Do you regret not traveling more when kids are little?

[Anonymous]

We did easier things like PR beaches, national parks etc before 5. Now youngest is 5 and we are going to Europe for spring break and probably every spring break from now on. It was nice to travel and not worry about schools calendar or activities as much. We still take them out of school in ES for a ski trip. Kids are early risers so we all go to bed around 9 and up at 6 with plenty of time to explore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Travel with young kids isn’t so that they’ll have “memories.” Exposing young kids to travel, new cultures, languages, food, and experiences impacts their development in such a positive way, allowing them to be more adventurous, open minded, and helps them to be more flexible and less anxious about new experiences in general. Not easy, necessarily, but rewarding so long as you keep your expectations in check that it’s not a “vacation”

This!

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Travel with young kids isn’t so that they’ll have “memories.” Exposing young kids to travel, new cultures, languages, food, and experiences impacts their development in such a positive way, allowing them to be more adventurous, open minded, and helps them to be more flexible and less anxious about new experiences in general. Not easy, necessarily, but rewarding so long as you keep your expectations in check that it’s not a “vacation”

This!

LOL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have been traveling with our child since they were five months old. They are now 14 and have been all over the world to dozens of countries. Not a single regret and they are memories we will all cherish forever. If you have the money, go for it. Having dealt with cancer and death in our immediate family, I’m all about doing what you can and want to do! Time is never promised.

This.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Travel with young kids isn’t so that they’ll have “memories.” Exposing young kids to travel, new cultures, languages, food, and experiences impacts their development in such a positive way, allowing them to be more adventurous, open minded, and helps them to be more flexible and less anxious about new experiences in general. Not easy, necessarily, but rewarding so long as you keep your expectations in check that it’s not a “vacation”

Absolutely.
I'm sure being overseas helped them with language learning.
With kids who have traveled when younger, many are more worldly & independent & intellectually curious than their peers who didn't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Outside of short road trips, I haven’t traveled much since having a kid who is 4 now (partly because of the pandemic, but also it just seems like a hassle). Used to go all over the world before that. I’m starting to feel like I need to resume traveling though, even if a lot it is just going to be finding things to entertain my kid.

Did any of you not travel much until your kids got older? And do you regret that at all? I know I’ll have plenty more years to travel, and it’ll be a lot easier if I just wait another 2-3 years, but wondering if I should just make a plan and go somewhere now…plus I don’t want to look back and think so what if he was 4, I should’ve just gone!

Also if anyone has suggestions for an “easier” trip abroad with a kid that age, that would be great.

Yes absolutely yes.

[Anonymous]

I have no regrets of travelling with a small child. We only have one daughter, now 9 yo. She is finally at the age, that she can do more things, can remember things. It is still not easy to travel with a child though. My friends says that it gets better, when kids are 12+ of age. We have travelled a lot before having a child, it was so much fun- just me and my spouse. It also depends what kind of travelling we are talking about. I would still not drag my 9 year to Europe for sightseeing, I know that she has no patience for any museum, church etc., history is just too boring for her. So we are doing mostly beach, cruises - dolphin swim, lots of animals to see related excursions etc. I can't actually wait to go somewhere without my child and do what I want to do on my vacation. I would never spend a lot of money on a trip with a 5 or 6 year old, to me, it's absolutely not worth it ( unless you're rich enough not to care about the money). I work hard to earn my money, and every dollar counts.

[Anonymous]

Per the thread below, you also can’t travel when your kids are teens so when exactly are you supposedly able to travel? Is there a magic window from 7-13 where you’re supposed to fit it all in? Pass. Our kid is easy going and my husband and I like to travel. Her eventual memories (or lack there of) aren’t going to dictate how I spend my time.

[Anonymous]

I have traveled a lot with my kids since they were 4 and 2, but I do it for me, not for their memories. I remember the trips very well and treasure them. And now my kids, age 11 and 14, love to travel and are great travelers. They may not remember the details of places they’ve gone, but they have retained a sense of adventure and wanderlust that makes them fun travel companions. The travel was not as easy as without kids but still manageable and very fun. I just made sure to pick destinations that I would enjoy but also have enough activities that the kids would enjoy too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Travel with young kids isn’t so that they’ll have “memories.” Exposing young kids to travel, new cultures, languages, food, and experiences impacts their development in such a positive way, allowing them to be more adventurous, open minded, and helps them to be more flexible and less anxious about new experiences in general. Not easy, necessarily, but rewarding so long as you keep your expectations in check that it’s not a “vacation”

Absolutely.
I'm sure being overseas helped them with language learning.
With kids who have traveled when younger, many are more worldly & independent & intellectually curious than their peers who didn't.

I mean I enjoy traveling with my kid, but this idea that the trip to Budapest when she was 5 is somehow making her intellectually superior is absurd. You all need to get over yourselves.

[Anonymous]

We have always traveled with our kids and I think that is why at ages 10, 12 & 15 they are all excellent travelers. Sure, they don’t remember all of the trips when they were young but they enjoy looking at the photos and hearing stories about them and my husband and I are glad we good those trips and have many wonderful memories from them. Now our kids get very into helping plan trips and activities and will do things like research one area and sort of be in charge of that part of the trip. They are also bilingual and dual citizens (EU country)and I think that has helped them feel more comfortable with travel abroad because a lot of it feels more familiar. They also love history and food and travel has been a great way to learn more about both first hand. Our older two have taken several trips without us (with their extracurricular activity) and had incredible experiences in other countries at the ages of 11-15, which has been amazing to watch.
We prioritize and love to travel so I’m glad we didn’t skip traveling when our kids were young.

[Anonymous]

Reading the thread it seems like the answer is: know yourself and know your kids. The people that didn’t travel don’t regret it, and those who did don’t either!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:


Absolutely.
I'm sure being overseas helped them with language learning.
With kids who have traveled when younger, many are more worldly & independent & intellectually curious than their peers who didn't.


I mean I enjoy traveling with my kid, but this idea that the trip to Budapest when she was 5 is somehow making her intellectually superior is absurd. You all need to get over yourselves.

+ 1 million I never went anywhere until I was 18. I majored in a foreign language in college. I am independent and intellectually curious. Who knows how that happened (maybe from going to Latin mass as a kid and reading a lot of books my parents had around?). Meanwhile my own kid traveled a lot and he really would rather just stay at home (and he never learned a foreign language). You can convince yourself that you are making your child superior to their peers who have not traveled, but it's a bit delusional IMO. Kids kind of turn out the way they want to turn out. You don't have complete control over their minds.

[Anonymous]

I do it for my memories. I’ll never get that time back.

[Anonymous]

We did a ton of travel with 3 little kids. It was a pita. The benefits now are they love to travel and they know how to do it.