alex

would you take a 20 month old along with you to Spain for 5 days????? We have the option of leaving her with her grandparents. My husband and I have been debating this for the past week. PLEASE HELP!

Surely you

Why in anybody's world would you want to drag a 20 month old along, who would have no clue about the trip, when you can leave her home in good care?

No discussion necessary. The two of you have a great trip!

Surely you

trying

Great question: Please search for "babies" "children" and/or "toddler". This issue has been debated and criticized. We took a 6 month old to Europe without incident. Took him again at 2.5 years of age and it was more difficult, but mainly because he didn't adjust as quickly to the time change and he was going through one of those wake up in the middle periods anyway. Otherwise, he traveled well.

x

5 days is a short trip, but a long time to be away from your baby I know! However, think of what a great treat for your baby and parents to spend some time together! Consider the fact that at least 8 hours each way spent on the plane will be unpleasant for you both as you try to keep the baby quiet and still, and then the time difference will not be adjusted to easily for the young one, I would take a well-deserved break for you and your hubby!

SA

I have voiced my opinion numerous times on this topic but will be happy to do so again. The sooner (& more often) your child travels, the better/sooner he will adjust to it. You will inevitably be bombarded by nay-sayers who are old, childless curmudgens. Ignore them & enjoy the trip w/your child. As mentioned prior, there are many posts on this topic, all w/the same results/comments.

x

Alex sounds like you have the opportunity to take a nice vacation with grandparents offering to help babysit. I'd jump on it in a NY second.
No brainer.

cooter

agree, this is a no-brainer. Enjoy your vacation, leave the kid with the grandparents. And no, I'm not old or, generally speaking, a curmudgeon. I appreciate that my parents took me on their vacations once I was old enough to enjoy it. I think that's the key thing though; a twenty month old is not going to get anything out of the trip, and would instead get pretty stressed.

Once they are older, in my opinion, take them everywere. Spain in particular is very child-friendly.

francesca

I agree that kids should travel and we do all the time with ours but as the mommy of a 20 mo old myself, I would recommend you spend some couple time in beautiful Spain and leave baby with grandma and grandpa. Grab the chance while you can! Good luck!

xxx

No

Byrd

Speaking for the grandparents of the world--Go, have a great trip, and let the grandparents and granddaughter have a wonderful time, too! When our children were growing up, we were lucky enought to live in the same town as my parents, who loved it when we let them keep the kids. Now we are doing the same for our children and grandchildren, including a great three weeks while the parents went to Europe. The next year they took both children to Europe with them. We love having our grandchildren here, and their parents enjoy having a little time to themselves, too.

winnie

I will be travelling with my own 16 mth old to Spain. It'll be 2 weeks+ away from home. Never thought of leaving her with her grandparents and since I'm still breastfeeding, that is quite out of the question. Well, she wun starve but I'll be the one who will have to deal with the engorgement in beautiful Spain! So my verdict - I'm bringing her along, brave the odds and hope to come back with nice memories. I believe I will. ;-)

John G

Please, leave your child at home.

Nicky

I would leave the baby with the grandparents, but that's only because you said it would be for 5 days. My thoughts would be different if it were for a longer period.

We've taken our kid to Europe since he was 13 months old. He's 13 now, and has been 6 times. But we stay anywhere from 2 to 3 weeks, so we have time for adjustment, baby sitter at one or two places, and time for kid and adult stuff. At 20 months, you'll find you'll need to spend much time in parks and playgrounds, and waiting until the baby goes to sleep to venture into museums and restaurants.

One more thing. My boss returned last month from Spain, having taken his 18 month old, and felt the big cities were a bit too smoky and smoggy an environment (which is rather a curious comment, coming from L.A.). We were there in 2000 and did not find that to be the case, but we'd just come from Lisbon, so our perspective was different.

StCirq

I would normally say bring the kid along because I think traveling with kids at any age - even 20 months - imprints a roadmap for them that they follow in the future - but for 5 days, and a trip to Spain, I'd say leave the kid with the grandparents, unless you are one of those mothers who feels horrible guilt at leaving your child.

We took our kids on trips several times a year from the time they were a few months old and never regretted it. But 5 days is so short you would barely get over your own jet lag, never mind the kid's, so I would say take advantage of the grandparents' offer. You'll have plenty of time to travel with kids in the future.

Also, Spain is not in my experience the most kid-friendly place in Europe.

alex

thanks for the advice. I'll let you know what we decide, im leaning toward leaving her with my parents

Jim LaGrone

Leave the baby and have a second honeymoon!