Comments on: Family Travel 101: Why Traveling with Your Kids is Important and Fun http://matadorlife.com/family-travel-101-why-traveling-with-your-kids-is-important-and-fun/ Just another WordPress weblog Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:37:39 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Popsaj http://matadorlife.com/family-travel-101-why-traveling-with-your-kids-is-important-and-fun/comment-page-1/#comment-1225 Popsaj Thu, 12 Feb 2009 09:45:44 +0000 http://matadorlife.com/?p=689#comment-1225 Hi Kara I have travelled all of my life. my parents gave me the passion to travel. Even when i was tiny they used to bundle us in the car in the weekend and we would head of to some fantastic destination in New Zealand . My wife and I are now starting to do the same with our 2 year old daughter. She has already backpacked with us through Thailand,been back home to New Zealand ( I live in Chianti Italy) and have visited numerous cities around Europe last year. Its just a matter of adapting and go with the flow. I am really lucky because that is how my wife and I have always travelled- making it up as we go along. It should be interesting over the next month because we are heading of to Singapore and then New Zealand and I have a funny feeling that long haul flights and 2 year olds may not mix too well. Do you have any advice? Hi Kara
I have travelled all of my life. my parents gave me the passion to travel. Even when i was tiny they used to bundle us in the car in the weekend and we would head of to some fantastic destination in New Zealand .
My wife and I are now starting to do the same with our 2 year old daughter. She has already backpacked with us through Thailand,been back home to New Zealand ( I live in Chianti Italy) and have visited numerous cities around Europe last year.
Its just a matter of adapting and go with the flow. I am really lucky because that is how my wife and I have always travelled- making it up as we go along.
It should be interesting over the next month because we are heading of to Singapore and then New Zealand and I have a funny feeling that long haul flights and 2 year olds may not mix too well. Do you have any advice?

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]]> By: Motherofalltrips http://matadorlife.com/family-travel-101-why-traveling-with-your-kids-is-important-and-fun/comment-page-1/#comment-1216 Motherofalltrips Thu, 12 Feb 2009 01:50:15 +0000 http://matadorlife.com/?p=689#comment-1216 Nice post Kara. Obviously I agree with everything you say here. We took our oldest on a three-week road trip when he was three months old and haven't looked back since. I would extend your argument to say that treating your local community as an extension of your family travel life is a great idea too - I'm a big fan of day trips. It is almost always worth the effort, especially when you see your children engaged in the world around them. Nice post Kara. Obviously I agree with everything you say here. We took our oldest on a three-week road trip when he was three months old and haven't looked back since. I would extend your argument to say that treating your local community as an extension of your family travel life is a great idea too – I'm a big fan of day trips. It is almost always worth the effort, especially when you see your children engaged in the world around them.

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]]> By: soultravelers3 http://matadorlife.com/family-travel-101-why-traveling-with-your-kids-is-important-and-fun/comment-page-1/#comment-1208 soultravelers3 Wed, 11 Feb 2009 21:26:49 +0000 http://matadorlife.com/?p=689#comment-1208 Family travel is absolutely the best thing you can do for education and to bond as a family. Going slow is absolutely key with children and allowing them to have self directed play time. We started an open ended trip around the world when our daughter was 5 and now at 8 she has been to 4 continents, 29 countries, traveled over 75,000 miles mostly by land & used every type of transportation from freighter ship, trains, buses, planes, bicycles, boats, camels, horses, mass transit and endless walking/ hiking. My baby was very active so we only did road trips based around her sleeping schedule when she was little and saw a ton without ever leaving our state of California. Her high activity level has been an asset for walking on our trip as she can out walk me or any adult and carries her own bag. BOOKS! To me, this is the biggest secret to travel with kids. There are so many wonderful ones that one can use to combine with specific travel which help enrich the experience for children of all ages. Effortless road schooling & the kid only thinks their having fun! They are also the very BEST tool/toy to help occupy a child when they are waiting in restaurants or on a long bus, ferry or plane ride or if one just wants quiet adult conversation.We don't go anywhere without a good book for her & healthy snacks like nuts and apples , always at the ready. Raising a kid keen on books will make the travel easier and more enriching. We rarely use our dvd player except for our special Saturday night movie nights together, even when we do long haul travel. "Grab a book" is our favorite saying and is is a habit that supports one for life. Family travel is absolutely the best thing you can do for education and to bond as a family. Going slow is absolutely key with children and allowing them to have self directed play time.

We started an open ended trip around the world when our daughter was 5 and now at 8 she has been to 4 continents, 29 countries, traveled over 75,000 miles mostly by land & used every type of transportation from freighter ship, trains, buses, planes, bicycles, boats, camels, horses, mass transit and endless walking/ hiking.

My baby was very active so we only did road trips based around her sleeping schedule when she was little and saw a ton without ever leaving our state of California. Her high activity level has been an asset for walking on our trip as she can out walk me or any adult and carries her own bag.

BOOKS! To me, this is the biggest secret to travel with kids. There are so many wonderful ones that one can use to combine with specific travel which help enrich the experience for children of all ages. Effortless road schooling & the kid only thinks their having fun!

They are also the very BEST tool/toy to help occupy a child when they are waiting in restaurants or on a long bus, ferry or plane ride or if one just wants quiet adult conversation.We don't go anywhere without a good book for her & healthy snacks like nuts and apples , always at the ready.

Raising a kid keen on books will make the travel easier and more enriching. We rarely use our dvd player except for our special Saturday night movie nights together, even when we do long haul travel. "Grab a book" is our favorite saying and is is a habit that supports one for life.

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]]> By: Shevonne http://matadorlife.com/family-travel-101-why-traveling-with-your-kids-is-important-and-fun/comment-page-1/#comment-1203 Shevonne Wed, 11 Feb 2009 19:24:25 +0000 http://matadorlife.com/?p=689#comment-1203 This is a great article. I know that my children, 5 and 7, have traveled way more than I have at their ages. They have been to Panama, Kansas City, Cape Cod, Mexico, Tucson, North Carolina, etc., and we are headed to Panama and Italy this year. It's definitely a great way to expose them to other cultures. =) This is a great article. I know that my children, 5 and 7, have traveled way more than I have at their ages. They have been to Panama, Kansas City, Cape Cod, Mexico, Tucson, North Carolina, etc., and we are headed to Panama and Italy this year. It's definitely a great way to expose them to other cultures. =)

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]]> By: Peter Carey http://matadorlife.com/family-travel-101-why-traveling-with-your-kids-is-important-and-fun/comment-page-1/#comment-1199 Peter Carey Wed, 11 Feb 2009 18:00:59 +0000 http://matadorlife.com/?p=689#comment-1199 Excellent post and I agree wholeheartedly, especially the aspect of taking it slow. Like you, we started young and at age seven our daughter has over 80,000 frequent flier miles and tens of thousands of roadtrips. I'm looking forward to more international trips soon and constantly to remember your advice to strike a balance. Thanks for the article! Excellent post and I agree wholeheartedly, especially the aspect of taking it slow. Like you, we started young and at age seven our daughter has over 80,000 frequent flier miles and tens of thousands of roadtrips. I'm looking forward to more international trips soon and constantly to remember your advice to strike a balance. Thanks for the article!

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