A friend had a question regarding a good age to travel with your child. They brought their 2.5-month-old on a 9hr road trip and feared the experience threw their baby out of whack and their routine out the window. Since babies grow and develop so rapidly in their first year, is there an ideal time to travel?
I think the answer is yes, and no…
From my personal experience, I can say without hesitation that a younger, exclusively breastfeeding baby is the easiest age to travel with. They aren’t mobile, they aren’t on a real routine that could cause stress if strayed from, they’re easily distracted, they sleep when they need to (as hard as that is to believe at times!), and momma is all they need to eat.
When a baby is really small, they are basically an additional bag you need to bring with you. One that requires their own bag and lots and lots of luggage, but easy to travel with nonetheless.
The issue for me with my daughter, was that I wouldn’t have been easy to travel with. A walk around the block was a big ordeal for me. Our first trip when she was 11mos. only took place after months (literally) of research on how I could manage everything and still actually enjoy our trip!
Plus, toddlers start to have their own opinions on what they like to do. And in spite of them actually being your kid, sometimes they don’t want to do what you like doing. And that difficult aspect of traveling with kids does not get easier!
If you’re a calmer first-time mother than I was, take advantage of your maternity leave and travel!
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Your last two lines are perfect…I totally agree! We took our kids everywhere right from the get go, on planes, trains, and cars. We fully utilized our maternity leave like you suggested! It helped that we didn’t have much of a routine I think because both of our kids go with the flow very easily…my son took his first steps in Roman ruins in Trier!
Thanks Jen!
LOVE that about your son! Family legend suggests that my first unassisted steps were on a plane. Guess the travel bug gets planted early!
I was like you with my first baby, terrified of going anywhere. Now my third child is three years old I’m much more relaxed, so relaxed in fact that we’re planning a round the world trip! I’d agree that tiny babies are the easiest to travel with, much easier than toddlers, but sometimes it just seems like too much of a challenge to leave home with a baby.
I totally agree that travelling with a baby is easier than a toddler. But even though it’s more challenging, travelling with a toddler has its advantages. They are so much more aware of the world around them, and they seem to understand that they’re someplace new and different. The best feeling in the world is watching my daughter’s face when she sees something new for the first time!
I agree that children of all ages benefit from traveling. Even if a baby or toddler can’t remember taking a trip, they live the experiences of the trip as they pass.
I’m glad I started traveling with both my kids when they were just babies too. Some kids who aren’t accustomed to travel don’t like the disruption to their schedules while away but my four-year-old daughter loves to travel and cries when it’s time to go back home.
Great ending line…so true!
I agree that you can travel with kids at any age, and the earlier, the better. For us, the most difficult time was around 15-30 months, because our son was a total wiggle worm. One hellish flight to Costa Rica at 18 months was enough to have me swear off travel for a year or until he could carry his own bag. Every child is different, though, so you have to judge by your child’s disposition, ability to adapt to new environments, and level of comfort with strangers.
Our toughest flight was definitely the one where she was 20mos.