by the things we explore is so great!” By Natasja of Meyoumilou 38. “We have been traveling with Alice since she was two months old, besides getting to share these wonderful experiences with her- we also travel with her because her ticket is free! Pictured is her last free trip since she is turning two tomorrow!!? However we will continue to travel with our toddler – free or not, these memories we make are priceless!” By Alice of aliceloveandlime Recommended Reading Toddler Travel Essentials 39. “A year ago, we quit our jobs, sold our house, and packed everything up to travel full time with our three toddlers. I’d like to say we travel with our 3 kids 3 and under because they force us to slow down and really experience new places, or because their excitement for small, new things is thrilling or because our wacky kids make friends easily so new cities feel like home… And all that is true. But really we travel with them because our love of travel didn’t end when we had kids, we want them to have the same sense of curiosity and adventure about the world. And also because we have another month of the twins flying free on our laps.” By Madeline of familytimeout 40. “Yes, I’ll say it traveling with our son is fun! You meet a lot of nice people because having a kid is a good ice breaker you know when he waves at strangers on the street or plays directly with his neighbor on the plane. We were travelers before and thought we would have to slow down when we learnt that our son had a heart defect. We thought he wouldn’t be able to travel for quite some time but 2 days after our cardiologist said he was good to go, we were boarding on his first international flight, to France. He is the perfect example that babies affected by congenital heart diseases can just go on and explore like other kids. Traveling and discovering just the same! His Tetralogy Of Fallot was partially fixed with an open heart surgery when he was 3 months old and has been flying 30 times since then! Why do we travel with him? To keep his mind, curiosity, imagination and heart open pun intended…” By Jeanne of 41. “There’s so many reasons why we travel with our babies. To show them different people and cultures and how we can find love, generosity and tolerance in so many different ways! But also to show them how big the world is, how many possibilities and dreams we can have and realise if we really want to! And to spend precious moments of love and learning and playing together far away from the day to day stress!” By Ana of levoyagedezoe Recommended Reading Baby Travel Essentials 42. “There are many reasons I could give to justify traveling with my babies and young kids, but ultimately, I travel with them because I like to travel. 😉 Having kids doesn’t mean the traveling has to stop. Even if they don’t remember our travels, I’m sharing with them and bonding with them over a pastime that I love and am passionate about.” By Stacy of strolleringtheglobe 43. “I travel with my babies because I want them to have multicultural experiences. Also because I’ve always loved to travel so I’m sharing that passion with them so they can grow up with a curious mind.” By Linda of lindaenohcoaching 44. “Well, we are travelling since Beatrice was 10 days old. Now Beatrice is 5 months old and we have been to Germany, Austria, Switzerland and a lot of wonderful cities in Italy, where we are living. We are convinced that there is no limit for baby to discover the world, even if they have a few days of live. We really love seeing Beatrice growing fast together with our knowledge of the world. We’d love to see all the entire countries of the world.” By Alessio of inviaggioconbea_babytravelblo Recommended Reading Traveling to Bavaria Germany with Toddlers 45. “There are many reasons I travel with my kids, but it is mainly to 1 see the sparkle in their eyes when they see something they love for the first time. Traveling does that. 2 I love that feeling when we come home from traveling, and everything about you changed but nothing changed at home. That sense of growth. I see that with our kids too. They seem that much more grown up and wiser from traveling. It’s kind of like they went on a time machine and learned so much.” By Emily of handaguide & 46. “I travel with my son to prove to myself that I can! When I had him, I experienced an identity crisis that is fairly typical for new parents. In the midst of life with a baby, I needed something of my own to connect to. Travel had been a passion of mine for years before Jack was born and everything from researching and planning during nap time to actually embarking on the trip provided me with an escape. There are several benefits to bringing him along, but at the heart of it, I love merging my former self with my current self and seeing the world along the way.” By Cheyenne of livinthecheylyfe 47. “I travel with my baby because she deserves the world. She watches the most simple happenings with wonder and delight. She experiences things I know no toy could replace. She gains confidence in herself when she traverses a rocky