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You are here: Home Family & Kids Kids Travelling abroad with babies, kids or teens

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10/11/2010Travelling abroad with babies, kids or teens

Travelling abroad with babies, kids or teens The NuNomad blog takes a comprehensive look (from experience!) at the pros and cons of taking your offspring abroad.

I’ve been travelling this year with our three daughters, ages 16, 15 and 9.  When we first began I would have said 16, 14, and 8 but we’ve now passed two birthdays and will celebrate the third before we return home. Half of our year was spent with the girls in a private school in Florianopolis Brazil, and half homeschooling and taking supplemental classes in  Oaxaca, Mexico. Overall, the girls and I have had amazing experiences, have learned a lot and had a great time.

One of the biggest pieces of learning for me has been how different it is to live abroad with a child as opposed to living abroad with teens.  Often what I see written about family travel talks in a very general sense about traveling with kids but I think the differences deserve some emphasis for those of you planning to hit the road with children of different age levels.  I don’t profess to be an expert but I’ll share with you some observations from our family travels over the years.

Ages 0-able to walk
First let’s look at babies before they are able to walk.  That age can really vary.  Our earliest walker started at 7 months but some children don’t walk until well after their first birthdays.  For the traveler, however, the ability to walk is an important differentiator.


Pros
-    Your child will most likely qualify for discounts or free entry almost everywhere and may even be allowed to sit with you in your airline seat, meaning a free trip for the baby.
-    Unable to walk, your child will be under your full control since you will carry them everywhere. There will be no need to worry about them running off into danger or getting lost.
-    If you’re breastfeeding there will be little need for carrying extra food, bottles, etc. making your traveling much simpler.
-    Your child won’t have an opinion about sight seeing so you’ll still be free to wander museums, etc. without hearing that ever beloved whine – “This is boring!”

Cons
-    Your child will have little awareness of your travels and therefore few to no memories of them later in life.
-    Your child will sometimes experience discomfort while traveling and may be difficult to console, so be prepared for irritated people on planes, trains, wherever they may be trapped into experiencing your baby’s screaming.
-    Changing an explosive diaper while on a plane, train, etc. is not a fun experience for you or anyone nearby.
-    Traveling can really upset a baby’s schedule.  Be prepared for night wakening, day sleeping after your arrival.
-    If your baby needs medical care while away, you’ll have to trust unfamiliar doctors and medical practices.

The walking toddler – school age
Once your child is walking the landscape becomes very different while on the road both for him/her and for you who must be constantly aware of where they are.

Pros
-    Your child (and  your pocketbook) will still enjoy many discounts and free entries.
-    With the ability to walk, you won’t have to carry your child 100% of the time.  Your back will get some needed rest as Junior tries out their new ability and/or enjoys seeing the sites from a stroller.
-    Your child will be forming new language abilities.  If you are in a foreign country, they will soak up all the new sounds of the language and with a little time could become completely fluent in a second tongue.  This is an excellent time for becoming bilingual.
-    If you’ve been using a bottle, that can probably be put away at this point and your child can join you in eating a variety of foods, thereby making it easier to get food along the way and not have to carry everything with you.
-    If you are settling in a destination your child may be old enough to participate in local services for kids such as classes or child care settings, allowing them to experience the new culture as a native child would.


Cons
-    You will still be the beast of burden for most of your child’s things.  Be prepared to lug!
-    Your child will still be somewhat young for having lasting memories of their travels.  Photos will help them retain some of them.
-    Your child will still be somewhat young for appreciating history, monuments, art, etc.  They will be happier in parks, playgrounds and other kid places.  If it is your goal to experience the latter, you may be frustrated with Junior’s lack of interest or downright temper tantrums at being dragged to see the Mona Lisa.
-    Junior’s expert ability to walk and even run at this point will mean you’ll need to be ever vigilant to where your child is going.  Crowded subway stations, points of interest and other large expanses can be stressful to navigate with a child who can quickly dart in and out of the crowd.
-    If your child is to become lost or need help they will still be somewhat young for seeking help on their own or communicating their needs to strangers.
-    While your kid may be full of energy at one moment, they can also quickly collapse in exhaustion.  I have vivid memories of our 2 1/2 year old collapsing in a temper tantrum as we tried to change gates in Chicago O’Hare Airport.  Our arms full of luggage, we were unable to scrape her off the floor as she kicked and screamed.  Not a fun moment.

