We all know the saying “it takes a village to raise a child”. It’s nice to have one to travel with kids too! The same challenges you face as a parent at home will be the same, if not more, challenges you face when exploring the world with your children. One thing I have come to learn recently in all facets of life is to never be afraid to ask for help, especially when offered.
I have been absolutely blessed to have amazing parents, family and friends who adore my children. Weirdly enough they love them so much they are willing to vacation with them and even offer to help watch them. At first I didn’t want to accept their help, I thought this was their vacation and these are my children and it’s not their responsibility. I wanted to make sure my kids never ruined their experience.
However, I soon realized if they didn’t want to help they damn sure wouldn’t offer and the only thing I was holding them back from was them building great memories with my kids. When I stopped being so uptight and let them help I saw how happy my kids were making them. They were so excited to help, they laughed and played and sometimes even helped me discipline them. Now we’ve traveled to Costa Rica, Paris, Brussels, Cartagena, Kenya, and Door County Wisconsin.
My kids were also happy to have someone else to play with for the most part, Jordyn def went through a “I only want my mommy” phase for a few months. Outside of that they love my friends as much as my friends love them. Once I let go and stopped stressing about if my girls fussed a bit and if it was ruining everyone’s vacation I enjoyed myself so much more too because it was one less thing to stress about. The only concern my friends have with traveling with my kids is which one of them my kids likes more. Like it’s a real life competition between them to be Jordyn or Kennedy’s favorite and tease the others that the kids may not like them as much.
So to my tribe, thank you for loving my kids as your own. Thank you for wanting to share experiences with them. Thank you for watching them while I shower, eat, or dive in the Great Barrier Reef even if you made Kennedy mad by putting her in the water (insert laughing emjoi).
If you don’t have a tribe, build one. If you have a tribe but are holding them back from fulfilling their tribe duties, stop right now and let your tribe work!
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