hill, finds love when she picks wildflowers, and soothes her sadness when she lets the colors of the sunset dance on her skin.” By Sarah of usdrifting 48. “Traveling as a family gives us so much time and space to create memories, an opportunity to meet new people, a chance to step out of our comfort zones and to learn about the world and ourselves. I hope that through traveling we are able to use our privilege to teach Hannah and our new baby! gratitude for what we have and to value experiences and time together more than anything else.” By Sarah of exploreasafamily & 49. “We love traveling with her because we believe that shared experiences with your love ones are the best experiences! We travel to discover and discovering with someone so curious as our daughter is so much fun!” By Dawan Of familyearthtrek & 50. “These two have been amazing to travel with! Peyton makes friends with all the local kids, people on holiday and also the animals ? Harman smiles at everyone and gives them all that gorgeous loving look, he’s definitely the little charmer! We go hiking & swimming with ease! Although Peyton likes to walk the tracks herself sometimes which can be a little time consuming, the fact that she has the confidence to do so is overwhelming and makes me so proud. People gravitate to these two little babes and I can’t wait for more exploring with these two ❣️.” By Kelly of _____kellyrose Recommended Reading Hiking with Toddlers 51. “I choose to travel with my baby because I can’t leave without her! She’s 9 months and traveled to 5 countries already Melbourne, Bali, Japan, USA and even Mongolia. There’s so much to learn and see with every country you go to. From the people, to its culture and the environment. I cannot find a better way to expose my baby to the world other than bringing her along with me, creating irreplaceable memories together. ” By Diane of dianeeng Recommended Reading Tokyo with a baby 52. “We started traveling with our son when he was very young, and we realized early on that he would make very powerful memories when he was experiencing something new. His mind became sharper and he became more creative, he would tell everyone stories about his travel adventures and soon he was talking more and more about it. Once we realized this we couldn’t stop. Unlike what some parents will say, traveling with a baby or infant is not easy, you need to get used to a different pace and get ready for some power struggles when your infant decides he wants to live on the beach and never ever go back home. It’s these things that make some parents prefer the comfort and control of their home ground and avoid going to new places, but that’s also why every parent should escape and realize that the only thing their child wants is to experience things as a family. And that maybe, just maybe all the packing-unpacking, the long drives and crying sessions, the stroller that weighs you down on that hill is part of your family history now, and without realizing you have created a strong family bond and understanding. So please escape your couch ” By escapethecouch 53. “As a new parent, traveling with our son is not easy, but this our big boy is such good traveler. We know he may not remember, but we will tell him when he sees this picture years later on. Jonathan is 21 months old right now and he deserves to explore the world too…” By Rijen of jona_e_lando 54. “We travel with our little one as we think that travel is rewarding whatever the age. It teaches children about the world and values such as curiosity, acceptance and free spiritedness. But most importantly, I think travel provides us with a quality of family time we don’t get when surrounded by our daily life and chores.” By Leona of wandermustfamily & 55. “The first years are such a sleep deprived blur. Why not do something amazing that you will remember forever?! Now my youngest has just turned 2, it’s the time we spent travelling together as a family that I remember most.” By Jenny of travelynnfamily & 56. “I travel with my son because I love to watch him experience new things. In NYC we watched him lay back in wonder at the giant sky scrapers; in Mexico, he crawled around in sand for the first time with the most puzzled expression ever; and in Portland, he yelled with joy as we hiked through the beautiful, green mountains. I’ll remember those moments forever, and one day, he’ll get to see pictures of his young self experiencing all of those amazing places.” By Laura of letsgolittleone & Recommended Reading New York with a baby 57. “We have been traveling with our kids around the in a school bus turned into a house for the past 1 1/2 years. Our youngest was born into a life of travel and the bus is the only home she’s ever known! My husband and I love to travel and we wanted to share that with our kids. Through travel we wanted to teach them to be flexible, curious and adventurous. So far so good I think!!” By Robin of contentednomads & 58. “We travel to give the kids a sense of belonging to the world. We believe that if from a young age they experience and see different places, people and cultures they will grow up with an innate sense that they are citizens of the world. They will realize that the world is this home and have a larger sense of responsibility. It seems like a lofty goal, but I honestly find that when kids are exposed to so much so early they don’t know any different. Their reality is a world that is diverse.” By Elizabeth of ejdn & Find out why taking a cruise with a baby is a wonderful family vacation! 