Photo by Kidperez

You know the scene: someone boards the plane with toddler in tow, and reactions ripple down the aisles. Some passengers smile, some nod in sympathy at the parent, and some tense up and scowl, recalling the crying baby on their last flight.

Travel can be inspiring for children, but sometimes the actual travel part is more challenge than reward. Here are 20 tips for taking babies and young children on long flights.

Preparation

1. Book an overnight flight if you can. Your children will be worn out from the day’s activities, and hopefully sleepy.

2. Pick your seats strategically. Sitting at the back puts you close to the bathroom. But if your child is fidgety the bulkhead might be best. There, you don’t have to worry about your child kicking the back of someone’s seat.

3. Load kid-friendly movies or favorite TV shows on an iPhone or laptop. Be sure to charge all electronics before the flight.

4. The Frugal Traveler shares this advice: buy your child a new toy or book, just for the flight. Alternatively, you can wrap up an older toy. Seeing this toy in a different setting will be a novelty.

Photo by xersti

5. Paul Banas at GreatDad.com says to plan for the worst. Delays, cancellations, or hours of sitting on the tarmac will make everyone fidgety. Pack a lot more food, diapers and wipes than you think you’ll need.

6. For the sake of other passengers and yourself, pack non-noisy toys. An Etch-a-Sketch or coloring books are quiet, creative activities. If your child has electronic toys, be sure to check the volume settings.

7. Bring healthy snacks, especially if your child is a fussy eater. Foods that won’t melt or crumble are easiest; think trail mix or homemade sandwiches. Single Parent Travel suggests avoiding foods with caffeine or excess sugar.

8. Pack extra clothes for your child, since temperatures can vary on planes and in airports. Pack an extra shirt for yourself in case of baby spit-up or other mess.

9. Consider an inflatable potty seat to ease trips to the bathroom. On-the-Go Inflatables sells handy ones.

At the airport

10. Get to the airport early. After a car ride, lining up for check-in, then lining up again for security, kids will want to stretch their legs before sitting on a plane. You also might want to tire them out a bit with physical movement. Most airport websites will tell you whether a play area is offered. If not, find an open space where your kids can move around and play. As Travel Savvy Mom points out, this is also good advice for long layovers, as it burns up energy.

Photo by livingonimpulse

11. Children older than 3 or 4 should carry their own bags. Get a solid, comfortable rolling bag with shoulder straps so the bag can also be worn as a backpack. They can pack in it what they can carry.

12. Delicious Baby has great stroller advice: do your airport research to ease the transit. Most airlines will allow you to push your stroller all the way to the gate and check it there. Be sure to attach a tag to the stroller with your name, address, and contact information.

13. Before you go through the security point, explain the process to your child. It might be scary for a child to see his or her shoes or favorite toy disappear into an x-ray machine.

Photo by skyseeker

I’ve often wondered if we could tell our pre-child selves exactly what becoming a parent would mean — the sacrifices, the inhuman patience, the changes, the lack of sleep, the disappearance of late weekend brunches, the leash that binds you to your kids — how many of us would decide against procreation?

It’s not easy being a parent, but given the opportunity, would we want to return to pre-child life? I certainly wouldn’t. No, it’s not our children that make us unhappy. I’d argue that our children allow us to see the world more joyfully and with fewer pretenses. No, the source of our lugubriousness lies elsewhere.

Parenting By Committee Sucks

Apparently, there are rules for parenting that baby books fail to mention:

You don’t take your child out for dinner past 8pm. Your child shouldn’t jump, shout, laugh or make any noise unless in a place specifically designated for children. Travel with children is impossible. Homeschooling is whacky, and at no time should your child ever touch another adult’s stuff.

Take for instance a recent discussion I had on You Be Mom, the counterpart parent group to the Urban Baby Jennifer Senior mentions in her article. One mom vented about another woman, a stranger, yelling at her to “keep her children in line” because her three-year-old son touched this woman’s handbag.

“She’s right. Your child shouldn’t be touching other people’s stuff,” the majority of other mothers scolded.

I chime in my two cents that kid are kids; they run around. An adult should be mature enough to understand that.

Photo by sektordua

“You must be raising some really entitled brats,” I was told.

It’s what I call parenting by committee. We imagine everything that could potentially happen based on the needs of all the others on the committee, and then create rules based on those possibilities. Individual child and circumstance don’t matter.

