There are quite a few things to consider when traveling to faraway places with kids in tow.
One of the most fascinating parts about being parenthood is learning of the parallel universe that exists for parents running alongside the one inhabited by people without children.
For instance, I’m at the point in my parenting journey where all of my kids (16-year-old daughter and 10-, 8-, and 4-year-old sons) are actively involved in youth sports. This means that there is no such thing as sleeping in on any day of the week, and the concept of sitting around the table for dinner in the evening might as well be a fairy tale. There are nights when I don’t get home until 11 p.m. because of volleyball practice.
And don’t even get me started on the universe of entertainment that you have to learn as a parent that people without kids have literally no reason to know exists at all. On the positive side, I’ve seen every single live-action remake of every Disney film, the soundtracks to each of the “Descendants” movies rock, and I still watch reruns of “Good Luck, Charlie” on my own personal time.
Last summer, two of my boys participated in the Washington, D.C., soccer camp run by one of the most famous soccer clubs in the world. At the beginning of the camp, we were told that a maximum of 10 kids would be invited to attend that same soccer club’s week-long training experience in Europe in the next year (2025). Because none of my kids are mediocre at anything they do, both boys were invited to attend the European camp. Their excitement ensured we were going.
We’ve traveled with the kids before. We’ve gone on two Disney cruises that required us to fly to Orlando to get on a cruise ship. This time, however, we had to fly to another continent with the kids and learn things about laws in new countries, in real time. Because one of those learning experiences was so mind-blowing, I figured it might be a good idea to share some lessons I’ve learned about traveling as a family that my parents might know, but maybe those who are about to embark on travel might need to consider. This is me trying to help my fellow parents out because…sharing is caring.
1. It is important to learn the laws about children in Ubers and taxis, and the like, for wherever you’re going. Trust me.
Because my wife and I haven’t really traveled with the kids in other countries it never dawned on me to look up “Can Ubers in Spain transport kids from the airport to hotels without issue?” That question is very specific, isn’t it? Let me tell you why. We get to Madrid and call an Uber. The driver then shows up and is UPSET because we didn’t order the right Uber that would have three car seats. My boys, again, are 10, 8 and 4. Apparently in Spain, kids under 12 still need to ride in car seats in Ubers. The first thing I did was hit Google and found an article whose first line was something to the effect of, “If you’re reading this, it’s because you just discovered that you can’t just call an Uber in Spain if you have little kids.” I immediately became an expert in Spain’s laws on transportation; it turns out that taxis don’t have to adhere to that same law.
Getting yelled at in writing by an Uber driver through an app on a phone is hilarious. 10/10. Highly recommend.
2. There is no such thing as packing light.*
I put an asterisk by that because there are probably some folks who can pack for a 10-day trip with a family of four with only a carry-on bag. I’d wager that is not 99% of us. My wife told me we’d all have one carry-on, and I thought she was starting a comedy career because I had seen her pack, and I knew there was ZERO chance all of our things for a week-long-plus stay could be condensed into one small bag per person. I was right. I think we have something like 8 suitcases of varying sizes. Do you know what’s super difficult? Something like 8 suitcases when there are three children in tow. I guess what I’m saying is don’t feel bad if you feel like you packed too much—you probably didn’t.
3. Kids really don’t like eating things that they believe are different from what they eat at home.
I hope your kids are better than mine, but in case this is just a standard issue youth problem, I figured that kids eating fries and such anywhere would be easy. Naw. My kids don’t even trust lemonade in foreign countries. Everything is a concern. It’s like the second we said, “Other country,” they heard, “Nothing they will have is edible.” Seriously, my kids’ biggest concern about coming to Spain was, “What if I don’t like the food? How will I eat?” Now, I realize that I was also probably like this as a kid, but let’s just say that the first 10 seconds of receiving any dish is a stare-down between my kid(s) and the plate. The point is that we have all the snacks in our rooms.
4. That time change is diabolical.
I grew up overseas and went back and forth between Germany and America every summer for 8 years, but I have no recollection of how my body reacted to the time changes. Meanwhile, I’m watching my poor kids be absolutely wrecked by the (at first) 5-hour time change and then get slammed with the Spanish daylight savings time that happened the first night we got here. You haven’t seen sluggish kids until they’ve had to ATTEMPT to adjust to a 6-hour time change when they’re required to get up at 7 or 8 a.m. for the entire time they’re in a program. Also, tired kids dragging carry-on bags through an airport is not a thing. We took a super late-night flight where we all tried to sleep on a plane to varying levels of success. The only truism, though? Even four days later, the entire family is exhausted all day long while trying to adjust. Just keep that in mind—adults learn to tough things out, and kids aren’t always as amenable to that particular requirement.
5. Bring really good walking shoes because walking with kids is just…different.
This is probably a me problem more than a (universal) you problem. My sneakerheadness gets the better of me every time as I try not to pack many options and pick the one that will serve me aesthetically, as opposed to functionally, the entire trip. It is a bad idea every time because walking with kids feels so much more cumbersome. My feet are always mad at me on these trips and when I get home. The point is, I’ve learned that no matter where we travel, we spend A LOT of time walking, and good shoes for the whole family are an absolute must. Sure, the pictures look fly, but behind our smiles are feet that hate us. Just some simple advice.
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