59. “I travel with my baby because I seriously love to travel and I want to show them the world. I travel with my baby because they are so portable. I travel with my baby because I want to continue to learn about this diverse world and begin introducing it to my littles.” By Annika of borntobeadventurous & 60. “I travel with my baby because the experiences she has even before she can remember have a great impact on her. By age two, she had visited many of the world’s largest art collections. At three, she now walks around art galleries, holding my hand and discussing which paintings catch our attention. She has a deep appreciation and love of art that she probably would not have had if not for her wide exposure as a baby.” By Catherine of wegowithkids & 61. “So we can see the world! Just because you have a small child doesn’t mean you have to put your life on hold. Plus, while traveling with a small child has definitely changed how we travel – there’s a lot more time spent wandering in random parks and less time in museums – seeing the world through his eyes has allowed us to appreciate the places we go in a new way.” By Heidi of ourlittlerookery & 62. “I have worked in photography for the past 15 years working as an editor for celebrity portraiture. Currently living in LA but previously from the Northwest and Southern Mexico, traveling is second nature for me. So when I had a baby, I knew that wouldn’t change. Now as a mom I use my passion for fun, color and photography chasing after my toddler wherever we may be in the world.” By Jenna of jennashaa 63. “Travelling with a baby is far from easy, but it is so worth it and we can’t wait to show her more of the world! We took this picture in the middle of a 20+ hour travel day from Canada to Portugal. Overnight flight + a crying baby and no sleep for mom or dad = we swore we were never travelling again! But once we got to Portugal, we realized what a wonderful experience it was to travel with our daughter.” By Jessica of finelinetravels & Recommended Reading Lisbon with toddlers 64. “I don’t believe that having kids automatically means sacrificing the things I love to do; for me, it means that I have additional people to share my interests with! I used to be intimidated to travel with my daughter but found out quickly that it was an irrational fear and once I had my son, we didn’t skip a beat. The best advice I can give for anyone apprehensive to travel with kids is to just get out and do it! Some of the best memories I have with my family are the ones we have made traveling!” By Shannon of sn_dub 65. “I love to travel with my girl because she is my best companion since I knew I was pregnant. She is my lifetime partner.” By Viviane of segueajoaninha 66. “Why travel with my baby? Some people think it’s selfish to travel with your baby and it’s all for the parents, but it’s not! I can spend my entire holiday focusing on my kid and it’s so wonderful!” By Melissa of melissavanschaik 67. “I love traveling with my babies because it allows us to spend quality time together as a family, away from the inevitable pressures of home and work life. No commuting, no rushing to and from nursery, no chores to worry about – no problem! If we see and do amazing things along the way, then that’s a bonus.” By Erica of mumtraveldiaries 68. “We travel with our baby because we want them to experience the world through a variety of lenses. They catch on much earlier than you’d think about how different cultures can be.” By Aja of chaoticwanders 69. “I will be truthful and say travelling with a baby is definitely going to be more tiring then just me and my husband. We don’t get to explore as much places in a day, because baby has to take a nap or it is her bedtime. However, these are also the reasons why traveling with a baby is wonderful. With a baby we are forced to travel slow. We probably have only 1 to 2 itineraries per day. But this leads us to spending more time at a place and enjoying the place longer we get to absorb the culture and atmosphere. We get to experience and see the world in another perspective through our baby’s eyes. We made more friends along the way. People usually have a soft spot for babies and would stop to play or talk to her and in turn talk to us and share about their family. It is really an awesome experience we will never get when we travel without a baby.” By Carrie of Carrieelisha 70. “The main reason why we like traveling with our little Sophia Stella is to get to relive and experience the world through her fresh eyes. She’s giving us back that feeling of amusement for the smallest little details