Something happens to us when we have children. We think that our lives need to be put on hold and we need to “wait” for certain things to come into our lives. We go from living our lives for ourselves, to living our lives for these little people. Many of us are definitely waiting to enjoy family travel.
“We can’t go out to dinner anymore”
“We’ll need to wait on that until little Jane is in pre-school”
“We can’t stay out past 10! We have kids at home”
“Oh I would never leave my kids with a babysitter…they need their parents”
and last but not least…
“The kids will never remember the trip. Why bother?”
Sounds familiar? It’s the myth of waiting to enjoy family travel. We live our lives in stages and usually do not deviate. Stage one: meet spouse/partner. Stage two: fall in love. Stage three: commit and start building a life together – but make sure you have a stable job first – you wouldn’t want to be too hasty! 😉 Stage four: Have children. Stage five: Die.
Just kidding on that last part. But often “see things” and “travel” and aren’t in the progression. We, as a society are very regimented in the way our lives are “supposed” to look. We are waiting on our life to happen. When I was a young adult, I was fortunate to have a college degree (paid for by amazing parents) and upon leaving college, the natural next step was getting a corporate, 9-5 job. It never occurred to me that I could have a career utilizing my passion – either photography or travel. My job should be from 8:30 in the morning until 5:30 at night, upon which I will go home, eat dinner, sleep and repeat the next day, I thought.
Even when I moved to Vail, Colorado to become a ski bum, I got a 9 to 5 job, instead of working in a flexible job so I could ski during the day. What was I thinking? It took me years to figure out that I could have a responsible life and actually enjoy it, as well.
Which brings me to traveling, and traveling while having a family. I’ve seen several Facebook threads in the past week about traveling and people who have put off traveling their whole life, even thought they really want to do it.
This is the great myth of  waiting to enjoy family travel. I’ve asked a lot of people. What are you waiting for? The answers?
- money
- time off work
- fear of getting on an airplane with a baby
- planning the trip
- language barriers with a different country
- they should be saving for college
- their kids won’t “appreciate” or remember it
Money. This is obvious. Kids are expensive, I get it. And they only get more expensive as they get older. But traveling doesn’t have to break the bank. Start small. A camping trip. An Amtrak train ride across the country. We did the California Zephyr when I was in 6th grade from Chicago to Sacramento and it’s one of my favorite childhood memories. Dying to see the white sand beaches of Florida? Stay at a Holiday Inn and just do it. Dreaming of the Grand Canyon? Drive and find a campground nearby. Even when times are tight, you can always make money. You may not ever be wealthy, but you can always make money. Decide what’s more important to you….the dinner out or a trip to Florida. And, as selfish as it sounds, decide whether your 6-year-old really needs gymnastics class at $90/month or do you want to save for an epic trip. If the answer is gymnastics, plan a different type of trip.
Time off work. Americans work a lot. It’s ingrained in us. I’m shocked at the amount of people who have told me they either don’t get any vacation time at all, or they get two weeks max. To which I say….get a different job. Seriously. Because that is ridiculous. There are thousands upon thousands of flex jobs out there that offer all sorts of different schedules, maternity leave, paternity leave, etc. And I get that it’s scary and people feel trapped with a family to support, etc, but less than two weeks off out of 365 days is life draining. Are you working at McDonald’s while going to school? First of all – good for you and you’re awesome. You may have to work towards this goal for a few years. But the second you get that degree, time to find a job that values you as a person and not pure labor (and maybe McDonalds gives great time off – I have no idea). This may resonate with some people and not with others and I may get some hate mail along the lines of “not all of us can afford to leave our jobs with 4 kids at home”, but all I can say is, if you really really want to travel more, and your job is refusing to work with you on that, then it’s time to re-evaluate. If you’re ok with it and not wanting to travel, than pay no attention to this blog. 🙂
Fear of flying with children. You’re afraid that your kids are going to make a scene and cry and carry on and everyone in the plane is going to hate you. Get over it. You’re never seeing these people again.
Planning the trip. Call me 🙂
Language barriers in a different country. Not being able to communicate is a real fear. Landing in a different country and having no idea how to get to a hotel and no one to ask is daunting. We, as Americans, are fortunate. Most people from other countries learn English starting at a very young age and are fairly fluent. There is always someone who speaks English somewhere. But what if you’re from Argentina and you’re in France? Well, you probably all speak English so there’s always that but, barring that, find a translator app for your phone. Google translate is your friend! Also, smiling and trying out a few words in the native language goes a long way. People like to help more than we realize.
Saving for college. We’re all doing this. Or at least most of us are. But the reality is that, for most families, college is going to be prohibitively expensive in the U.S by 2025. Without a doubt, save and be responsible. But don’t kid yourself that never going anywhere, traveling or seeing anything is going to magically get your kid’s college paid for because you’ll have that much more money saved up. We’re all going to need help, so why worry and stress about the inevitable. Your trip to Mexico for Spring Break doesn’t mean that junior will have to skip college – unless you’re totally irresponsible and staying in a Four Seasons when you can’t afford it.
The kids won’t remember it or appreciate it. Um, how do I say this politely…..who cares. You’ll remember it. You’ll love it. You’ll be happy to check something off your bucket list. Since when is traveling only for the children? And I have some news….that non-appreciation goes on a looooong time. My parents first took me to Europe when I was 17 and I complained and moaned the whole time because I missed my idiot boyfriend. Are you really going to put off traveling until your children are full-blown adults?
