Traveling Overseas With Kids: Mental Preparation is VITAL

Preparing the kids for the Trip (Mentally)

Today’s installation in this series on “Traveling Overseas With Kids” is on mentally preparing the kids for it. This is actually one of the most important parts, much more important than finding the right locations, even! If they’re ready and excited about it, a trip anywhere can be massively exciting! On the flip side, being unprepared can make a trip to anywhere outside of their little world scary, or embarrassing for you all!

LEARN AS MUCH AS YOU CAN ABOUT THE LOCAL CULTURE. This goes for traveling alone OR with kids. Some things that we do “naturally” in America would be shocking to someone in Italy. Some things that people do “naturally” in Italy would be shocking to someone from America. Some things that sub-cultures in MN do are shocking to me in NY, and vice versa. Learn about these things you so that you do not offend someone when you are their guest, or so that you are prepared if you see them do something which otherwise would surprise you.

Find Children’s Books on the Country You Will Be Visiting. It may be hard, but they do exist. In Little Ol’ Potsdam, NY, for example, you can even get a kids’ book about the small island nation of Sri Lanka at the Public Library! The web will make searches easier if your library doesn’t have one, though. These books can do a LOT to prepare them and get them excited for the trip – full of pictures and facts about the place you’ll be going. Definitely a must!

Help them learn a little of the language before going – even just “hello” and “goodbye” and "My name is..." if they're really young. Helping them to understand the concept of another language is important – that way they know that people aren’t just speaking gobblygook. It has the opportunity to open up many doors for them (and for you all as well – many people, charmed by a 3-year old’s introduction in their native tongue, may give extra treats/admission/discounts/etc). While you’re at it, you could learn a little yourself! Honestly, in many countries, if you try to speak the local language, even if you do it poorly, the people with whom you interact will be much more willing to help you out (and may suddenly speak better English than had you not attempted their language!).

Eat Out At International Restaurants Before Leaving Home! Head knowledge only goes so far. Going out to eat brings in so many more senses – smells, tastes, probably sounds, etc! You could try having everyone get different dishes, and then share a little of each one, or you could go with something close to familiar with a hint of International Flair to start with.

**The wonderful staff at Taste of India in Potsdam (who now run the equally fantastic “India Palace” in Watertown, NY!!) helped us prepare for Sri Lanka before our first trip…they knew that Sri Lankan food was spicier than North Indian, so every time we went they made our dishes progressively hotter to prepare us for the trip. By the time we got there, we could eat with them in the Tsunami Camps without going for the water, even! Now this was pre-kids, but you get the idea…little changes each time, progressing to something that first would have been quite outside of your comfort zone!

Seek Out and Frequent International Markets Nearby Your Home. Most cities, big or small, have some kind of international markets…we know of a Somali Market in Minneapolis, a Korean Market in Philadelphia, loads of places in NYC, etc. Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse, etc. all have a variety of International Grocery Stores as well. Chances are you are at least within a couple hours’ drive from something international. These can be a great place for your kids to hear some of the language in person, to smell some of the spices, etc. You can also find out when you’re there about any concerts/events happening nearby! Most people will be pleased to give suggestions on where to meet people from the place you’ll be going to.

Listen to Music from That Country. Bonus points if you also watch the videos on YouTube (provided they're appropriate)! Music is SUCH an important part of every culture, and you’ll almost definitely be surrounded by the local tunes when you get there. A little bit of leg work before you go can help you to be toe-tapping instead of head-scratching when you get to your destination and are immersed in their music.

Talk about (realistic!) expectations for the trip. Places you might go, things you might see, etc. Get their feedback as to what they’d want to see or do while they’re there. Yes, even if they’re 3 or 4. They’ve been seeing pictures, hearing stories, etc. They’ll be filled with curiosity about this new place.  

*TWO IMPORTANT NOTES: (1) make sure to take this into account when planning your day-to-day activities when you get there…these are the most important parts for your little guy or gal, and not seeing their most expected part could be crushing. Also, (2) when talking these ideas out beforehand, brainstorm as many as you can together, but be realistic & honest about which ones might happen and which might not. Make sure they know if it’s only a slight chance of something, so that they are not devastated if they don't get to ride that elephant/etc. We only found out after our 8-hour layover in Amsterdam how important it would have been to our 3 year old to go to “TunFun” – whereas we only were thinking of it as one of many options!

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Again, preparing the kids for the trip mentally is vital to have a good time when traveling with them overseas. Otherwise, when you are there, there will be WAY too many embarrassing and disastrous moments that completely could have been avoided. Also, it changes the trip from “something different” to something really educational as well as really fun!