and for us that’s so important. She was so amazed by all the lights and colors that we actually noticed all the effort and level of attention to detail that Disney provide during their special events.” By Polly of petitevierose 71. “We travel with Zayn because we can. People say traveling with a baby is a hassle because they might throw tantrums, throw up, run around, etc… but even if we were to stay home, they will probably do the same… so why not experience the joy and toils of parenthood while travelling?” By Hafizhah of happytrippers 72. “We travel with our baby because we learn, grow and share wonderful memories together. We believe that travel offers the best education, we watch our son grow and develop so quickly through his experiences and are always amazed at how well he adapts to every situation and location. We also love that we are teaching him that the world is different and unique and how truly wonderful that truly is.” By Laura of ontheroadfamily 73. “I have always loved to travel. I’m constantly looking up flights and dreaming of my next trip. When I started having kids, I couldn’t imagine giving that up. I want my children to experience the world but more importantly, I want the family bonding time. My husband works long hours and there are days that go by without him seeing the kids. Trips are a great way for us to spend uninterrupted, quality time together.” By Megan of megmhaddad 74. “I currently travel with two kids. My “toddler” just turned 5 but now we also have a 3 month old. We have been traveling with our oldest one all her toddler time. Why Because we love traveling! We have so much fun as a family seeing the world. We all learn so much while visiting new countries, especially kids. We currently live in California but my family is on the other side of the world, in Finland, so we travel to visit the grand parents as well. “ By Paula of paulagaston & 75. “This quote is why we travel with my now 16 month old son, because he is living his life right now and he deserves to live it to the full When we adults think of children, there is a simple truth which we ignore childhood is not preparation for life; childhood is life. A child isn’t getting ready to live; a child is living. …we have forgotten, if indeed we ever knew, that a child is an active participating and contributing member of society from the time he is born. Childhood isn’t a time when he is molded into a human who will then live life; he is a human who is living life.’ -Professor T. Ripaldi” By Vic of butiwillremember 76. “We travel with our baby because we want him to be a citizen of the world. To learn from and experience different cultures that will only broaden his horizons. Our son’s first international trip was to South Africa at 7 months old. Our greatest joy was watching him interact with all the people we met along the way. He seemed to know he was on a great adventure and his eyes were wide open. We know he’ll never remember that trip, but we like to think that somehow it left an imprint on his soul. He has worlds to conquer and we are along for the ride!” By Gina of whiskandwander 77. “Traveled solo from yyz to lhr with these two and had lots of tough times but the benefits of traveling with them far outweighs the drawbacks! Why do we travel with our little ones even though they might not remember it? Because we’ve noticed that our children become more creative with play, they build better communication skills, they see their parents trying new things, they ask more questions, they invent games and toys with whatever is at hand, they need less, they learn how to adapt. I’ve realized that travel teaches me so many lessons – parenting doesn’t require lots of toys/baby gear/minivan/big house, routines can change, adventures and inquiry don’t stop with children. When my daughter was 2 and beginning to speak, she told her daycare teacher a story about a bird trying to get out of a window in a bedroom – something that happened when we were on holiday when she was 18 months old! Maybe they do remember!” By Jen of 78. “Sometimes in life, you don’t realise things as clearly as when looking in retrospect. Our kids are now 7 and 4. We travelled with our baby girl a lot; we were expat travellers living overseas at the time, so it was a natural extension of what we did. Once your children start school our baby is now in Year 1 you realise that you have obligations around their education, and perhaps more importantly, their social lives! Yes they have friends! So when you travel with a baby there are no time restrictions, you just pick the best time and go! This is TOTALLY a reason to travel with your baby. Having a baby is certainly a massive change from being a traveller; they come with routines, and a pile of paraphernalia! But once you adjust to this, and they start to sleep with some regularity, it is a time when you can wonder at the marvels of the world. Pre-walking, you can spend time soaking up the atmosphere of places while not chasing a terrible two or a tantrumming 3!!! Those blissful first 12 months are an ideal