The Learning Umbrella

How to Fit a Car Seat on a Camel: And Other Misadventures Traveling with Kids edited by Sarah Franklin

I don’t remember who’s blog I saw this on, but it was someone who had a story included in the book.  There are many women’s tales in this volume, ranging from exotic travel to the standard to road trip to emergency evacuations with children.  Some are funny, at least one I wanted to yell at the mother in frustration, and most are interesting and well-written.  I could relate to some aspect of all of them, and they reminded me that traveling with kids may be an adventure, but it is not a vacation.  Any mother who thinks she’ll actually rest on a trip is crazy, and folks who think kids won’t “slow them down” are in for some very big surprises. 

So I’m thankful that I have no big summer vacation plans for this year.  It’s easier this way.  I’ve enjoyed the 2 large roadtrips I’ve done with my kids, but there were horrible parts of each of them, and I don’t want to spend any more time leaning over a carseat breastfeeding as we drive down the highway - been there and done that and it was not my favorite part of parenting.  Camping with my kids is a lot of work and not much fun, and I will enjoy it a lot more when they are older.  Flying with children on your lap is self-torture, and I will spring for the second seat next time.  Flying with small children, period, is horrible.  OK, I think flying is horrible even when I don’t have small children.

I was thinking of a family trip on the train, but there was one story in here that will make me think twice about that too.  Do we need to travel with our kids?  Can’t I just ship them to grandma’s by UPS?