Sometimes when I tell people about the places I’ve been with my little ones, they look at me like I’m crazy! But I’m here to tell you that there are some GREAT reasons to travel with young kids! Here are just a few:
10 fantastic reasons to travel with young kids
1) It’s cheaper to travel with young kids
Going on vacation while the kids are little definitely has its financial perks! The big saving can be on airfare; many major airlines will allow you to take a child under 2 as a lap baby and this is often completely free. Even if you do pay for a seat for your child (if they’re over 2, or just if you prefer them to have their own seat), some airlines (United and Jet Blue, for example) offer a cheaper child rate on tickets. Aside from airfare, everything from attraction tickets to eating out to hotel rooms can be cheaper with young children, and plenty of these things can be completely free with babies. Considering the cost of travel, saving money anywhere is a big plus!
2) It’s easier to travel with young kids
No wait, hear me out! I know traveling with little ones doesn’t sound easy, but it really can be! Babies especially are so great to travel with because they are usually so adaptable. Babies will usually be able to fall asleep easily on a plane (something about the engine noise has always sent my babies right to sleep!), you don’t really have to worry too much about bringing a bunch of things to entertain them, feeding them is generally easier than having to worry about kids meals, and there are some great baby travel products to make travel easier. Long car trips are usually a lot less painful the younger the baby is too. When it comes to sightseeing, popping a baby in a carrier as you tour is about as easy as it gets. It really can be less challenging than taking an older kid.
3) No worries about school vacations
This ties in with numbers 1 and 2, but if you travel before the kids are in school, it makes a huge difference! You can travel any time of the year, and that opens up so many doors. It is almost always cheaper to travel when the kids are in school; airfare and hotel rooms will be cheaper because there is less demand since less people can travel. You can be more spontaneous with your trips, and are therefore able to take advantage of last minute deals (you can get some GREAT flight deals this way!) Seriously, get out there before school vacations mess with your plans!
4) They get used to travel
If you know you’re going to want to travel with your kids once they get older, then get them started young! Travel can be stressful for anyone; I’m not sure anyone can say they find airports a relaxing place to be! But the sooner kids get to experience all of the aspects of travel, the more used to it they will be, and the easier they will find it in the future.
5) It gets YOU used to traveling with them!
It’s not just that the kids get used to travel, but you get used to what it’s like to travel with them! Before we had kids, we’d maybe start our vacation with a glass of champagne in the airport lounge, then relax on the plane with a book or a movie we’d been looking forward to seeing. Sightseeing included museums and fancy restaurants and staying up late to go dancing. On our first vacation with our now 3-year old there wasn’t room in the diaper bag for books because it was crammed full of toys, the fancy restaurants were replaced with places that served food quickly before the baby woke up, and late nights were replaced by horribly early mornings. It was a shock to the system! But we’ve adapted our travel style, and it’s gotten easier with each vacation we’ve taken to adjust to traveling with the little ones.
6) It’s educational
I am a true believer that children learn best from experiencing things, not just reading about them in books or learning about them in school. I love that my 3-year old learned about the British Monarchy while standing outside Buckingham Palace in London; that he knows which ocean is the Pacific and which is the Atlantic because we’ve looked down on them from 35,000 feet; and that he’s learned about endangered green sea turtles from watching them being released back into the ocean in Hawaii. You don’t have to incorporate education into your vacation, kids will pick things up and remember experiences that they have had and learn from them.
7) It teaches kids about other cultures
The neighborhood my kids are growing up in is not a diverse one. When we travel, I like that they get to see that not everyone looks the same, not everyone has the same values or traditions, and that is all OK. I want them to go out into the world, no matter how small they may be, being curious of others, not wary.
8) It improves their flexibility
Both my kids love their routines – and so do I! They like knowing when to eat, when to sleep, what comes next in their day-to-day lives…and that’s great! But it’s also fine to teach kids that sometimes they have to be flexible, and in my opinion, the sooner they learn that, the better. I’m not suggesting getting young children settled into a routine only to completely shake it up on vacation – that might end in tears for all involved! But helping kids learn to sleep in new places, to try new foods, to expand their horizons and go with the flow a little isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
9) It will bring you closer together
I’m sure I’m not the only mom who has looked up from her laptop to find the family in the room together with no one paying any attention to each other! My husband will be dealing with work emails or catching up on Facebook, my 3-year old will be on my iPad or watching a movie, and I’ll be on my laptop or my cell phone. It’s terrible and I hate it, but it often happens in everyday life. Traveling and getting away from it all gives everyone the chance to put down the electronics and spend some quality time together actually talking and making memories. Read more on our family travel resolutions.
10) It means you still get to travel!
