Traveling with young kids is scary, chaotic and stressful, but it’s the memories we make that we reminisce about years later.
Two years ago, our little family sat at a quiet cafe just off the busy streets of Venice, Italy, eating lunch. At the time, we only had our 9-month-old son and our 3-year-old daughter. While we were in the throes of “enjoying” our meal, an older couple approached us, beaming, saying how refreshing it was to see a couple traveling with their young kids. They said it was hard but worth all the memories and it was something they had always done with their kids who are now grown. If they could, they’d go back and do it all again. That conversation stuck with me and has always held space in my mind.
We are all aware of how short life can be and time spent with our tiny humans is even shorter. With that being said, our kids don’t need travel in their lives to be happy and to feel loved, but if you are contemplating traveling with your little ones or maybe you’re avoiding it because of how overwhelming it can be, I highly encourage you to just go for it.
I’ll be the first to admit that I am not the most organized individual when it comes to family travel. I try my best, but my mom brain cannot hack it. Thankfully there are a plethora of tips and tricks out there to help family adventures run more smoothly. However, I guarantee, that no matter how prepared we may think we are, our kids will almost certainly drag us back into reality. But they will surely find the beauty in all the chaos.
If you ask my 6-year-old her favorite place to visit, she’ll tell you about Venice and how we ate gelato with every meal and rode on a gondola. Twenty years from now I won’t remember the meltdowns, chaotic dinners out, or trying to keep them occupied on a plane or in a car.
Instead, I’ll remember the smiles on their faces as gelato ran down their chunky little cheeks, chins and hands. And I’ll remember the joy on my daughter’s face while she played in the ocean and collected seashells with my husband while I sat with a sleeping baby on my chest. Or maybe I’ll think about the best breakfast pastries in Rome at the corner cafe down from our AirBnb.
I’ll definitely remember finding the best macaroons and seeing all the Christmas decorations in Paris, and the excited shriek from my daughter when she spotted the Eiffel Tower. And I will always cherish watching my kids play with their German cousins, communicating in only a way tiny humans, who speak two different languages, can understand.
Any travel you can configure will certainly create lasting memories, whether you’re driving across the United States or flying across the ocean, it’s all an exciting and magical family adventure in the eyes and minds of our kids.
