I have travelled many times, with and without my kids.
And I would say this - travelling with young kids can be a very difficult experience.
Especially if the parents themselves (like Steve) are inexperienced travellers and the country being visited just happens to be challenging for any variety of reasons - eg
hygienic food isn't easily available;
the water isn't potable;
all maps & street signs are in a foreign language;
the weather is not what you are used to (eg 50 degrees celsius);
public transport isn't easy;
streets aren't safe at night.
There are some kinds of countries that I would not bring my kids to, until they are much older.
I brought my three-year-old (when he was three years old) to Tokyo. Someone warned me, "If you take the train at rush hour, get the kid out of the pram, hug him tight and don't let go." I didn't really understand why, until I got there ... but I am glad I remembered then, and did as advised. The movement of the rush hour crowd around the public train is such that if you get separated from your kid for three seconds, you've pretty much lost him for good. Either that, or he'd be stampeded to death.
I exaggerate of course, but only slightly.
Some countries and some places are more child-friendly than others. For first-time travellers with young kids, I really recommend that you stick to those kinds of places.
Personally I have travelled to Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, China, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Mauritius, Japan ... next year, it will be probably be South Korea and Taiwan as well.  |