This is my ultimate reason! When my husband and I decided to start a family, we knew our life would change; almost everything would be different. But we also knew we didn’t want to put our life on hold while the kids were young and never do anything. We have always loved to travel, and we couldn’t imagine not really going anywhere just because we had kids. We’ve been to Hawaii, Iceland, England, New York City and so many more with our kids, and we’ve loved taking them with us. The simple fact is that we want to travel, so the kids are coming with us! I must say, we haven’t regretted it yet!
ruthie says
Traveling with my family is my favorite!! Plus I miss them when we are not all together. Making memories with littles is the best! I agree with all of the above!
Kate says
I agree, making memories with little ones is amazing – seeing the world through their eyes makes me so happy!
Amanda @bephoenixfit says
I’m planning to fly with 3 kids next year (15, 7, and <1) without my husband, and I'm already nervous about it! This is helping me a little bit. I just need to remind myself to stay calm and enjoy the experience, and all will go well. Right? 😉
Kate says
You’ll be fine! Getting stressed will only make things worse – I say this from experience! I’ve flown alone with my kids and I’m always a little nervous, but the flight itself has always been fine. You’ll do great 🙂
Carolyn says
Good for you for still traveling with your little ones. We do travel with my kids to family trips but I still lik e some adult only trips too.
Kate says
Oh I agree, some trips just the adults is absolutely necessary!
Michael says
Travel brings kids closer together but it’s hard cause of their age…
Kate says
I can be hard, but I think often the actual planning stages are more stressful than the trip itself. I spend hours worrying about how my kids will cope when we travel, and they always surprise me and do just fine!
Kelsey says
I love everything you said in this post! We are apparently VERY similar as I have a thrifty travel mom blog (currently on pause temporarily) and we also live in Orlando. Wish I had found out about your blog sooner! It will surely be a huge help! We are going to England and Wales in a couple weeks with an 8 month old and 2 year old so your posts about London/Bath and jet lag are especially useful too. We are being crazy (to everyone else – but I suppose YOU will understand…) and going to Hawaii a few weeks later. I’m guessing our routines will be really wacky after all that but we are still very excited.
We took our first to Paris (and 14 other places) with our firstborn while flying with her was still free before having our second so we feel like we can do it… but we’re definitely a little nervous about the flight with both of them, mostly because as you know 8 months old is that tricky phase when they just want to crawl around! and she’s teething badly lately. Anyway, nice to “meet” you. Thank you for your helpful blog! And I look forward to following more. Maybe we’ll end up in the same place sometime! If you have any trips coming up and it’s places we’ve been I am happy to send my posts to you as well. Take care.
Kate says
Kelsey, you are the sweetest! I’m so jealous of your trip to England and Wales; I grew up in England and never made it to Wales! We have another trip booked in the summer and I’m so excited to go back! I totally get the Hawaii trip too; I would much rather just pack the kids up and take them with me than not travel anymore, and the younger they are the better. My littlest just turned one and he’s just started taking his first steps (getting his first teeth too!) so flights are certainly going to be interesting for a while! But we’ll manage! I’d love to see your posts, I bet they’d help me out so much!
Harmony, Momma To Go says
I second this a million percent! I miss the days of early September travel, when the weather is still good, and the prices plummet! Now i have a first and third grader, and we take them out of school dont get me wrong, but we cant just go whereever.
The only downside (wink, wink) is now my kids are always like, mom whats our next vacation, when are we going to a hotel? we have set the bar pretty high!
Kate says
I know, it’s going to be rough once Harrison starts school next year and we’re restricted with when we go. I also hear you on raising the bar too high too soon; if it’s been too long between trips, Harrison is very vocal about it!
Laura Dove says
We travelled more when ours were babies than we do now. Now we need 6 seats on a plane it’s so expensive!
Kate says
Airplane seats are a huge expense once the kids get older! Our youngest just turned 2 and watching the price jump when you put in 4 seats instead of 3 is such a shock!
fashionandstylepolice says
I agree with all these tips. It can be stressful to travel with kids but it is worth it if you can brave it.
Kate says
Exactly; it can be hard at times, but the rewards are fantastic!
Kara says
I find travelling with young kids so much less stressful than doing it when they are older and you are right – the engine noise always sends them to sleep
Kate says
I think there are perks to traveling with kids of any age, but I do really like traveling with my little ones at this age! If only the noise of the engine sent me to sleep!
Kira says
I’m dreading travelling with Nila, she’s 10 Months Old And we are sticking to the Uk until the sterilising bottles and baby milk stage is gone 🙂
Kate says
Don’t dread it, you’ll be fine! 10 months old is a great age to travel, babies that age are way more adaptable than we give them credit for. I will admit that traveling with breast milk was a unique experience (especially when a UK customs officer made my husband try it as we came through immigration to prove it was milk!) but once that stage was over and we were on to snacks, things went more smoothly.
Rachel says
Lots of good advice and reasons to travel with little ones here! Cheaper has to be a winner doesnt it!?
Anosa says
I don’t yet have kids but as a frequent traveler I agree with all of these points, I hope one day when I have kids I will revel in these points.