Melissa

Here's a question for all of you traveling parents! I'm 29 years old and am 4 months pregnant. My husband and I have traveled quite a bit in the Caribbean, Mexico, and U.S., but sadly we have not yet made it to Europe. Now, with a baby on the way, I'm afraid I will have to wait another 20 years to make my trip to Europe (I'm dying to see Italy and France). So I guess I'm looking for a little bit of hope. Have any of you taken your children to Europe with you? How old were they and where did you go? Have you found some cities more child friendly than others? Was it an enjoyable trip? Or do some of you leave the little ones at home with a loved one and travel as a couple? Are you able to have a good time without feeling lots of guilt? I'd like to hear about your experiences--I'm really hoping parenting and traveling can co-exist!

Kavey

Melissa <BR> <BR>Unless it's a budget issue you don't have to wait 20 years to come to Europe... <BR> <BR>Kids would enjoy it too... <BR> <BR>If you are blessed with mature and well behaved kids who enjoy more than TV and computer games you might find they enjoy Europe from as young as 6 or 7. <BR> <BR>That said you can travel when pregnant but I believe there has been a recent change by airlines as to how far along you can be in your pregnancy before they will refuse to carry you. Best to check with airlines individually... <BR> <BR>I live in London and often see tourists with children of various ages, and as long as you compromise a little on your list of must sees and how much you can see in a day I dont see why you cant come along with kids... There are many many child friendly attractions here and in many other cities (there is a great Aquarium in Bologne and kids are often into castles and so on). <BR> <BR>Don't lose hope... <BR> <BR>And all the best for the pregnany... am sure he or she will be a sweetie... get him/ her addicted to travel young!!! <BR> <BR>(PS I have been along with my parents on holidays to Europe, America and India since I was 6 months old).

greg

Having taken children overseas from diapered age to teens, first, I would say you do not have to wait 20 years. It is actually more to it. Here are some pros and cons at different ages. This, not considering whether children get something out of not, which is a controversial subject. <BR> <BR>Before solid food, if you breast feed, have an advantage of not having to worry about their food, just food that you eat that might pass into the milk. But you gotta carry all, including all survival gears. You can't visit quiet sit thru type of places. You probably will have to stick with casual restaurants. I personall rather sit next to a crying small child, who usually eventually quiet down rather than next to Americans who complain loudly and continuously why the food there is not cooked just like the way back the USA. <BR> <BR>Before toilet trained stage, we gotta find disposable diapers and haul them with us. Having small children, however, made us more approachable to the locals. <BR> <BR>Between the ages 4-12 had been the best time for us to go on the trips. They could carry most of the things, sit thru meals, try new food, and above all, would not fuss about travelling with parents. <BR> <BR>After 12, the bottom fell off. They just wanted to chat on phones and the computer with friends. Anything other than hanging around with friends was boring. They were too old to be left alone at home, and too old, by their account, to be left with relatives. <BR> <BR>My advice is not to wait until they are too old. Go while they can be left with relatives or go with you without complaining about being bored, food being inedible, etc. <BR> <BR>If your children turn out those who love to travel in their teens, that would be an extra credit.

Julie

I have always traveled with my child. I take her anywhere that I go. She went to Europe for the first time at age 5 and has been to France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, and Gibralta. She has also been to Mexico, Jamaica, and Grand Cayman, along with several states in USA. <BR> <BR>I feel very safe traveling to Europe with her. I definately prefer to take her to Europe than to Mexico or Jamaica. <BR> <BR>Europe has everything US has and more. There is no reason to feel uncomfortable taking a child there. <BR> <BR>Also, the question of a city being child-friendly is a strange one that is often posted on this site. It reminds me of the Burgermeister on that Santa Claus show who banned all playing and toys in his city. It just seems ridiculous to me to think that a whole city or country would or would not be "child-friendly". <BR> <BR>If you feel comfortable traveling in the area, you should feel comfortable taking your child. Also you should be willing to try to speak the language a little when necessary or at least to carry a foreign language dictionary with you so that you can point to the words. <BR> <BR>Biggest problem I found traveling to Europe with a child was pushing a stroller. (Many people might question why a 5 year old is in a stroller, but when you spend $10K for a trip for the family to go to Europe it is definately better to push a sleeping 5 year old in a stroller than to go back to your hotel for nap-time.) Take a light weight stroller with sturdy wheels and always carry snacks for the child. <BR> <BR>I think it is very safe, easy and enjoyable to travel with your child. <BR> <BR>FYI, I find it much cheaper to take my child with me to Europe than to most places in US. Kids get in almost all museums free, often aren't charged for hotel rooms or breakfast and get a reduction for international airfare.

