International Travel with Children, the Good, the Bad, and The Ugly.
Posted on January 25, 2009
Just kidding, it wasn’t that bad.
There are a few tips that I would share:
1) Renting the Villa was one of the best things we could have done. It gave us a temporary “home” where we could try to develop and maintain a consistent schedule so that she didn’t feel overwhelmed by all the other new experiences we were throwing her into. She did a lot better when we were at the Villa or when we were at Becky and Roberts house in Germany, then when we were staying in the hotels in Florence and Genoa. In the Villa, we could also do one day in Rome, then take one day easy, then do another day in Rome, that sort of thing. So we were able to give her some down time where she could get decent sleep and just be a kid. Plus, we could put her to bed, then hang out with our friends without worrying about leaving her alone in a hotel room. It worked out really, really well.
2) Become familiar with the local grocery store. We had to replenish the snacks we brought with us much sooner than we thought because Chloe refused to eat the food at the restaurants. Plus, the other positive with the villa, we had a kitchen. So, we were able to make Chloe fish sticks, chicken nuggets, and french fries. Not the healthiest of meal choices, but the child survived on breakfast bars, crackers and popcorn. The occasional Chicken nugget was a necessity! In addition to that, we didn’t bring enough pull-ups because we were planning on only having her sleep in them. When she gave up on potty training, we had to replenish our supply of those, too. (Having a kitchen also saved us a lot of money when it came to eating out. We only ate out a few times for lunch and dinner in Rome. We had breakfast EVERY day at the villa, and ate in most nights. Luckily, we had some really good cooks with us, so it was a pleasure to hang out at night, eat good food, drink good beer and wine, and relax. Plus, nobody had to drive home!)
3) Bring lots of small books and toys. Chloe’s favorites were little plastic animals. Just be aware that there is a strong likelihood you will lose one or two of whatever you bring, so don’t bring anything valuable. We had these with us all the time, so Chloe could play on the train, in a restaurant, or even in the museums, when she got bored with the “statues”.
4) Don’t worry about sleeping arrangements. I was extremely concerned and so we brought a camping air mattress with us for Chloe to sleep on. (It rolled up REALLY small so we could easily fit it in our luggage.) We only used it when we were at Becky and Robert’s house. The villa had a pack and play, and it was easy to find a hotel room with two beds (one a single.) We just rolled up a blanket and tucked it up under her sheets so she wouldn’t roll out of bed. It worked fine, and she slept well.
5) Take advantage of technology. I have an IPOD tv adaptor, so we could plug Chloe’s movies in where ever there was a TV. It came in handy when we were trying to prepare food, or eat (since she refused to eat with us.) I know, electronic babysitter, yadda yadda yadda. Sometimes you just gotta do what ya gotta do. And she had no trouble accepting that when we got home, her TV use was limited again. Plus, a video ipod comes in handy when you have to fly for 8-10 hours and your child refuses to sleep on a plane!
6) I wish we had done this one: Don’t try to keep your child happy all the time. I think for the first week or so, we tried to keep her happy because we felt kind of guilty about dragging her around through all of these adult experiences. Well, she just got increasingly demanding and then unbelievably whiny when she didn’t get her way. I honestly think if we would have stuck to our normal discipline expectations, that wouldn’t have happened. So, we learned from our mistake. Luckily, she never really got THAT bad (I mean, she’s two, so you have to make some allowances for behavior) and she again seemed to return to normal when we got home and back to our routine.
All in all, it worked out very well, and we all had a good time.
When we ask Chloe what she saw in Italy/Germany, she say, “Castles, statues, and towers.” I will be curious if any of it sticks, although I expect that she won’t remember this trip. I do plan to take our photos and put them into a photobook, so we can go back and look at them. I think she will probably remember the trip through the photos and our stories, so I will try and take advantage of that.