Fly With the Kids…or Leave Them at Home?

What is the right age to travel and adventure with kids by plane? There is NO right age! You must do what works for you and your family. My twins took their first international flight to Costa Rica to visit grandma at 10 months of age. Was it an enjoyable flight? Um, no. Did we have to pack a ridiculous amount of baby items and books and toys to keep them distracted on the plane? Yes. Would I do it again?  Absolutely!

We have friends who don’t want to travel with their kids until they are old enough to remember, appreciate, and participate in all available activities. And while I 100% respect that, my boys just turned twelve and we have, and will continue to, travel as much as possible before we get overwhelmed with sport and school commitments that eat into our summer and holiday breaks. I cherish this uninterrupted time with them. Full disclosure: I also cherish my annual summer time without them while they are at camp!

Exposure

Even if kids can’t recall exactly what they saw during a trip, they are shaped by it because they are exposed to it. I’m grateful my kids have been exposed to different languages, cultures, customs, races, and religions through our travels. The trip doesn’t have to be life-changing for it to be impactful. Even just traveling around the US, my kids have learned that a lot of kids in Colorado ski during their free time, that most kids in Sedona are pretty good on a mountain bike, that kids in north Louisiana are apt to go duck hunting during their winter break, and that kids on the Florida coast can fish and paddle like pros.

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Common Sense

Obviously, you must use common sense when planning trips and activities for young children. An exciting adventure for a teen may be too dangerous or scary for a younger child. You’ll need to be very careful about crafting an age-appropriate itinerary for your group or be sure to travel somewhere that offers childcare (or just travel with enough adults who are willing to take turns watching the little ones). Once your kids are 12 and at least 85 pounds, there are very few activities they can’t participate in with the exception of the ones requiring a driver’s license.

Preparation

Finally, be prepared and keep things in perspective! Learn what works for you. Is it a house swap, a timeshare, a trip to visit family, an all-inclusive resort, or camping? No matter what you choose, at some point you will have an epic travel disaster while traveling with kids, especially when they are little. What follows is our own “trip from Hell” that happened on another trip to Costa Rica to visit Grandma when our twins were two.

Paying Your Dues

24 hours before the flight, one of my boys threw up his lunch, but we just chalked it up to him running around and jumping up and down after eating a large amount of food. That was our first warning sign, but I think I wanted that trip so bad that I happily ignored it. The day of the flight, we made it to the airport with our strollers, car seats, and bags (a feat in and of itself) and checked into our flight just in time to make it through security. Five minutes later, my son experiences a massive blowout. “Just a coincidence,” I told myself as the second warning sign flew by me unnoticed, “he will be fine…probably just ate something funny.”

We board the plane and sit on a 3-row seat with 15 diapers between the two of us. We landed in Houston with no issues, convinced that we were in the clear. Guess who was wrong? We boarded our next plane for the final leg into San Jose, only to find out our flight was delayed and that we’d be waiting on the tarmac for a while. Right about that time, my son has another blowout which we are now forced to deal with in a microscopic airplane bathroom. 15 minutes later he has another blowout, and then another one fifteen minutes after that. We’re still sitting on the tarmac.

My poor husband has the aisle seat, so he’s the one who drew the short straw on this flight. Keep in mind that I’m in the window seat trying to entertain our other 2-year-old who is full of energy, not happy about being cooped up in this plane, and trying his best to crawl over the seat in front of us. After 2 hours of sitting on the tarmac, we finally take off for San Jose. We’re about halfway through our diaper supplies as we start our 3.5-hour flight, and it doesn’t take very sophisticated math to figure out that we could be in serious trouble.

As we soar over the Gulf of Mexico, my husband is wearing out the carpet to the bathroom, changing diaper after diaper for our poor son. He is getting quizzical looks from the young single travelers and looks of concern and empathy from the fellow parents. Fortunately, the blowout frequency abates just enough for us to land in San Jose with the very last diaper in use. Our wonderful flight attendant is now looking for sanitary napkins to use for makeshift diapers when the next blowout inevitably occurs.

Thankfully, the San Jose Airport has a pharmacy you can utilize before going through customs. Many drugs are available in Costa Rica without a prescription and many common problems can be accurately diagnosed and treated by pharmacists as most major Costa Rican pharmacies have a doctor on staff. Most Costa Ricans head to the pharmacy first and consult with the pharmacist or doctor on staff; if he or she can not diagnose you or believe you need further treatment, you will be sent to the hospital. How fortuitous for us!

Safe Arrival

After stocking up on diapers, Pedialyte, and medicine at the airport pharmacy, we thought that all was well, and we could finally relax. Ha! If only. We meet our driver, who informs us the transit workers are on strike, the main road is closed, and we will have to take the curvy mountain road to our destination which increases our drive time by at least an hour. Have I mentioned that I get car sick easily?

Between the curvy mountain road, humidity, and diaper stench, I start getting nauseous.  My husband, who is now at his wits’ end with this awful travel day, has the driver pull over at a roadside bodega so I can throw up and so he can grab a six pack of beer to help make the rest of the drive a little more bearable. We finally straggle in to our final destination later that night and swear we will never travel again.

Conclusion

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But guess what? While our son ended up having a stomach bug that he (of course) quickly gave to his twin, we got to recover with a beautiful view of the Pacific Ocean. The boys got to see monkeys from our balcony and take short walks on the beach until they were both feeling better (which was right before we had to go back home).

Although this trip was far from perfect, we loved our time there, and my husband and I both found that being away from all the distractions and demands of home actually made dealing with sick kids easier. We have had many successful trips since then, which makes it easier to look back and laugh when we think about this one. We definitely paid our dues, and it certainly helps put into perspective the many minor inconveniences of traveling. For every lost bag, gear malfunction, or delayed flight, we can now always say “well, at least it’s not Costa Rica 2011!”

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I Want To Hear From You

Feel free to offer up your own nightmare story, or better yet, share why (or why not) you intend to travel with your kids. I would love to hear from you!