School age – adolescence
The school age child begins to think more formally and can appreciate some of the experiences that went unnoticed when they were younger.

Pros
-    Your school age child will still enjoy some discounts until about age 12.
-    Your child can begin to carry their own luggage within reason for their size.
-    Your child may enjoy helping to plan the trip and will have opinions about where to go.
-    For location independent families, school age children can live up to the term – in other words – they can attend school.  This means they can be immersed completely in the new culture, language, and experiences of other children their age.  If homeschooling they can enrich their travels by studying subjects pertinent to their surroundings and also find other immersion opportunities.
-    They can take advantage of classes, camps, or other activities previously denied them.
-    They will be able to retain memories of their experiences.
-    They will be able to form relationships with peers during an age when many pastimes are universal ie. playing hide and seek, jumping rope, playing ball.
-    They will be able to appreciate cultural activities such as visiting museums, listening to live music, watching dance, etc.
-    They will be able to grasp foreign languages quicker than their older siblings or parents.
-    Because they will still be young for venturing out independently, parents will maintain some control over what activities they engage in.


Cons
-    They may fall behind peers in their home country academically.
-    They may experience more stress during assimilation than their younger counterparts, feel more self conscious when attempting to speak new languages or stressed by new school experiences.
-    They may feel homesick at times.
-    They will still be too young to venture out independently and must rely on their parents for activities outside of school.

Adolescents
The adolescent will have all the abilities of the school age child with a higher level of independence and more complex social interactions.

Pros
-    Teens will be able to maneuver their own luggage, tickets, etc. and may even be able to help with family belongings while in transit.
-    Teens can  understand the uniqueness of their travel experience, appreciate new cultures, and place their experience within a larger world context.
-    Teens will be able to enjoy some independence in places with public transportation systems or the ability to walk to activities.
-    Teens will be able to choose activities that may someday pertain to their career or college choices and may even be able to engage in apprenticeships or other types of training unavailable in their home countries.
-    Teens can benefit from volunteer activities while they serve others.
-    Adolescents can broaden their social perspective by forming relationships with peers in the new culture.
-    Adolescents can play an active role in choosing destinations and helping plan a trip.
-    Teens could enrich their academic experiences with activities, learning, or formal classes unavailable to them at home.
-    Teens could be leaving behind negative activities from home.


Cons
-    Because adolescents often place heavy emphasis on their friendships they may experience even greater feelings of homesickness from their friends.
-    It is possible that adolescents could fall academically behind their peers at a time when college applications are near.
-    Teens could find transitioning to a new language more difficult than their younger peers.
-    The heavier academic requirements for teens could mean a more difficult transition for those entering schools.
-    Teens will be entering a new cultural environment where adolescents might be engaging in negative activities beyond what they were exposed to at home.
-    Because teens can be very independent, their parents may have less ability to monitor new activities and social interactions in their destination.
-    Teens will not only be navigating regular social interactions in the new environment but also grappling with choices about alcohol, drugs, and dating behaviors in a new culture where norms can be very different.

If someone were to ask me, “What’s the best age to travel with your kids?” I would honestly not have an answer for them.  While I do believe that traveling with an infant is more about the parents’ wishes than anything the infant gains, there is a lot to be said for parents who continue pursuing their dreams even with a baby in their arms.  And frankly, any baby who gets to spend time in their parents’ loving arms is a lucky one, no matter what continent their parents may be traversing at the moment.   Children can gain from experiencing the world at almost any age even though the types of gains may come in very different forms.  I am ever grateful for the travel we’ve been able to do with our children and proud of the development I’ve seen in them as a result of their experiences.

I’d love to hear about your experiences with family travel.

Read more articles:  the NuNomad blog


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