Imagine, though, if the adult simply turns to the child and kindly but firmly requests “Please, don’t touch my bag.” It would have more effect on Lila than hearing my repeated orders of “Don’t touch strangers’ bags.” She’d also remember this lesson the next time she thought to rifle through another person’s belongings.

The Myth of Perfection

When Noah and I fight, the pitch rises and at some point he accuses me, “You think you’re perfect.”

But it’s not that I believe myself to be perfect, it’s that ideally I want everything to be perfect. Clean house, happy kid, work done, dog well trained, healthy meals, lots of free time and nothing out of order.

It would be nice. It’s never going to happen.

The sooner we embrace our imperfections and revel in the things that do go well, the more content we will be.

We’ve Lost the Ability to See the World As Children

“Did you see Babies?” asks Lois Nachamie, a couples counselor who for years has run parenting workshops and support groups on the Upper West Side. She’s referring to the recent documentary that compares the lives of four newborns—one in Japan, one in Namibia, one in Mongolia, and one in the United States (San Francisco).

“I don’t mean to idealize the lives of the Namibian women,” she says. “But it was hard not to notice how calm they were. They were beading their children’s ankles and decorating them with sienna, clearly enjoying just sitting and playing with them, and we’re here often thinking of all of this stuff as labor.”

This sounds suspiciously like existing in the moment.

Children handle the overwhelming influx of information differently. They ask a lot of questions, ignore some of it, fixate on other parts. They rarely worry about the future or past. That’s what allows Lila one minute to tell her friend Rosie she hates her and the next minute they’re best friends again.

Photo by slightlywinded

It’s one of the best things about being a parent, really, to have this little person forcing you over and over to be with them right then and there. Play with me.
Draw with me. What is that? Why is the flag so stretchy? What is the dog eating?

We Do Not Trust Ourselves

Last week, a boy at school told Lila that she’s not as pretty as Desiree. She was crushed.

“Are you friends with him?”
“No.”
“Do you think what he says is true?”
“No.”
“Then why does it matter what he says?”
Problem solved.

Generally, the things that bother us most are the things which we ourselves already believe to be true, and are based squarely in our own already well-cultivated insecurities.

Tell me my child is an entitled brat? I’ll shrug my shoulders. Call me a blue jumping lily leaping frog, and I’ll think you’re crazy. I know none of these to be true.

Suggest to me that I spend too much time working and not enough time with Lila. That hits home.

I am a much happier person today than I was before Lila was born. I am more content and less anxious about every area of my life. Again, this has nothing to do with Lila and everything to do with myself and the way I see the world.

If I’m more worried about the contents of a stranger’s bag than myself and my child, I rely on that stranger’s approbation before I feel right in myself. If I care what another says about my house, clothes, weight, my child’s development or any other number of things, I place the onus of my happiness in their hands.

Even if a stranger manages to touch on an insecurity hot spot, we still have the ability to recognize the insecurity, address it and change it.

Why hand over that power?

We Give Up Our Own Responsibility

Just yesterday, Lila had a huge fight with Rosie, because she wanted to be the cat and Rosie was supposed to be the horse. Rosie doesn’t want to be a horse. Rosie hits Lila. This escalates into crying, and even when Rosie apologizes, Lila does not want to accept. “She doesn’t even mean it!” she screams, tears running down her face.

Photo by bobby-james

Lila’s feelings are hurt. She’s angry. She feels rejected, because her friend doesn’t want to give her what she wants. There is little Rosie can do to ease Lila’s pain. Now Lila must decide for herself to move past her emotions.

While this may seem a childish exchange, the pieces are merely variables. Lila’s experience working through interpersonal relationships mirrors the adult experience.

You decide for yourself. When is it so much more important to be the kitty instead of the horse that you’ll trade your own contentment?

The Parental Conundrum of Self Development

Having a child forces us to be more aware, more in the moment and less selfish, all things that make room for tremendous self growth. But having children also robs us of the time and energy we need in order to make the changes we’d like to improve our lives and outlook, so we find ourselves constantly off balance. Then, we worry it’s not OK to be off balance, because we’re disappointing others. In the meantime, we’re not nourishing ourselves.