micia

Hi. <BR>I have traveled all over with my son since the day he was born. <BR>As for Europe, we took him to London when he was about 18-20 months. I will say that traveling with him has never been a problem as he does fine, but London was a nightmare. Since he was not walking that great then, we took our stroller. I have that evenflo one that holds drinks and it is very heavy. <BR>We used the underground a lot and London has tons of stairs. Where there were escalators, they were not working. We learned at the end of our trip it would have been much better and easier taking a cab. If you are at least 3 adults and one child, you the stroller fits in the cab without closing it. <BR>As for Italy, in Rome forget the bus with a stroller (you have to many things you need to keep an eye on) in Milan, I found elevators so that I could use the metro and as for restaurants, don't worry, Italians love kids. <BR>We just came back from Paris, my son is now 2 and a half and this time we took a much lighter stroller. <BR>Paris was great! We stayed at a Novotel hotel (they have specialized programs for children). The room was nice and big (Queen bed and one single). The bathroom with a tub perfect for kids and a separate shower for adults. The wc is also separate (but in the same room). <BR>As for the metro, we did not find as many stairs as London and where there was an escalator, it worked. <BR>Take a look at youngfamilytravelers.com <BR>Don't worry about traveling with a kid. <BR>There is something in every city to do with them and they love to be out seeing new things. <BR>Happy travels.

Julie

Above post did remind me of one inconvenience, trying to bathe my child in the shower. Most hotels we stayed in had bath tubs but every now and then we stayed in a hotel with only a shower. <BR> <BR>My solution, which I am sure the hotel would have hated, was to put a plastic ziplock bag over the drain and fill the shower 2 inches then bathe my child in the puddle... <BR> <BR>Also, I am considering getting pregnant again soon. I told my husband that I would not feel comfortable going to Russia and many Eastern European countries without being on a guided tour. This means that we will not be able to go to these places until the child reaches the age that the tour company accepts children. The two tour companies that I know who take young children are Trafalgar and Globus. Trafalgar accepts kids at age 5 and Globus/Cosmos at age 8. Just thought that I would pass this information along in case you wanted to go with a tour group.

Mr. Go

Last year, we took our 7-year-old to London & Paris for 10 days. She is a fairly mature, well-behaved little girl, and it worked out pretty well for all concerned. Any younger than 7, though, and it would have been considerably more diffcult to hold her interest. <BR> <BR>I'd have to say it depends on the kid, really. Ours had a grand time, but I can't imagine most her friends lasting past day 2 without big-time whining. <BR> <BR>Part Two of the Go Family's bold experiment in tackling two major European cities at once will commence next week. Rome and Venice, lock up your gelato...here we come!

margie

I read an article recently that stated that the oxygen level in planes (especially on long flights) is not adequate for infants' brains...well, actually, not adequate for infants at all. Does anyone here know anything about this? The article was emphatic about NOT taking a child under one year of age on a long flight.

Mary

Take the children with you. <BR> <BR>Go anywhere you want, but there are cultures that dote on chilren more than others. Chinese and Korean people love children. At their request, the women in the gift shop at Beijing braided our girls' hair each morning. <BR> <BR>Great Britain is my favorite place to visit but not so friendly to children. My girls, only about 10 feet apart, were throwing a soft ball back and forth at our campsite but the manager asked us to have them stop since it "might offend some people." I have never figured that one out. <BR> <BR>But go, just go.

micia

Margie, <BR> <BR>Hi, I have not read this article you are referring to, but we had no choice but travel with my son at 6 , 8 and 15 weeks from Florida to Italy three times. <BR>I have not ever noticed any problems. <BR>My husband is also a pilot and we have made many a trip with him all within Europe and still no problems. <BR>My son will be 3 soon, so maybe it is still to early to see any effects, however, he speaks two languages with no problem and uses a computer with no help so, I hope I will not see any future problems. <BR>I am interested in reading this article as I try to keep up with all the lastest info. Can you tell me where to find it? <BR>Thanks.

Melissa

I am so much enjoying your informative and inspirational stories! I think I'm even more excited to become a parent (and I didn't think that was possible)!