time to travel with a baby.” By Ariana & Norman of worldoftravelswithkids & 79. “My husband and I always loved travelling and when our first son came along it came natural to us to look at him as a new travel companion, rather than a reason to stop exploring. We went on our first trip as a family when he was only 2 months old and while the experience was immensely different from any holiday we had as a couple, we loved every minute of it. We loved being able to have a cuddle with him in a beautiful new place, we loved capturing the moment when his tiny feet touched the sea for the very first time. And we loved the relationships that a baby creates around you people came to us to see him, to ask questions and to share stories about their own kids. Regardless of language, with words and gestures, people shared that they too had kids or a friend with a baby and they tell you how many, how old, how cute they are. And it made us feel that we had something in common with them, parenthood, something so powerful to cross language and cultural barriers!” By Marta of learningescapes & 80. “They will remember more than you think. Before every trip we’ve taken with our now 2 1/2 year old, we’ve heard the same comments from naysayers and critics. “She won’t remember any of it. Traveling with a baby or toddler is a waste of money.” While it’s true that people don’t remember much from their infancy and early years of childhood, defining moments as a baby or toddler will ultimately mold one’s interests. My daughter may not remember details from her first plane ride, but even at her young age, she absolutely loves planes, airports, and trains. Obviously, she has memories of traveling or she wouldn’t love and talk about airplanes as much as she does. While our toddler may not be able to recount stories from her travels abroad, those experiences have shaped who she is today, and they will continue to shape who she becomes in the future.” By Melissa of parenthoodandpassports & Recommended Reading Flying with Toddlers 81. “Why travel with a toddler Because life doesn’t need to stop when you have kids. Who knows if you’ll be able to afford to travel once your kids are grown or when you’re retired so if you can afford it now, you should do it now. Plus, as a working mom, the only time I can really connect with my family without worrying about work is when I’m on vacation.” By Brittany of mommyplusmiles & 82. “The baby stage is the perfect time to test out the waters traveling with kids. Babies are portable, they sleep a lot except at night of course!! and they are fascinated by everything. If I’m going to be a 24-hour milk machine, you better bet I’m going to do it poolside with a tropical drink in hand.” By Katie of tearfreetravel & Recommended Reading Flying with a Baby and Breastfeeding 83. “We travel with our baby because we weren’t about to let an addition to the family slow our traveling down! We went somewhere new almost every month before we had our daughter and instead of stopping we decided to bring her along for our adventures. Sure we had to do things a little more family friendly, but now we get to share our passion for traveling with our little one as well!” By Carolynn of famjamtravels & 84. “I have always loved traveling… seeing new places, the sights, the smells, the history and culture. When I got pregnant every time I would go on a trip or talk about vacation, my friends would all tell me that I “wouldn’t be able to do that with children” and “better enjoy it while you can”. I would tell them my love for travel was greater than that. When William came along. Flights were still made, hotels still booked. I was going to prove them wrong. We still traveled…. just a little differently. We made sure to buy dish soap where we were going so bottles could still be washed in the sink. We stayed in places longer to accommodate for “nap time”, but we saw so much more. We checked out parks and “kid friendly” places we might never have thought to go to. We learned that people all over the world are willing to help you out. Helping carry a travel stroller up stairs, spending time directing us to a location. Vacations changed slightly but my love didn’t. Yes, he won’t remember being freezing cold in Dublin on St. Patrick’s Day, or the gorgeous weather we had on our walking tour in England. He won’t remember hiking in Maine or the first beach sunset he saw. But these memories are etched in my brain for me to enjoy. So selfishly, I travel with my child because I still love to. But, I hope in the future it will make him a better person – a more humble, well-rounded, go with the flow person; because that’s what travel teaches all of us.” By Kate of kam03f & will_where_i_am 85. “My husband and I fell in love with traveling early on in our relationship, and I truly believe we fell in love because of traveling. When we had our baby, staying home was never an option for us. By his first birthday our son will have visited eight states, four countries and two continents. Traveling with him has allowed us to meet countless new friends as