Reply to Europe/International Spring Break trip with young kids

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Wow! I am shocked at so many posters thinking travel to Europe with younger children is a waste. To each their own and you do you and all of that but we have traveled overseas at least once a year since my son was 6 months old. We travel for us because its important to us and even if he doesn't remember, we have the memories. Traveling with kids and seeing things through their eyes is magical. They pick up on nuanced differences that my spouse and I don't even notice. The time change is very easy to manage- sleep in/go to bed late. Its only a 6 hour time difference to most major European cities. Europe is much more kid friendly than anywhere in the US. You should not limit your child's diet to what you think they will like, you might be surprised at what they will eat if you don't just order off the kids menu, which by the way,  European restaurants either won't have or they will be much better than the options in the US. [/quote]

I'll add to my PP, travel also teaches kids so many life skills, [b]flexibility, navigating uncertainty. trying new things, understanding the world isn't all the same and not everyone does things the same, [/b]getting out of their comfort zones, patience...I could go on and on. It isn't just about if they will remember or not, there is so much more.[/quote]

No 4 year old is going to return from Europe having learned these lessons.  They are going to be miserable -- why do that to your kid or yourself?

My kids grew up going to EU countries usually 6 times a year due to our jobs.  Sure they learned those lessons but later.  If you ask them (now all teens and travel by themselves to see me and/or DH in EU countries all the time) what their favorite vacation was when they were little it was the damn Disney cruise and Hawaii.  Middle school ages they loved Russia and Scandinavia car trips.  Now they just like taking the train around to different countries without us.  And plenty of European restaurants have kid menus along with terrible food and mean servers.  It isn't like Europe is some utopia of people who love children.

OP if you want a true vacation then pick something easy for the kids.[/quote]

My 4 year old has been to Europe twice and had an amazing time. He was not miserable.  He LOVED IT.  His favorite parts? The airplane, train rides, trams, subway, boat rides, cable car ride, carousels/other rides, beaches, playgrounds, castles, dancing to local music-- PURE JOY, eating all the pastries, eating soo much food.  He tried fresh sardines, shoveled foie gras (though he didn't know what it was really), ate tons of different breads, cheeses, meats, special types of noodles, essentially grilled cheese, all types of hot drinks: mulled juice, hot chocolate, fresh juices....His biggest questions were when were going on our next trip! Did he whine and have tantrums at times?? 100% but that literally would have happened anywhere.

If you plan a trip to Europe with little kids and all you are doing is going on the hop on/hop off bus and walking 8-10 miles a day in big cities and spending all your time in big museums/churches and fancy restaurants...you are doing it totally wrong.

Can my 4 year old vocalize all he has learned from his trips? No, he can't put it all into words but I see how he has become flexible and gone with the flow with changes and how he is so open to trying new things including different languages and making connections! [/quote]

Agree...my kid by age four had been to Europe a number of times, as well as to Asia and South America. They were most certainly not miserable. Were they still a kid, sure. Was every moment of the trip a breeze, absolutely not but would have every moment of of our time at home been a breeze? Would they have still been a kid at home? Maybe your kid was miserable because you set unrealistic expectations? Maybe you fed them lots of crap versus real food because you didn't think they would want to try local foods? I have no idea but to say you shouldn't travel with kids because they will be miserable is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. If you don't want to do it, that isn't your family's priority- all perfectly acceptable answers. We all prioritise where our money and time goes based on what we think is important. Did my child after one trip become more resilient? No. But absolutely they have over time and with each new experience you can see these subtle changes. Life lessons don't come instantaneously, they are built upon and if you prefer to have your kids start learning those later- by all means. I prefer to start early and reenforce often.[/quote]

We lived overseas with our kids as they grew from babies to elementary school age.  Traveled everywhere, ate all the food, had all the experiences.  They loved it and so did we!

Now they are surly teenagers with major attitude and they no longer want to go anywhere, especially on a long overseas trip with their parents.  You never know how things will turn out![/quote]

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