So there we are, standing on one foot, juggling horses in one hand and kitties in the other, all the while wishing we could be doing it better, with more style; that we could be happier doing it. At what point do we stop, pat ourselves on the back and say, “Hey, look at me! It may not be pretty, but at least I’m doing it.”

While it is often difficult to accept that perhaps we are the cause of our own misery, isn’t it good to know that the power to turn it around lies firmly in our own hands?

Community Connection

What life lessons have you learned from parenting? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Photo by singleparentspecials

It doesn’t matter if you are a single parent because of separation, bereavement, your partner having to work away for extended periods of time, or any other reason, you’ll still face the same practical challenges.

You have to make the day-to-day decisions by yourself, things like picking up the kids from day care, school and sports activities, as well as the mundane (yet trying) decisions like what to have for dinner.

Help is out there

An Internet search on “single parents” yields a surprising number of dating sites, several of which are rather cheesy. Two sites offering information, helpful articles and networking beyond dating are the Single Parents Network and Lone Parents.

At Single Parents Network, members have shared web sites, articles, books, friendship and support since 1997. Some of the content reflects individual opinions, and some is rather moralizing. But if you can get past that you’ll find good, objective tips and articles, written by educators and other professionals, on various aspects of single parenting.

In the UK, Lone Parents aims to put single parents in touch with each other, globally, nationally and regionally. This network has around 10,000 members and has been around for eight years. Communication is through a members’ only forum and chat room.

There’s also a separate members’ only dating forum. One of the things I like about Lone Parents is that they offer links to a variety of other resources relevant to single parents, including Job Centre (a government-run nationwide job search site), a national child care web site, a counseling directory and much more.

Photo by lindsayshaver

Single parents traveling

I’ve traveled as a single mother since 1988, when my oldest daughter took her first flight at 11 weeks. (Tip: The best way to calm a baby down during flight, especially for take-off and landing, is to breastfeed.) My youngest daughter was born in 2001 in China. Her first flight was on her first birthday, traveling to her new home in Norway.

Back in 1988, before the Internet, the only resource I had was the first edition of Travel with Children, by Lonely Planet co-founder Maureen Wheeler. Though not specifically intended for solo parents, I’ve found much of her advice very useful.

She discusses how children want familiar food, while parents are eager to sample local fare. Her idea: why not do both? First, let the kids have their meals, then go to a local restaurant afterwards. When my oldest daughter was 4, we travelled around South-East Asia for a while and I found this advice to be brilliant. It meant I didn’t have to eat a single hamburger. Also, when she was no longer hungry, my daughter was curious about my food. At the end of our trip, she no longer wanted hamburgers either.

Today, there’s so much information available on traveling with children, choosing what to read can be a chore. Below is a list of good resources for traveling single parents.

North America

Single Parent Travel was created in 1983 by Brenda Elwell, a single mom. In 2001 she published The Single Parent Travel Handbook, and brought Single Parent Travel online. The site is currently run by single dad John Frenaye, travel communist for msnbc.com.

Their trips section is rather heavy on cruises and resorts in the Caribbean. (Royal Caribbean, Carnival Cruises and Beaches Family Resorts are among their sponsors.) They also offer a horsebackriding vacation in November. If this interests you, have a look at (or subscribe to) their monthly newsletter.

UK

Travel companies catering to single parent travel abound in Europe. Here are a few in the UK:

Responsibletravel.com was the world’s first dedicated travel agent for responsible travel. They select only travel companies with low environmental impact, and offer 8 trips specifically designed for single parents in destinations such as Croatia, Finland, Turkey and Egypt.

Mango is run by two single parents. They organize single parents’ vacations in the UK and abroad, including skiing holidays and Serengeti safaris. Their trips focus on parents and children spending quality time together, so they don’t offer kids-only activities.

Small Families claim being single with kids is no barrier to a good holiday. From weekends in Cambridge to weeks in the Galapagos, their trips have been featured in various UK newspapers.

Photo by limaoscarjuliet

For 10 GBP per year you can join the Single Parent Travel Club, which aims to link together anyone traveling alone with children (not just single parents). The club is run by members for members and has been around for almost 20 years. SPTC organizes all sorts of trips, from meeting up in the park to traveling around Australia.

Australia

The Australian travel magazine Holidays With Kids contains information and reviews on various types of single parent travel, including camping, lodges and working on conservation projects. The magazine also organizes an annual single parent getaway. You can sign up for their single parent newsletter.