Phew. I started this post thinking it would be short and sweet and it turned into over 1300 words! I hope it inspired people to deal with the travel bug and overcome some obstacles. Every family is different and every family has limitations of some sort. Figure out what those limitations are, problem solve, save money, plan in advance and get out there and see something! Traveling doesn’t have to mean first class tickets to Europe and a 5 start hotel in Rome. Think about what your family would enjoy most and go do it.
What are your fears or reasons for waiting to enjoy family travel?
Don’t want to wait any more? Contact me here and I can help!
So many great points and I agree with you on all of them. If you want to make it happen there is always a way even if it involved a little creativity.
A little creativity! Exactly!
This is so true! Life is short. Those trips will be cherished by family members forever. <3 Great post!
Thanks Nicki!
Oh gosh! I love you and your advise! We loved our trip last year just the hubs and I. And now we are talking about bringing our kids for a little family travel time. I’ll def be in touch with you soon!
Just let me know Liz! Fun!
I don’t have kids but I love that you travel with yours! What an adventure for them to be on 🙂
It’s definitely an adventure!
I love this and everything you covered! I’m suffering from some major wanderlust lately and all those excuses/reasons have come through my mind. This was just what I needed to read!
I love this. I’ve always thought I just want to start my children’s experiences as quickly as possible!
Wow, I never thought it was doable with kids!
Great blog. Today I’ve read some wonderful blogs and have the travel big now. 🙂
Family travel is so important! I haven’t gone on any crazy big trips with my little one, but the memories I have from every single adventure are so close to my heart.
My husband and I do not even have children yet, be we already agree on the importance of family travel. I want to show my kids the world!
These are such important reminders! Travel and experiences with our children are the best we can give them! It’s always worth it!
These are such important reminders! Travel and experiences with our children are the best we can give them! It’s always worth it!
Love this post! When our son was 3 weeks old, we took a trip to the mountains for a week. Did the same with our daughter at 2 weeks. People thought we were crazy! 10 years later…this year we are taking them hiking in the Sierra Nevada mountains and going on a 3 week adventure. We haven’t done any big, international trips yet, but traveling with kids turned out to be less scary and way more fun than I ever imagined.
This post is really awesome! What I feel is travelling with family is absolutely a different feeling besides solo or group travelling with your mates. Infact we have a family travel atleast once in a year. We get to explore more things when traveled together later on cherishing the moments is a lovely feeling 🙂
I adore the family travel photography and very much appreciation the inspiration that I have found here. Thanks for the amazing work <3
I love how you advocate for family travel in all seasons of life. It is so important for families to have these experiences together!
Oh my gosh! I LOVE this post so much!! I LOVE to explore the world! My hubby and I visited 15 countries in the three years before we had our little girl last January. We took a year to be at home and then in Feb we just went to Kauai and really (fingers crossed) hoping to go to Ireland next year!!! Family travel is one our top priorities in our family! When I was growing up my family took us in trips every year and they are memories I cherish the most! AND they don’t always have to be elaborate trips like you said. I remember my mom taking us to Colorado Springs (we live in Denver) and staying in a cheap motel with a pool and eating at a restaurant that served its drinks in mason jars (before it was a “thing”) we did that a lot and it was so much fun! Kids won’t remember how elaborate a trip was… they will remember how much fun you had with them!
Meghan totally agree! And while I love me some luxury resorts, if it’s not possible, you work with what you have! 🙂
I love this post so much! really inspirational post. Very honest opinion especially traveling with family.
Great post! I hate the idea that your life has to stop when you have children, but of course it doesn’t, it’s all just in our minds/what society expects of us.
This is such an awesome post!
I hope if we have kidlets we won’t stop exploring the world! At the moment I keep going on amazing hikes, and quite often I see families or couple with a baby in a backpack. I aspire to be like them! <3
This was really cool to read! I don’t have children but I certainly have the mindset that you can still do things! You may have to prioritize differently but it can happen!
I went to England when I was 14. Besides crying the first night from jet lag and missing my dad who couldn’t come along, most of what I remember are the castles! Im dying to go back and have a totally different experience now much older!
This is a MUST read for new parents!
As the passionate traveler that I am, it actually hurts me to hear people say that they can’t travel with kids. Like you said, who cares if they remember it? The experience that they have with different cultures and people will still shape them into experienced adults, even if they don’t have specific memories. Keep reminding people that it is possible, if not actually necessary, to travel with families!
Yes, totally agree!
This is to true! My favorite memories growing up as a kid was traveling with my family. My dad always says that the best way to spend your money is to travel.
This post really struck a chord with me. My kids are almost 3 and almost 5, and I’ve recently rededicated myself to traveling—with and without the family. True, my kids might not remember these trips themselves, but we’ll collectively remember them as a family. And they’re fun in the moment—at least some of the time. 😉
Everything you have said here is so true. We find a way to do the things that we love most, so find a way to travel. As an educator, I can vouch for how important these life experiences are to children. Travel opens their eyes to cultures outside of their own while allowing them to make connections to their personal life experiences. Travel is so important.
Such a lovely post. I totally agree with you, kids won’t remember the trip but you will remember the trip and cherish the memories. And kids will smile and laugh when they see their cute photographs on different destinations. It can be difficult to travel with kids but then you are creating memories for life.
Very inspiring post! Though I’m a solo traveler but love to see when any family travel and enjoy every moment together. This is what helps to increase the bonding. There should be any regrets to spend money on travel…
Very inspiring post! Though I’m a solo traveler but love to see when any family travel and enjoy every moment together. This is what helps to increase the bonding. There should not be any regrets to spend money on travel.