that you took your kid(s) on a trip? We don't have any kids yet, but hope that we do sometime in the near future. We've always wanted to go to the GC, but haven't got the $$$ saved up yet. So, we're thinking that we'll go once we have the $$$, but we may have young kid(s) by then. For those that have vacationed with kids, how old were your kids when you first traveled with them and did it work out o.k.?
Thanks!

My first son was 2 weeks old when we took him to Cape Cod for two weeks. My parents were with us and we rented a home so were able to plan our day around his needs. That being said, a two week old travels well, its the parents who are generally shell shocked. Just remember, when you have kids, you must be flexable. A small child doesn't understand SSHHH. And others will appreciate your thoughtfullness.

I was 10 days old My parents took me to California from Arizona, at 4 I moved to Hawaii..then to NC..
My children were (daughter) 2 when she visited California, (son) 4 when we all went to Jamaica, they both travel extensively now and I never stopped

Took my older daughter camping at 2 months old. As long as you pace yourself and choose approriate activities, there's no age that can't travel -- it's the parents that have limits!

Don't listen to peole who tell you not to travel with young kids because "they won't remember it." Even if they don't form specific memories, you're developing a flexibility and sense of adventure that "takes" better the younger you start.

Travelled with kids from ~6mo onwards.

6mo to ~15mo never had any troubles - babies need parents all the time anyway, so we just accomodate & bring them along

> 15mo kids want mobility, want to see & touch everything but have attention span of, well let's say a 15mo old.

The age 1.5 to about 5 yrs can be rewarding (teaching kids about new places) but also very frustrating as travelling parents. Kids this age are unable to entertain themselves for more than say 15 seconds or sit still (when you most want them to) for more than 2 min.

After 5 or 6 have never had a problem. Kids start to have their own interests, can 'read', draw, etc on their own, are usually well behaved enough so you can get past the appetizer at a sit down meal.

You just have to remember to accomodate their schedule. I know many parents who insist on going to Disney for the 'kids', plan to get there at 9am sharp and run non-stop till it closes at 10pm. Guess what? Come 12 noon they've run the kids ragged that they have to leave the park.

Travelling through Europe with 6yr old I made it a point to at least once a day find a kids playground. City, small town, etc. Actually found a small one right next to the Hofbrauhaus in Munich. It became an adventure to find the coolest ones and honestly we remember more about our trips for these finds than museums, castles or chateaus.

It is possible to travel with kids of any age - and many of us here have and do. The key to a good trip for you, the kids and also those around you is to re-tailor your trips around various ages of kids. That does not mean spending 18 years at DisneyWorld and ChuckECheese - but it does mean realizing that a 2-year old spending a day at art museums usually does not work.

We found that when they were very little, destination mattered not at all to them - as long as we paid some consideration to their schedules, food needs, etc. and avoided really long flights or cross-country car trips. In early childhood, attention spans are short and need for physical activity great. Now that our kids are teenagers, they usually come up with much more interesting destinations than we do and they help plan the trip.

We took our kids everywhere but up to the age of five we would stay put in one place...a cottage, condo etc. That way you can work around naps and don't have to deal with restaurants three times a day.

HMC,

First off you can forget about having kids AND saving enough money for a big vacation at the same time...LOL

We got our kids into the car seat for road trips ASAP. G&G lived 3-6 hours away at that time and they made those trips from about 3 months on. We did not do any flying with kids till they were about 7. I know plenty of people do though.

My folks took me camping at 10 months old. Our first plane trip was to visit relatives when I was 10 years old.

We took our first born on a 3000 mile trip when he was only 7 months old. He went on his first camping trip at 15 months old.

Our second born went on his first camping trip at 5 months (would have been a lot younger but I had medical problems) He went on his first long over 2,000 mile camping vacation to the national parks at the age of 6 months. He was in a backpack when we toured the N. Rim of the Grand Canyon, Bryce and Zion National Parks.

We loved camping vacations to the National Parks. Every year we went between 2 and 5 weeks and traveled between 2,000 to 8,000 miles. The kids loved it.

When the boys were younger camping was the only way we could afford these kinds of trips.

Utahtea

We started traveling with our kids when they were both very young. I think my son took his first plane trip at 7 months.

I think much will depend on the temparent of your children. We're fortunate that we have two toddlers who are very comfortable in new surroundings and able to sleep anywhere. Personally, I think you can do things that encourage that behavior. Some may not agree. If you try and raise kids that can travel and can sit in a restaurant, to me it makes it that much easier when you do those things.

I found the biggest issue when traveling with young children to be the sheer volume of "stuff" you'll need. It means at least one more bag plus assorted strollers, car seats, toys, etc., etc.

I agree with Ryan - the stuff is the problem. We've traveled with them at about 2 months and up. As another poster said, it's easier when they're not mobile, but you have to plan around thier schedule.