My number one piece of personal advice

Depending on their age, let the kids participate in decision-making. Respect their input on where to go, what to see, and where to eat, even if it might mean more swimming pools and junk food than you care for.

In many ways, traveling with a child is not that different from traveling with another adult – whether that means traveling to Thailand, or through life together. Your desires are of equal importance. If you want to hang out together, you have to compromise and it has to feel fair for both.

Experience has taught me that being a single parent is as easy, or as difficult, as I choose to make it.

COMMUNITY CONNECTION

Are you a single parent that travels with your kids? Do you have any other advice or resources you can share with our readers. Let us know in the comments below.

The other day, I came across a list of fourteen downloadable files of books that have been made illegal or banned.

“Banned books?” I thought to myself. “Feh.” I generally look skeptically whenever I hear something has been banned because experience has shown me when someone says a book shouldn’t be read it’s an attempt at censorship and not because there is truly something harmful in the book.

And really, how can a book be harmful?

A quick scan through a list of banned books through the ages only confirms my initial feeling.

• The Diary of Anne Frank banned in Lebanon for portraying Jews favorably.
• The Da Vinci Code deemed offensive to Christianity
• Gustave Flaubert was prosecuted in France for “offenses to public morals” because of his Madame Bovary.
• Not Without My Daughter banned in Iran because it shows Iran in a bad light.

Do you see a pattern here? People and political bodies excise literature and art that conflicts with their world view. As world view shifts, as it inevitably does, the list of censored and outlawed materials changes too. While truth may be a difficult entity to determine, when a government or other body seeks to limit and thus carefully construct the information their citizens receive, propaganda overtakes our vision of reality.

George Orwell’s novel 1984 — banned by Joseph Stalin in 1950 — vividly portrays the type of world created by just this type of censorship.

It Begins By Indoctrinating the Children

According to the American Library Association, parents challenge books more often than any other group under the guise of protecting their children. I’m so proud! “Anti-family,” I believe is the doublespeak term used to justify these actions.

Ironically, when a government wants to censor the actions of its people, they first indoctrinate children in the ways of “correct thinking” and those children then spy on their parents. Refer back to Orwell’s 1984 to see how this happens.

But are there some books that shouldn’t be open for public consumption?

Last week, I would have said no. All books should be open and readily available to those who want to read them.

Of course, I get that certain books contain materials that aren’t appropriate for younger children – be that with sexually explicit or violent content – but you don’t protect children by simply removing the offending material from public consumption.

Then I came across this list of 14 books.

Should Simply Reading About Illegal Subjects Be Outlawed?

Photo by PugnoM

This list includes a Beginner’s Guide To Growing Marijuana and another on How-to Grow Psychedelic Mushrooms. Fine, I understand they might be banned because they encourage and teach people to cultivate illegal crops, but those are plants, right? How much harm can they really do and how many mushrooms will the average person grow? That and whether or not these crops should even be illegal is a topic worthy of another article in itself.

Then I come across a book with 100 Ways To Disappear and Live Free. Or the secrets of manufacturing methamphetamines by Uncle Fester.

All of these are already available for sale or even free over the internet. While my Amazon search for Justin Gombos’ Fooling the Bladder Cops only lead me to a small selection of deluxe hydration bladders, Yahoo brought me right to what I wanted to read.

That’s when my initial resolve begins to waver.

While many of us might find it a great party trick to pick a lock or help a friend set up grow lights in an empty closet, the bottom line is these books help train you to commit crimes or learn to get away with them.

Do you really want someone at the wheel of your flight or train ride having tricked a urine test?

How many of those people living free and clear off the grid are law abiding citizens who mean and do no harm but simply want to be alone. (If my experiences living on a tiny island off the coast of Panama is any indication, that number is extremely small.)

Some other titles to consider:

• Twenty-one Techniques of Silent Killing.
• Silent But Deadly: More Homemade Silencers.
• The ever maligned Anarchist’s Cookbook.

Is Information Dangerous In Itself?

When I originally found this list of books, my thought was to publish the titles as a list of interesting banned and illegal books with quotes and links to them, but then I had a second thought. After all, there’s plenty of information to suggest these books are indeed dangerous.

Do you agree with our decision?

