Travelling with Kids is Possible!

Having both experienced the joys and wonder of travel when we were younger, Mario and I discovered that passing that same idealism onto our kids was something that was important to both of us.  Having realized together that we were becoming increasingly sick of the materialistic life that we lead day to day to day, we wanted to be able to give more to our kids than the same day to day to day.

As we continue planning our trip of a lifetime, we look forward to the day when we can pack up our house, step into the RV and begin our adventure, all of us full of excitement, trepidation and joy!

Don’t You Think the Girls should be Older?

A question posed to us often, but we both think that there isn’t any ‘right’ age to do a trip like this.  Children are adaptable.

Realistic Potential?

The first thing we have read about traveling with kids is not to expect too much, include activities that they will enjoy as well as things that are educational. Find a candy store off the beaten path, lunch at a café not listed in your guidebook.

Do something cheesy and touristy that kids will like and you will probably dread.  Apparently, they will love you for it!

Remember that after all, they are only kids.  They don’t want to do an all day tour or have their every single day scheduled.  It’s a good idea to plan for one major activity a day and include play parks, water parks and kid stuff as much as you can bear.

It’s also a good idea to plan for a chill day once a week, where you can plan and prepare for what’s coming up next.  Include the kids in the planning.

What about School?

You gotta’ love our educational systems propaganda.  Again, children are adaptable.  Traveling for a year around Europe is an education in itself is it not?  Our plan is to stock up on workbooks, books, find websites, sign up for homework help and do our own brand of homeschooling.

All of our research points to children that are ahead of many of their peers once they have returned to a regular school system after extended travel.

But why with Your Kids?

Really, what’s more important than spending time together as a family?  We know that at first it will be difficult to be together 24/7 and there will be times when we just need a break, but we are looking forward to growing together as a family, watching our kids grow and learn before our eyes.  Magic!

What about Our Stuff?

We have already begun the process of minimizing our lives, from clothes, to toys, to books.  The less we live with now, the more we will be able to live on the road.

Danger … Danger …

It’s easy to think that the world is full of danger; the media fills our TV with it every day.  If we are afraid to show our kids all the wonder the world has to offer, aren’t we teaching our kids to live in a bubble?

Goodwill abounds in every corner of the world, you just have to go and find it.

How do we include the Kids?

Because the girls are maybe a little too young yet to understand the full scope of what we are planning, we have instead talked to them about the places we plan to go, shown them pictures of places, castles, towns and told them the history and stories about the places we will visit.  So far, it seems to work, they are more interested about the Princesses that lived in the castles but hopefully that will change by the time we actually hit the road.

What about Their Health on the Road?

Besides the usual physical we will all have prior to leaving, we will get any shots, medications, etc. necessary for the road.  We will keep updated on any health concerns in the countries we will be visiting as they become available via websites for Canada’s Public Health and the WHO.  We will also purchase Travel Health Insurance which will ensure that we are covered for whatever unforeseen sickness, broken bone, etc. may arise.

Aren’t We Worried?

In a word – kinda’.  There are a lot of things that could happen but we can’t spend all of our time worrying about what could or can happen.  There will be a host of things that will happen that we can’t even imagine but we are prepared to roll with the punches.

Things will indeed happen that we have no control over, that’s life.

What’s next?

Well, taking our family on the road.  There’s a long road ahead of us and we plan to see a lot of it.  We are excited to show our kids that life is more than iCarly and Wizards of Waverly Place, that there is more out there than their backyard and friends will be there no matter where we go.