The Best and Worst of travelling with children
Travelling with children is a wonderful adventure that dramatically changes your travel experience - for both better and worse. Here is my top 3 list for the best and worst of travelling with children.
The Best:
The People. Everywhere we go we find people who love children. And, because of them, we’ve begun conversations with perfect strangers and been invited to see and do things that we otherwise wouldn’t. From being shown into the kitchen in our favourite restaurant in Chefchaouen, to being offered to try our hand at a local trade, people just seem much more open to engaging with children and having them beside us has opened our up family to experiences we’d never have had without them.
A New Perspective. Children view the world differently then we do and you can’t anticipate what will get them excited (unless it’s icecream or a fair ride!). We thought the castles of Europe would do it for them but after seeing one or two it was “ya, ya, another castle”. On the flip side, as we toured the Roman Forum in Athens the girls suddenly yelled with excitement “mom - you have to see this ant!”.
They slow you down. As you can see from the worst list, this is a double edge sword. Everything takes longer with children, from walking to your destination, to exploring sites, to just getting ready in the morning. It all takes longer. And, on top of that, children just have less ability to keep going at a break neck pace. At first this is a challenge but soon you realize that slowing down has great benefits too. When you slow down you get to know a place better. You have the opportunity to see things and experience things you may have otherwise whizzed by. You have longer, more authentic conversations with people, and you get a much better sense for the culture of the place you are visiting. Slowing down has made travel for us so much more rewarding.
The Worst:
Toilets! Small children just don’t have the ability to hold their bladders like adults do and so, no matter where you are, you have to be prepared to use the public toilet - whether you like it or not. From filthy public washrooms to squat toilets, we’ve seen them all. And, we’ve had to aid or train our 6 year old in the how to use them. I’ve stripped her naked from the waist down after she peed all over her pants the first time she used a squat toilet. And, I’ve held her suspended, legs in the air, over toilets I wouldn’t even walk into if I had any choice in the matter.
24/7 Parenting. There’s no break when you’re on the road with your children. If you’re anything like us you aren’t likely to trust the hotel sitters (even if you can find them) and so you find that you’re parenting 24/7 every day of your journey. For a 2 week trip this is great - a chance to bond with the family. And that is also true of a longer trip. But it also means you get little time to yourself, and even less time together as a couple. While I love my children dearly, and there is nothing better then the sound of their contagious laughter, I have to say there have been plenty of times on this journey that I considered running away to hide somewhere just for a few moments of peace!
They slow you down. You can’t do everything you want to. Once you get used to this it’s actually a refreshing change of pace but if you’re planning a big trip with kids you need to adjust your expectations. 2 days in Rome and 10 things you want to see? Cut that list down to the top 5 and be happy if you see 3 of them. You’re going to move slower and take more time with everything you do, and you’re going to need to plan some time around things the kids like. We often joke that we’re on an ice cream and playground tour of the world as we spend as much time in local playgrounds as we do touring the top attractions.
Tips for making the worst, just a little bit better:
Carry toilet paper and hand sanitizer with you at all times! Don’t assume the washrooms you use will have either paper or a sink available for your use. Oh and institute our rule that you aren’t allowed to leave any place with a clean bathroom without using it. Bonus tip: carry change for the toilet (the aren’t all free), and if you really have to go, bring the little one with you - people are much happier to let a child use the bathroom if it isn’t public then an adult!
Stay at Airbnbs. Having an apartment gives everyone in the family a bit of their own space to hide away when they need to. It also gives you a kitchen allowing you to do some cooking or, at the very least, have some cereal and coffee on hand for breakfast. It won’t only save you a ton of money but may also save your sanity.
Travel slower. Hopping from city to city, moving every day or two, may be great when you’re 25 and backpacking with your best friend but when you have kids you need to slow it down! Days on the road are exhausting and it takes much longer to see everything you want to see in a given place. So take a deep breath, slow it down and really take the time to get to know a place. We find that 1 week is a good amount of time to spend somewhere for relatively fast travel but have really enjoyed slowing it down even more when we can.
