How many times have we heard people say, “oh no, we can’t go there, we have kids and they don’t travel well!”? Kids are resilient and adapt so much better than we do as adults!
My head always spins because as a family, it is hard to pry us away for an adults-only trip because we enjoy traveling with our children so much! Yes, we do need breaks now and then for sanity purposes, but overall we prefer to travel with our kids for both land vacations and cruises. First flight for my youngest daughter was with me flying as solo mom with two kids under age 5... was when the youngest was 7 weeks old. The first transatlantic flight for both kicked in when the youngest was 15 months, as well as the first 14-night transatlantic cruise on that same trip.
No matter the trip, we always try to do carryon whenever possible. Each kid carries a backpack or a sling. We max it out with one roller carryon per person, but often get by where the kids can both cram into one. Packing cubes are my best friend, and I remind them Momma is NOT a pack mule. I try to get the best out of our girls in all aspects of the trip – including helping. But what other benefits are we instilling our children with as families when we travel other than packing strategies, planning ahead for hours at the airport and on the plane, and weathering any hiccups along the way? This is a great article to read from an educator perspective.
Until your next voyage in maximizing your journeys, keep some of the statistics from the article in mind and remember to pack light! We prefer to use packing cubes and pack in only carryon bags when at all possible. Just save a spare hand because if bringing the favorite stuffed animal all over the world is required, as seen in this photo, then so be it. Have kids... will travel! (And often!)
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