Traveling With Kids

Traveling with kids is more adventure and less vacation. Why? Because it’s STRESSFUL!  

This doesn’t mean you don’t do the stressful thing, it just means you figure out 1) what you can do to keep stress levels low (proactively), and 2) deal with the stress that comes up so you can reduce its impact.  

When I first started adventuring with my boys, I was scared. So I started with day trips - it gave us all the practice we needed for bigger outings.  I planned as much as I could without to help us have basic needs met (food, shelter, safety) then added in enough “fun” to keep things exciting (which’s is a stress) but not overwhelming.  

Sometimes we had adventures with friends and being around other adults helped me buffer myself against the stress of 1 adult vs. 3 kids.  

But most often it was just us. So we had to prepare, plan, and let a lot of stuff go.  There were always mishaps.  Me and Isaac ended up in a screaming match on a mountain in Flagstaff (long story short - it was day 6 of travel, we hiked for 2 hours and he was climbing rocks and sliding off of them and I kept worrying he was going to bust his head open and how would I get help).  So yeah - it’s not all rainbows and unicorns.

Does this mean you don’t do the stressful thing?  Nope!  Just like any other life situation here are some things to consider (for travel and in life):

• Keep your stress low before hand.  Stress is cumulative.
• Know that stress is going to happen. So know what your practices (tools, strategies, resources) you have at your disposal to deal with in the moment stress. 
• DO THE WORK! Sorry - but stress doesn’t just go away.  You have to deal with it.
• Lighten up and HAVE FUN!  Joy, human connection,  gratitude, belly laughs - all proven stress busters!