6 Things Parents Traveling With Kids Are So Tired Of Hearing
byM. Esther Sherman
I feel like a thing we don't consider often enough is that children are people. Like, actual, whole, human people, much like adults, but smaller. I know, it’s a crazy notion and some may need a little time to digest the concept. You see, it is possible for children to have dreams, ambitions, personalities (intentionally plural; Have you ever met a 2-year-old who didn’t appear to have some version of dissociative identity disorder?). It's even possible for kids to — wait for it — love to travel. For example: my daughter’s Christmas list is made up of a list of countries. She says I’m free to choose any country on the list but all she wants is to go there. For her last birthday, we ended up at a resort with a drink in my hand and a beach at her behest. So, when it comes to children and wanderlust, my little bundle has it in spades, as do many other tiny humans. What they don't have (what I don't have, I guess is more accurate) is patience for people who say offensive or annoying things to use when we're traveling.
If children are people — let’s go ahead and say this is fact, and try to remember it all the days of our lives — they might have certain inalienable rights to go with that. And some of those rights might involve freedom to live their lives (including travel sometimes) without hearing meaningless banter from the adults they encounter along the way. As the mother of a budding travel-holic who loses her mind when a passport expiration date approaches, these are the things I’m tired of having thrown my way when my kid and I run off to have an adventure together.