I love traveling with my kids. Some parents shirk at the thought of it – and with good reason considering the amount of gear (snacks, toys, diapers, medicine, extra clothes, bottles, strollers etc) you have to take along for the journey, not to mention the pressing need for child-friendly accommodation, food and activities at the destination. But call us crazy, because since they were very little, my husband and I have taken our kids everywhere, from the Costa Brava to Bali, where we went last year when little Wills was just 5 months-old. Ok, so we have a LOT of luggage, and are lucky if we get any rest on the plane/train/car, but what we do have are great memories for the entire family.
Admittedly, with three children now, it’s not easy as it was when we just had Nat. It was a breeze with her alone (Paris), and not too bad either when Ollie came along and we took them both to Koh Samui. But now with Wills a toddler, things have gotten more challenging. Take our widely anticipated trip to Disneyland in February to celebrate Nat and Ollie’s birthday. In a terrible twist of fate, a week before the trip, I got a letter from Nat’s school, saying there was an epidemic of gastro going around the school. The next day, she promptly had the worse case of gastroenteritis she ever had, and although she got better just in time for the trip, both boys had caught it just as we left. Which meant an extra stroller, re-hydration drinks, extra sets of clothes and lots and lots of diapers. Not a big deal compared to the tears we had to deal with when they couldn’t have the creamy Mickey-shaped ice cream or french fries at Disneyland. But in spite of all that, the kids never remember the bad bits (like when our flight was cancelled on Boracay island and we had to spend the night in a really really dreadful hotel), and get very excited when we tell them we are planning our next trip.
In two weeks, we are going on our next family holiday to visit my husband’s elderly Father in Sri Lanka. He moved to the picturesque town on Galle in the South (far away from the war, thank goodness). He’s a great man, eccentric and full of amazing stories, but does not have the most child-friendly set-up – so it should be interesting!
Next- my top packing lists!
Photo via Activities4AllKids
Originally posted on May 19, 2009 @ 2:30 am