babies are instant conversation starters. I want him to develop a deep appreciation of other cultures and places and an understanding that while sometimes challenging and inconvenient, travel is always beautiful and worth it… a great metaphor for life!” By Angela of angelamichelleg 86. “We love to travel with our daughters because it gives them experiences that they would never get otherwise. It also helps them understands perspectives of other people and other cultures. They have no preconceived ideas and it’s amazing to watch them experience new things with eyes wide open.” By Rosalind of globalhealthfamily 87. “Even though it is definitely more work, more prep, and more time to go on day trips & mountain adventures with our little man, it’s so worth it. We find that as long as we go into the adventure with the expectation that it’s just that…an adventure, we all come out on the other side with our souls a little more full of the good things in life.” By Jacey of weneedmorewild Recommended Reading Hiking with a Baby 88. “We love to travel! We have done so since my oldest was a baby. Now my second is one and we are loving it. There are obviously many cultural and educational reasons to travel. All of which we value but our number one reason is simply to be together and make memories! My one year old may not remember specifics of traveling across the ocean but I think she will remember our bond, our family connection and the fact that our favorite place to be is together.” By Rachel of beboldlittleones 89. “We initially travelled with Lilah when she was 3 months old and were in Europe for 7 weeks. Escaping the summer heat of Saudi Arabia where we lived was always our plan and this did not change having a baby. 18 months and 18 countries later we have enjoyed every moment traveling with her, sharing our love of travel now as a family. It is amazing to see her so comfortable on a plane and interact with people from all over the world. The experiences we have as a family are priceless.” By Riki of kiwisinbarefeet & 90. “I travel with my babies so I can show them that the world is more beautiful than people say it is. I want them to learn to explore, ask questions and see it for themselves.” By Christine of tapped_out_travellers & 91. “We want our children to understand the beauty, diversity and the challenges of the real world.” By Brittany of britsbigexperience 92. “You should travel with your baby because they fly for free as lap infants! And on a more serious note. I personally travel with my baby because she is what makes each adventure special. Seeing the world through her eyes truly opens mine.” By Amoya of trippinmomma 93. “There are many reasons why we love to travel with our two two rascals. We are super outdoorsy family who loves to hike. There is this stigma that once you have a child your life changes drastically and you can no longer do all the things you loved to do before becoming a parent. Not with us! We always loved to hike and we’re not going to stop our passions because we had a baby. We found a perfect solution – we purchased an Osprey Poco Child Carrier for hiking with our baby and continued our adventures with a baby on our back! It makes it super special because we get to experience all of these amazing moment in the company of our kids.” By Gosia of travelerstateofmind & Recommended Reading Best Hiking Carriers for Babies 94. “I want my baby to know who his parents are. I always saw pictures of my mom skateboarding, surfing, and traveling before I was born. But she stopped doing a lot of those things when she had me. It made me sad that I never got to know that really adventurous girl from the old pictures. So, I want my son to know me and my love of adventure. Because of this I’ll continue to travel with him & teach him how to surf. And hopefully we’ll have some really awesome pictures to go with all of our stories.” By Jenna of jennaschrader89 95. “We are getting ready to move cross country. My husband is a naval aviator so we travel and move a fair bit 🙂 James our baby is a joy to travel with. We love seeing James sense of wonder, sharing new experiences with him, and making sure he is a well-rounded person. I grew up traveling internationally, my husband lived in Japan as a child, so it is important to both of us to expose James to different cultures, art, food, and people. We believe life is about experiences, and what better way to experience life than to travel.” By Ali of alicartemenus 96. “We want to show the world to our baby, to show him what a beautiful diverse place it is. We want to open his eyes to see these beauties and appreciate the diversity.” By Saman of fitandactive_afterbaby 97. “Travel is great for creating special memories together. Because quality and quantity time with your family. Time together is so important for us. When you travel, you’ll share unique experiences that will bond your family. You’ll always have those special memories that bond your family together.” By Linsey of 98. “To show myself that I can continue to let my curiosity guide me across the