COMMUNITY CONNECTION

Photo by joanna8555

Barbie has received a lot of attention since her birth in 1959. She became an instant role model for younger girls, with her first career choice being a fashion model.

Since then, Barbie has switched professions as easily as a game of musical chairs: 124 in total. She became an astronaut (years before a man even landed on the moon), a nurse, a gymnast, and even an American Idol winner.

Her latest career of choice is a computer engineer.

You might think sitting at a desk all day writing code is less than glamourous. You’re right, although the programmers I work with have a series of inside jokes and cryptic IM status updates I fail to understand. I assume they prefer I never figure it out.

But much to Mattel’s surprise, people wanted to see Barbie go geek. A month-long voting campaign launched in January on Barbie.com brought in over 600,000 votes. Anyone could vote, and although “Anchorwoman Barbie” was the choice for young girls, the rest of the world just wanted to see Barbie put on some nerdy glasses and talk l33t.

How Did Geek Go Chic?

I’m a little upset. Back when I was in high school, my inner geek was abhorred rather than embraced. I hid her behind the latest trends and pop music.

Photo by weelakeo

Now there are even websites like Geek Girl Camp, dedicated to “empowering women through technology, one geek at a time.” The site is hot pink and outrageously girly, but covers topics like “Mac Tips” and “Photoshop.”

You can find geek inspired clothing, or use Geek 2 Geek to find a romantic partner or friend who shares your particularly quirky ways. Someone who appreciates Star Wars, or who can also snort their way through a Monty Python movie.

In reality, the geek movement started back in the 80s with Family Matters and Steve Urkel (Jaleel White). That young man’s ability to turn a simple task into a dangerous fiasco was outstanding, as was his complete disregard for color coordination, and his passion for cheese.

The geek movement has been here all along, it seems. The Internet just gave it a push.

Why Barbie Has The Ability To Change Girls’ Futures

Barbie’s geek look includes a ponytail, black leggings, a shirt that says “Barbie” in binary code, eyeglasses, and a Bluetooth headset. And of course she’s still tall, thin, blonde, and hot. She even comes with a top secret code used to unlock online games at Barbie.com.

Mattel says, “Having Barbie as a new ambassador for female computer engineers can help inspire a new generation of girls to hone in on their computer skills and become part of a growing profession.”

Why is this so important? According to the National Center for Women & Information Technology, women are desperately needed in the computer and information sciences field. Working women geeks are actually on the decline: in 1985, women received 37% of computer science degrees; in 2008, that number was just 18%.

The only major concern is how the guy geeks’ productivity will fare once the girl geeks start taking over.

Community Connection

Do you think Barbie has the ability to encourage girls to seek more male-dominated careers? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

The day is celebrated differently on different days for different reasons worldwide, but all have in common a connection to some birthing body. It could be Mother Earth, Mother Mary and the day of the Immaculate Conception. It could be in protest to a war and the mothers who lose their children.

And every reason for Mother’s Day reflects tenfold the complicated relationships we have with our own mothers and children.

Maybe you lie about what you’ve been up to in order to keep her from worrying or asking questions. Or maybe you’re honest with her. I’m a bit of both; the older I get the less I need prevarication. It ain’t easy having a kid who lives like a gypsy, so all you traveling folk, call your Mama Kin.

Mama’s Got A Girlfriend to all the mamas whose papas aren’t around or those who never wanted one in the first place.

Moms are blamed for everything. Sometimes it’s their fault. You made me cry; you told me lies. You could have been a better friend to me, but Mama I’m Coming Home.

Bob Dylan’s lyrics always hit home whether sung by Jeff Buckley, Jack Johnson or the original Mama, You’ve Been On My Mind. “I’d just be curious to know if you can see yourself as clear as someone who has you on his mind.” Because I’m not sure we ever see our mother’s the way they see themselves. Or the way they are.

There’s Danzig’s Mother.

And what I think of as the Rolling Stone’s homage to American stay-at-home mom’s of the 60s. I won’t speak for moms today, but I’d like to think things have changed. Although I know from experience how difficult it can be to stay at home with your kid. Then I also know from experience the difficulty involved in making the choice to work. Often, it’s other mothers who criticize the most for choices made in this arena.

And finally,Rosanne Cash’s Motherless Children captures exactly what a mother means when she sings of life without your mom. Your father will do his best. Your husband will try to understand. Auntie will do. Sister will be there until she gets married, then she goes to her own life.