Frances

I agree -go. <BR>We took my daughter at 12 weeks on a gite holiday in France involving some hotels on route and travelling in the car.What really swung the argument in favour of going was that we could speak French and felt we could cope in the event of a medical emergency which was perhaps the biggest worry. <BR>That having worked we then flew with her for the first time at 10 months to see if she liked it and to see if we could manage to pack into a suitcase all the equipment we needed.We went to Cyprus and that was fine too. <BR>Then we decided to try long haul and at 16 months we did a two centre in St. Lucia and Martinique. <BR>We haven't looked back but there are two things which we always felt important.The first was to learn from what we'd just done and adjust our next holiday accordingly or in other words don't make the same mistake twice!(It's a very very long way down to the South of France by car with two little ones saying "are we nearly there" for two days!) <BR>The other is only do what you know you can cope with,the example of this is going to France because we could speak French.We were first time parents with grandparents very keen that we should not go.Their concerns were the same as ours-a medical emergency.We could not have dealt with that ourselves in for example Italy or Spain but our trip to France worked.As it happened I had my handbag stolen with all our documents and money and had to make a scene at the police station because they did not want to take a complaint from me.This would not just have jeopardised my insurance claim but would also have caused quite a problem when we tried to get back into the country. <BR>Trust your own judgement and have a wonderful time!

kam

Hopefully, you have a loving grandparent or aunt and uncle who could take the little one so you could get at least a week away while they are young. My mother-in-law did this for us when kids were really little. We started taking them to Europe when the oldest was 11 and the youngest 6. I think six is about as young as I would want to take. We did a short tour of Amsterdam and then down to Germany ending in Berlin where we had very close friends living. They took our kids to their house and we enjoyed the city for a couple days. Subsequently, we have taken children to England and to Italy where we have relatives. Italy is great for kids. The small towns of England are nice and we used to stay with good friends in London and all the kids played together. You need to adjust your expectations to travel with kids, but it can be fun and can show you another Europe that adults might miss. You won't have to wait 20 years. I agree that teens present more of a challenge than younger kids. You can't leave them behind and they aren't thrilled to be with parents. good luck and enjoy the baby!

Just Trying

To Micia: <BR> <BR>here are some sites which back up what Margie is saying about air quality on planes and safety for the infants <BR> <BR>http://babyparenting.about.com/libra.../aa012301a.htm <BR> <BR> <BR>http://wellnesscharleston.com/newsle...lMaladies.html <BR> <BR>You can find more by doing a search on the net through google or yahoo, looking for planes AND infants AND oxygen. I am sure there are other ways to find information on the net, too. <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>

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anymore comments?

Joan

Start travelling with your children in the car from day one and they will be delightful and happy travellers, ready for Europe by age 3. My daughter was always comfortable in the car seat with appropriate car crayons, tapes, books et al. She made the transition to a 3 week trip to the UK at age 21/2. Mind you, she was at her best when we stayed put for 4-5 nights. Rule of thumb: if your little one is not happy in the car seat for 6-7 hours (with rest stops), she won't be comfortable on the plane for that long. But she will NEVER be if you don't start young.

Marj

Our first several family trips were primarily beach all-inclusive resort vacations. Those were great and very easy with young kids. There first real site-seeing trip was the California Coast. The past 2 years we've taken them to Europe for their spring break (they are now 10 & 12). They love Europe. My son (the younger child) prefers Italy to anything else we've ever done (including Disney-type vacation). Please don't wait 20 years. Take the kids as soon as you feel ready.

Susan

I had the same concerns when I had my first child but having recently returned from a trip to Europe with a six and seven-year-old I can tell you it was the best vacation of my life! It was even better than previous trips to Europe where I packed too many destinations and activities into too short a time. Travelling with kids can be so rewarding. You go at a slower pace and so you have more time to soak it all in. You see things through their perspective and it is so refreshing. And I was so proud of my kids for carrying their backpacks three times through the labyrinth of Heathrow, eating new food, entertaining themselves for hours on airplanes and long meals in restaurants, sleeping in various different situations. I think we prepared our kids well by doing lots of car travel with them from infancy, domestic plane trips and taking them frequently to restaurants. Younger than six years would be challenging. Six year-olds can generally sit still and draw or read for longer periods of time. Congratulations on becoming a parent!

Mom

I have been traveling with my daughter since she was 7 months old. She is only 2 3/4 years old now, but to date she continues to be very easy to travel with, go out to dinner, visit new places... <BR> <BR>The most useful advice I can offer you if yo want to travel with your child is start young and buy a good light weight stroller. Also don't cram too much into one day. A lot of it is luck about the temperment of the child, though. Kids have their own personalities. Good parenting can influence them, but they are their own people. I'm lucky, though. My daughter is particularly easy going.

micia

Well, I took a look at these sites and they offered nothing new to me. <BR>I suggest it to others who are new to traveling with infants pay particular attention to the part about ears. <BR>Infants do have a lot of problems on landing and take off. A pacifier or water or nursing is the best thing for them during these moments. I have seen many infants screaming during these moments and their parents had no idea what was wrong. <BR>Speak with your doctor as well, he can tell you when it is safe to fly with your child. <BR>Happy travels.