Tip 1: Don’t.
So what’s wrong with vacationing in your house? There’s nothing wrong with it, besides the fact that your kids want to kill each other because they’re routine-bound and besides the fact you’ve started to wax poetic about the lives of your childless friends. Take it from someone who took her twins on two round-trip, trans-Pacific flights before they were thirteen months old: don’t.
(cc) KitAy, Used under a Creative Commons ShareAlike License
Tip 2: If you must travel, wait until your kids can complete the New York Times Crossword in ink.
And, unless your kid is Ben Pall – a 14-year-old who created a crossword that was published in the Times last month, then you’re safe for a few years. By the way, Pall could recite the alphabet at the age of two…backwards. Freak.
(cc) Rick Audet, Used under a Creative Commons ShareAlike License
Tip 3: There’s only one button that matters: repeat play.
It doesn’t matter if your kid can recite all the words to Finding Nemo. After all, look at Ben Pall.
Tip 4: If you have a choice, travel before Christmas.
Your arsenal of discipline-techniques increases greatly if you can use Santa as a threat. Put him on speed dial. If you have to travel outside of December, throw out nutritional expectations and food pyramids. Candy makes a great second-level threat.
Tip 5: Seriously, don’t do it.
This made me laugh. We’ve traveled quite a bit with V since she was born. But even we’re not brave enough to do it around the holidays. Never mind V having a meltdown. I’d be the mom standing in the middle of the concourse, crying and screaming that I want a bottle of wine and a Xanax
And sane people would give you some wine or meds, Jenn. Some of my best holidays have involved me having a sobbing meltdown in the middle of an airport or train station. And that was before kids…
Well we’re the ones everyone is praying we’re not near them. 3 kids – 1,3 and 5 all the way from Australia to South Africa. Forget sedation for the kids – my advice is sedate yourself!
Yes. Self-sedation is good. If you have spare meds, pass them out to your adult neighbours. Happy travels. We had a trip to South Africa booked and paid for (Xmas 2003) – then I had problems with my twin pregnancy. We’ll get there, someday. Have a good trip!
We’re going on a transatlantic trip later this week.
Good luck with that…my flight attendant friend says lots of snacks. Apparently, with the post 9/11 travel guidelines, most parents think snacks are contraband. I think airlines should give out Costco-size boxes of granola bars to people traveling with kids. Happy travels!