No matter who your mother is. She can be the perfect hot chocolate when its cold mom or she can miss your birthday or maybe your mother is an abusive alcoholic. Mom will always be in your life in some way, even when she is absent.

Moms aren’t perfect and never will be. Something that becomes all too painfully clear when you become a mother yourself.

Feature photo by Ctd 2005

COMMUNITY CONNECTION

What mama songs sings most loudly to you?

To see some of Matador team members and their moms, check out our Matador Mother’s Day celebration.

Lila doesn’t like to get her feet wet. She doesn’t like mud. She was tired. She wanted to be carried.

Too bad, though, we were already an hour along the path and carrying her was not an option in that particular terrain. She stopped and refused to keep walking.

“I can’t do it,” she cried, my little one’s face all scrunched up with the drama as she stood pathetic and weeping on the river bank. “I can’t!”

Yes I can! No I can’ts.

I’m not big on rules — which is another discussion altogether — but we do have one in our house that everyone must follow. No one is ever allowed to say “I can’t.”

This started because Lila likes to use I can’t when she doesn’t want to do something. Or she doesn’t know how. Or she wants help. Or she’s scared. I can’t get the milk from the fridge. I can’t clean my room. I can’t bring my toys in from the porch. I can’t climb over this rock. When I know full well she can.

It’s great to be a kid and have an adult entirely take care of your needs, and I think that’s much of what childhood should be, but such pampering must also have limits. I’m more than happy to help or do things for Lila as long as she asks. This requires her to

1. Be aware of her needs.
2. Be aware of her abilities.
3. Communicate her need for help (without I can’t or whining).

I-can’t circumvents all these important social interaction and self awareness skills. I-can’t implies you are incapable of doing something. It weakens you. It takes away choice and turns you into a victim.

Later in life, who will do for Lila when there’s no parent around? If she doesn’t learn now how to walk into an overwhelming situation and step-by-step conquer it, when will she learn?

I’ll do it later. Not now. One day.

As soon as Lila realized I can’t wouldn’t work, she tried another tactic. I’m tired. Let’s do it later. A completely reasonable request, so we stopped and had the picnic I brought along. Thing is, once the food was gone and she had rested, Lila was no more ready to tackle the mud, water and hills than she had been before we stopped.

How many times have you given yourself that out?

Alex Fayle calls this the Someday Syndrome. On his website of the same name, Alex discusses the different methods we employ to try to trick ourselves into believing that it’s OK to push off what we really want or need to do now for another day.

Your Somedays stay Somedays without a single action taken. Do you want to know why? It’s not what you think. It’s not because you’re a lazy person. It’s not because it’s someone else’s fault. And it’s not because you honestly will get to it later.

Procrastination comes from one of three things:

* Disinterest
* Inertia
* Fear

Those are the only reasons why people say “I’ll get around to it someday” and if you can overcome those three blocks, you’ll never say that again.

Fear. Procrastination. Distraction. Worrying about the outcome, whether or not we can achieve. Will we fail? All these things are road blocks. If you allow any of them to stop you, you will not reach your goals.

So back to Lila crying piteously in the river as water swirls around her little legs, almost knocking her off balance.

It would be so easy to do it for her, to lift her and put her on land. But doing so won’t get us to the end of the hike. We still had about an hour to go and plenty of rocks, water and sandy hills with little traction.

Photo by author

Plus, I know she can do it. I’ve seen her climb steeper hills and navigate more slippery terrain. Add to that, I don’t want to carry her. Nor do I want to stay knee deep in this river for the rest of my life.

When Lila realized she had no choice, that none of her I-cant’s, I’ll-do it-laters or I-don’t-want-tos would change the situation, suddenly she pulled herself together and finished the hike.

Sometimes it really is as simple as that.

Yes, there were times she needed help when crossing a particularly rough and deep patch of water, then I gladly lent a hand. And the next time we went hiking, she didn’t think twice before scrambling up the rocky surface like a happy little monkey.

COMMUNITY CONNECTION:

Ever suffer from Someday Syndrome? What other road blocks stand in the way of your goals and what do you do to bypass them?

For more tips and life lessons from parents check out this photo essay on busy twitter parents. You can also read how Claire Moss’s travels prepared her for parenthood.