All kids are different. We worried about taking a trip when one daughter was five months old, and it turned out to be no problem. She was so predictable - eat and then nap - that we went out to eat, ordered our food, fed her her baby food while we waited for our order, and she promptly fell asleep, allowing us time for a nice dinner.

Now that our kids are older, I think the important thing is to take them out at home. They know how to behave in a restaurant because we eat out a lot, and expect good behavior even at fast food places. They know how to behave in a museum because we go to our local museums.

4 months, 11 months and 1.25 yrs. to Puerto Rico (family). Not quite 2 went skiing, and have gone at least once/yr. ever since.

Hopefully you'll takr them on all your trips, nothing like kids!

Don't have kids but have had plenty around me who have. Best place for little children is beach resorts and lots of sand. My mom's cousin took her little toddler with her @ 2 or 3 yrs of age, got a big beach umbrella and Leanne would play with plastic beach toys and the sand all day long. I'd say you can start taking children to places like museums at 8, when they usually start field trips at school. That is usually when they are receptive to more intellectual interests and it is also a time when they are more likely to want to walk instead of parents carrying them around which makes a parents trip alot more pleasant.

We took our daughter away at 4wks old,
imagine the response from the older aunts, grandparents (all Italians!) We continued taking her anytime we had the $,time etc.
We now have a 14yr.old who is a flexible,culturally aware kid who will answer yes! to healthy opportunities to explore all life has to offer. As the ad goes ..priceless.

Each of our children happened to be 3 weeks old when we first traveled with them. The first one was a drive from Idaho to San Francisco. The second was a flight between Florida and San Francisco. After that we just kept taking them with us, never stopping even during the harder toddler years. We first took them overseas when they were 4 and 7, and have taken them several times since then.

It all depends on the individual personality of your baby. You'll have to wait and see how he/she is when they've popped out. Our kids were very difficult to travel with until the age of 3. They weren't the kind to just fall asleep in their car seats for hours at a time and certainly would not have slept during dinner at a restaurant. In fact, up until recently traveling with the family was sheer TORTURE.

When my oldest was 8 months we spent several days during the summer in Alaska. Of course the sun hardly sets and our hotel was void of black-out curtains. Our child would wake up every hour during the night and start wailing because the room was lit like it was noon. The poor thing was so confused.

I also have friends that take their babies everywhere and don't have any problems. The kids are basically content to sit and play with a menu or a spoon for an hour and a half during restaurant meals...

Good luck with your new baby. Kids are wonderful. Kate

We took our now 12 year old to Hawaii when she was 14 months old. She sat on my lap awake for the 11 hours of flying and slept during the 2 hour layover. She was a great traveler and we have been taking both girls everywhere ever since! You can take your kids pratically everywhere as long as you are considerate that they are just kids. We took more beach vacations when they were younger. And some disney ones too. Like everyone above says, it depends on their tempermants. My kids hopped on planes with backpacks and snacks and have always loved it.

Our kids have always travelled with us from young (under 1) ages. Not always perfect but always happy they were there. Good advice from others.

As to GC, I would have to say that it is one place I would not want to have a toddler in tow. We visited last August with 8 and 10 year olds and I was shocked at how many spots there were where young/toddlers could just walk off over the edge. And this is near the hotels/restaurants/shops on the South Rim. I remarked several times that I would have been a wreck being there with a toddler who might run off. Kids 5 and older would probably be fine and newborns in a backpack would be fine.

We travel all over with our kids, who are now 10 and 12, but we rarely traveled with them (except to the shore) when they were very young.

Everyone is different, but for us it was just not worth it - lugging all the stuff, etc. When they were in backpacks it was great, but as soon as that wasn't practical, we waited until they were more a bit more mobile.

Sometimes I just don't understand why you'd want to drag a baby along. We were at the 76ers-Pistons play-off game y-day. A couple arrived and sat in front of us with baby, around 10 months old. They thought they smelled something and opened the diaper RIGHT ON ARM REST RIGHT IN FRONT ME. My son was shocked and I saw WAY more of that poor boy's anatomy than I wanted to! Thankfully, for my son and I the diaper was clean, BUT WHAT WOULD THEY HAVE DONE IF IT WAS DIRTY?! I'm sorry if I am yelling, but I just could not believe that we witnessed this! Another family 3 seats across from us brought 4 small kids (making them a family of 6). The youngest ones did not even glance at the game. Normally, I would think, what a waste of money. But - they only had 4 seats, so they tried to sit themselves in all the vacant seats around them. Well, this was a play-off game, and people kept arriving late and claiming their seats, so they just kept switching to other vacant seats, making a commotion every time they did so. And once all the seats around them were filled, they were crammed in a small area, making getting around them impossible.

DISCLAIMER: DO NOT construe this as an anti-kids post, as IT IS NOT. As I said, I have 2 boys and we travel a lot and I will be the first one to fully admit that they are not always perfect. But we really try to make sure that where we take them is appropriate. And I can emphatically state that I have never changed my kids' diaper right in the MIDDLE of a public event!