Should I take my 1 year old overseas

[connie george]

Hi
I am new to this forum. My husband really wants a holiday at the end of the year and we both love USA. We want to go for a few weeks, can anyone let me know if I will be making a mistake or am I better off going somewhere local.

[Chub Chub]

Kids are pretty resiliant. We have travelled to Fiji and Tonga with bub but not long haul.

I am lucky as I knew my DD would sleep as she always slept well on domestic flights, so she did sleep 90% of both international flights.

People travel with kids all the time but it does take a bit of preparation. Snacks, comfort toys/blankets and activities. My DD was just entertained by walking up and down the aisles waving to everyone but this can be exhausting for you.

Good luck.....I am sure there will be other ladies on here shortly to give you more hints and advice

PS Welcome to Bub Hub...it is easy to get addicted!!!

[gizmoduckus]

We took my son to America, London, Portugal and Singapore when he was ten months old.

I was so stressed that he was going to play up on the plane and he was so well behaved. The best thing we did was to book a lot of flights at night so when we gave him a bottle during take-off (for stabilising the ears) he fell asleep straight away. The other great thing we did was to make sure that we booked seats with a bassinet.

I was also worried about his naps during the day while we were sightseeing. Usually at home he doesn't sleep anywhere but his cot. We found that overseas he slept well in his pram. I don't know why, I guess he probably knew that this was a different environment and that he just had to go with the flow. He also did better with the change in timezones than what I did.

It doesn't matter if your 1 year old does play up. You will learn how to cope with it at the time.

____________________________

Me 29 Valentine Him 34
DS 17/09/06

[sueb31]

I have an 18 month old who has been on 4 interntaional flights: 2 to NZ and 2 to Europe, the Europe ones at 9 and 18 months.

I say go for it!

I think too, that with travelling with kids it is as much about you getting the experience / practice as anything. One year old is a great age and when they are older you will have had the experience so know a bit of what to expect. I think especially it comes down to your life plans - do you want to always leave your child at home / not go? It does (I think) get harder in the toddler years but not impossible. It all comes down to mindset and the individuals involved. There is heaps of advice out there (and on here!)

Have a great time!

Sue

[Africamum]

My 16 month old son has flown South Africa three times, Tanzania 3 times, china once and we are off to Canada on friday.

There are a lot of advantages of travelling while they are this age

I say go for it, and I am happy to suggest what to take