I have a travel companion who is currently 8 1/2 years old. He has been traveling since the age of 6 weeks. He is my son.
From the beginning, his dad and I wanted to instill in him what it’s like to travel since we both travel extensively for work (and occasionally for fun). So far, my son has been outside the U.S. 13 times, and has been to every state on both coasts, plus a couple in between. We are lucky - he LOVES to travel. He is also an amazing passenger on a flight, never crying or bothering people, and I normally receive many compliments on his behavior when we land. I won the lottery with this kid as far as travel is concerned, thank goodness!
So, how does my son get to travel so much? Well, our circumstances are a little different. My partner and I both work in the entertainment industry, in which we work on location quite a bit (depending on the show), meaning we work somewhere we don’t live and end up staying in a hotel or furnished apartment in whatever city we are working. My partner is also Canadian with parents who have a summer lake home in British Columbia, a place my son has been going every year since he was an infant.
When my partner works on his main gig, which takes him around the world, he cannot take my son. For a five-year period, my son was on location with me in Baltimore, Maryland (5 times); Wilmington, NC (twice); and Charleston, SC, where I was working on my shows for many months at a time. He got used to moving around and new situations, but how did I handle essentially being a single parent in a strange city? Answer is - a bit of help and amazingly understanding coworkers.
The first time in Baltimore, my bosses, a married couple, and I shared a nanny as we were living in the same building and my son and their youngest were only months apart in age. It worked out very well! The next stop for all of us was Wilmington, NC where I placed my son in a daycare across the street from work, and my bosses’ child was in the same class. It was awesome! Then back to Baltimore, this time placing him in a daycare close to my work. When he was older and I was in Baltimore yet again, for the 5th time, I placed him in a Montessori school, which was incredible. In Charleston, my son was with me just in the summer, so it was camp for him. It was a lot of juggling and traveling for a 5 year period, but he did exceptionally well with all the changes. Children really are adaptable!
Internationally, he has been to Canada 10 times, and one time each to Mexico, Iceland, and Scotland, and soon will be on his 14th international trip to England, Ireland, and Northern Ireland. My son has caught the travel bug, just like his parents, and suggests more and more places he wants to visit. We will try to take him to as many places as possible before he is able to travel on his own.
Having children should not hinder your own travel experiences but enhance it instead. Sure, you may not end up bungee jumping off a bridge with your kids, and plans may ultimately change a little for some more kid-friendly options, but that should never stop you from traveling with them. It is a gift to teach children about the world.
And now that he has a baby sister, we can only hope she will be as good a travel companion as her brother. Actually, she is shaping up to be just as great as him!