globe, even after becoming a mom. And, to show my daughters that there are multiple paths to take in life, that they are certainly not bound to one. The world is their playground!” By Kate of flippingmoons 99. “We travel with our toddler to open her mind. Ultimately, we want to teach her that not all classrooms have walls. She won’t learn empathy, heartbreak, or joy from textbooks or backlit screens. She’ll learn from experience and be better for it. Travel will spark her character, open her mind, and strengthen her courage. It will teach her more than we ever could alone.” By Chelsea of unsettledown & 100. “We’ll admit it. Traveling with the kids 5 months, 2 years and 4 years is partially for ourselves. They aren’t going to stay small forever. Though not every memory is stress-free, I promise that one day you WILL look back and laugh and smile when you think of each memory. We want to be able to look back into a collection of daily treasures, instead of just the day-to-day routine of everyday life. Traveling with kids isn’t always for them; it is okay for it to be about you too! Our kids won’t even remember their first trips to Disneyland, but they were priceless, and we sure have some amazing memories.” By Debbie of worldadventurists & Recommended Reading Disneyland with a Baby 101. “Why I’m traveling with my babies, first reason is, because as a parent, we also need a break. We need some refreshment, I always believe happy parent equals happy baby. Traveling doesn’t mean having to go to expensive or extraordinary destinations. Extraordinary moments are created by ourselves. Second reason, sometimes as a parent we put to much fear in ourselves. Fear of mistakes, fear of being judge and fear of getting out of our comfort zone. New places will give us new perspectives and the ability to enjoy ourselves because usually you know nobody at the new place. Don’t be afraid if your baby will like it or not. Our baby feeling is a reflection of their parents. As long you enjoy your trip, so does your baby.” By Yuannisa of yuannisahopmans And for one final one… We travel with our children because we want to show them the world. We want them to see that there is so much more than our small pocket of the world. In doing that, we hope that they learn that all people are good, regardless of where they are from. By Celine & Dan of babycantravel & familycantravel We can not thank you enough for following along. We hope this list of reasons to travel with a baby will help to inspire even one more family to get out there and see the world. If you enjoyed this and would like to see more great content from us, please follow us on Instagram and share this post with your friends! Pin It For Later! Celine Brewer Celine is the owner of Baby Can Travel. Not only does she have years of experience traveling with babies & toddlers, but she's been helping new parents travel with their babies and toddlers for over a decade. Celine also writes about family travel on the site which she co-owns with her husband. Being from the Canadian Rockies, she shares her passion about her home and travel to Banff National Park and area on their site Q. Dear Umbra My parents fly and go on cruises multiple times a year. How do I persuade them to stop enjoying a pastime they feel they’ve earned? — Keep It Domestic? A. Dear KID, You’re in a position that many adult children of now- or soon-to-be retired parents will find hand-wringingly relatable. As with most aspects of the current climate catastrophe, you can blame American culture for your parents’ position You work and work and work for decades, and you’re told that you can enjoy your time and money once your obligations settle down. Your kids are grown, your time is less regimented, you’re free to do what you like. You plan to spend those blissful, open years “seeing the world” — a week lounging in cafés in Florence, another on the beach in Tel Aviv. But all of a sudden, the thing you spent decades fantasizing about as a reward for your time toiling in some cubicle is morally at odds with the well-being of future generations. Womp womp! To productively answer your question, we need to address two conflicts. One has to do with the generational divide that climate change brings into such sharp relief; the other is about the challenge of trying to persuade someone to adopt your values. I’m assuming your parents are part of the baby boomer generation, which gets a lot of blame for the climate disaster we’re in. In the most simplistic terms, the children of the 1950s and 60s ate up a huge part of our global carbon budget before anyone even knew what it was, and they mostly won’t be alive to see the consequences. Certainly, there are many people in that generation who are directly to blame for that disaster fossil fuel CEOs, certain legislators, and a good deal of banking executives, just for starters. But to demonize tens of millions of people for simply being alive at a pivotal time in climate action history feels … unproductive. Particularly if you’d like them to understand and adopt your values. Because