WITH YOUR CHILDREN
Go!
“[Your children] are going to start learning the tools for developing meaningful relationships, especially across differences, from an early age,” Dr. Robin Hancock
So...
Lysbeth has been a traveler her whole life, and was blessed enough to have a family that prioritized experiencing new destinations throughout her childhood. Andrae traveled a considerable number of times, and has traveled to almost all continents. Together, they have years of expertise under their belts. But, now, it’s their children’s turn. Their oldest, at now four years old, with thirteen (13) countries down, 4 continents, she’s on her way to becoming a citizen of the world. Unfortunately, Their second daughter was born a couple of months before the pandemic, so traveling for her had to be between the walls of the United States. But THAT absolutely counts.
While traveling with a child at any age may seem like a daunting prospect, experts claim that it can significantly boost development. They say travel can expand a kid’s world, making them more empathetic toward cultural differences and helping them adapt to changing situations. It can even shape their linguistic development as babies.
Europe
Them: But they won't remember anything.
Us:Traveling With Kids expands, alters and stretches their little minds. They might not remember every little detail of every trip. However, taking pictures and going through them along the year have done wonders in helping our little ones remember many occurrences. It is proven that they WILL remember how they felt in a foreign country, better than they will remember a birthday party or a gift.
Asia
Them: ...But that's so expensive. I'd have to break my pockets to do that.
Us: There is a bunch of ways to make family travel more affordable. Buy your flights seasonally to save on airfares, and keep an eye on aggregator sites like Hotels.com and Expedia for deals and discounts. Travel on a group tour if possible. Don’t forget ‘roughing it’ options like camping, it’ll get the kids closer to nature.
Africa
Them: ...They'll probably get sick.
Us: Before our first trip together, many people were uncomfortable with the idea of us going with our one year old. Some will tell you you're out of your mind. They say, “Our kids cannibalize each other when we drive to Grandma's. How can you go halfway around the world?” People focus on risk, which is extremely hard to evaluate. There's also the fear that you're going to get sick and get diarrhea. We think through all the aspects of risk and we take heed. Throughout the year, we focus on building our children's immune systems and we take proper vitamins to keep them solid and strong. Plus, God's divine protection seals the deal.
America
Them: You have to pack so much stuff though.
Us: Well, first we do our research to find out if, depending on the place, it's wiser to bring a carrier or a stroller. Many of the places we went to, since she was only but 1 year old, we just took a carrier with us. As she got older, we didn't travel with anything but we rented strollers or we bought very affordable ($10) but safe umbrella strollers at our destination, that we later left behind before flying back home.
Diapers? Wipes? Baby products? We bought the majority of them at our destination too.
Clothes? We don't travel with too many clothes...but that's because we strategically book AirBnB houses that have washing machines and dryers to wash their (and our) clothes. So if we are traveling for 3 weeks, which is usually the case for us, we bring about 7 outfits per child, we wash every weekend and we mix and match. They're kids, so if you set your priorities straight, you'll be fine.
