Why do so many people assume travelling after kids just stops?!
In my career I work with all women – of all ages. I often hear them say things that imply travelling after kids just stops. I’ve heard “we want to get all our travelling done before we have kids” or “we won’t be able to do that after we have kids”, the general vibe being that travelling after kids isn’t going to happen. I want to share a little part of my story in hopes that I can inspire other women (and men) to change that mindset and see that travelling after kids IS possible. Sure, it may be a little different, but please, do it! It’s worth it!
My story…
Stu and I met when my son Isaac was 16 (not the most fun time for a man to come into the picture, poor guy). Once we started to get more serious and began planning a future together, naturally, the topic of having kids came up. At this point, Isaac was in his final year of high school, which had been a challenging time for us, to say the least. It took some serious consideration on my end, but when you love someone, and that someone has a certain want or need in order to make their life feel complete, it’s hard for their “wants” to not become something you want to do together.
So, after JUST getting through that difficult teenager time and getting my first-born to almost adulthood, I decided to take the plunge into parenthood, once again! The deal was he got one, and we had to keep travelling and exploring the world as we had been since we met…
Our story, and Travelling After Kids…
Stu and I had travelled together internationally multiple times at this point. We’d road-tripped several Canadian provinces and some of the northern United States. I was finally at a point where I could get out and explore, with someone who I enjoyed doing it with. I’d waited too long, and wasn’t stopping now. When Isaac was little, I was too young and too broke to do much, and had a partner that didn’t have that same passion to explore that I did. We tried our best with weekends away and road trips, but that was the extent of it.
So, little Rocky came, a few months before Isaac’s 19th birthday, in 2020. Since then, I have been called crazy, brave, reeeeeally nice, and I’m sure much more. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have days when I’ve said to myself “WTF was I thinking?!” However, we have kept that promise to keep exploring, and have been doing it as much as possible ever since!
Our little guy has been to from Newfoundland to British Columbia, Canada, and everywhere in between, including 11 national parks and even more provincial ones. He has driven from Ontario, down to the southern tip of Florida, and from British Columbia, down the entire west coast of the USA (five US national parks, with more to come) and to “Land’s End” at bottom of the Baja peninsula in Mexico.
Travelling after kids requires you to change your mindset…
My reason for this post is not to brag about all the wonderful places we’ve been, it’s to show you that kids don’t have to slow you down. Sure, travelling after having kids is different. It can be stressful, or anxiety-inducing (I’ve been there, heart racing in an airport line, praying my two-year-old doesn’t have another meltdown before we make it to the counter to check our baggage).
We had to work to change our mindset. Travelling with babies or little kids isn’t exactly a “vacation”. It’s doing all the same work that comes along with parenthood, just in a different place. It’s not necessarily the break from reality travelling used to be, but that’s okay. It’s okay because we are still seeing new places, trying new things and still exploring this world. We just have to be a little more adaptable (luckily, for us, we were already used to “winging it” on the road). Now, we have someone else’s needs and interests we have to consider over our own. Sometimes we have to sacrifice because a little one doesn’t give a shit about a scenic drive that can go on for hours. We can’t try all the fancy restaurants, and stay out late, or go surfing together or a do an 18km hike… but we can still have fun on a beach, swimming in the ocean, shorter hikes or bike rides outside in nature, or we find the local park. In the end, seeing the world through their eyes as well as your own is twice the enjoyment, and twice the reward!
I hope after reading this, you’re inspired to travel after having kids… Whether you’re camping in a tent or RV, cozying up in an Airbnb or hotel (we’ve done it all), or just going for a day-trip somewhere new, get out there if you can! Just book it! Don’t be the people that just talk about it and never do it. Seeing new things as a family bonds you all in a way that is unexplainable, and so damn special. Chances are, once you start, you’ll never want to stop! It’s quite likely your kids won’t want to either!
Since we’ve been doing the full-time RV thing, we’ve met a lot of families who’ve travelled EXTENSIVELY with children. If you’re looking for a little inspiration, check them out on Instagram: Our Barefoot Travel family who have hiked all over the USA with FIVE kids in their RV, or The Traveling Titans who travel both internationally and in an RV full time with two little ones. There’s so many more to follow and inspire us all to push ourselves out of our comfort zone and hit the road (or sky, or water) with little ones…