it’s your values, fundamentally, that make you cringe at the jetsetter lifestyle your parents have adopted. Travel is an upsettingly bad-for-the-climate activity. Flying is the most carbon-intensive way the average person can spend their time; so much so that the Swedes have developed the term flygskam, or flight shame, to describe the feeling of guilt that haunts most climate-aware people waiting in the boarding line. Cruises are almost comically bad for the environment; they are a perfect encapsulation of the lifestyle that you would live if you wanted to accelerate climate change as quickly as possible. One analysis suggests that cruises emit 1,200 kilograms of carbon-dioxide equivalent per kilometer traveled, another that cruise travel is between three and four times as carbon-intensive as jet travel. That’s just looking at the carbon emissions from burning fuel; it doesn’t take into account the ecological impacts of sewage and food waste dumped freely into the ocean, nor the particulate pollution caused by that infamously dirty fuel. Your values, understandably, tell you that this profligate pollution is wrong. The problem is that your values conflict with your parents’ values. Let’s say that your parents have been getting themselves through the drudgery of daily life with the eventual promise of these golden years of relaxation and exploration. That’s a life value Work hard and make your money, and you’ll be rewarded with a life of leisure. To tell your parents “you did it all wrong” is just going to create rift and resentment. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t help them redefine what the life of leisure looks like. Humans are programmed to adapt and change their expectations based on a shifting reality; some are nimbler at it than others, but it’s the whole way we’re able to able survive. I think the thing you can help your parents do is not give up the reward that they’ve planned for themselves after their long working lives, but just change it. The new reality, which you’re well-positioned to describe to your parents, is one that doesn’t accommodate frequent international leisure travel without some severe ethical quandaries. The desire to travel internationally could come from any good place a yearning to understand the world better, a curiosity about other cultures, an interest in the planet’s natural beauty. But here’s the thing I’d place a safe bet that there are an astonishing number of things to see and learn and marvel at within driving or train-ing or non-cruise-sailing distance of your parents’ home. “I think it’s a matter of shifting our understanding of how to take advantage of what’s available close by us,” Wendy Wood, social psychologist and author of the book Good Habits, Bad Habits The Science of Making Positive Changes That Stick, said to me. “I honestly don’t think it’s a matter of giving up what you’ve been looking forward to. I think it’s a matter of changing your framework to value what you’re doing slightly differently — valuing what you have close to home.” I’ve been delighted and impressed by so many things that are within a few hours’ drive of anywhere I’ve lived — and no, that’s not just Seattle, which is renowned for its majestic surroundings of mountains and sea. When I lived in Chicago, I found the Indiana sand dunes and the countryside of Michigan to be stunning. In the dead of winter, the long, snowy stretch of dramatic tundra between Minneapolis and Bozeman left me awestruck. In Poughkeepsie, New York, there was the entire Hudson Valley and the Adirondacks across the river. Even the beach was within driving distance, the Long Island Sound warmer than most waters in the region. Around my hometown of Pittsburgh, the misty, verdant Appalachians that span the state are worth weeks of exploration, in my opinion. I don’t think your parents are monsters for wanting to travel; to the contrary — I think it’s a far more respectable way to spend your leisure years than buying cars or big houses or fancy things. I do believe that you’d be within your rights as your parents’ child to share some of your concerns with them about the consequences of their travel, and to encourage them to put a little thought and creativity into crafting some closer-to-home vacations. That said Sometimes you don’t want to put thought and creativity into something! Sometimes the whole point of a reward is to avoid effort and work altogether! As much as I see all the awfulness of a cruise, I can appreciate that they plan every aspect of your day for weeks, and that sounds kind of dreamy. In that vein, might I recommend this approach for your parents You plan a super-nice and fascinating vacation reasonably near their home that they can undertake by car or train? You play travel agent, and they keep the carbon footprint of their trip smaller without having to put in extra work. There’s novelty and fun and, dare I say, luxury to be had without boarding a plane. Or a cruise ship. But frankly, those mostly sound like hell. Locally, Umbra

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