Long term travel with young children
December 1, 2016 11:16 AM   Subscribe

How can we provide the best experience for my (age 5 & 6) children as we travel Central and South America for 7 months?

My family (including wife, son - kindergarten, daughter - grade 1) will be travelling from Nicaragua to Argentina from January to July. We will be receiving online programming, and augmenting their learning with French Immersion. My wife is fluent in French, and I am an elementary school teacher. We will be staying in apartment or AirBnB type locations for the majority of our trip, to provide as consistent a home life as possible.

Resources:
We are bringing a bag of LEGO as a toy.
In terms of technology, we will have an iPad, a Windows 10 laptop, two iPhones, and a Kobo eReader. I have approximately 75 beginner French books scanned for reading, and we will be doing some spelling/phonics with our children as well.
Most of our lengthy travel will be via ground (buses, trains), but we do are travelling from Canada, so we have some long flying days too.

How can we make long travel days easier?
What travel school tips will make our trip more enjoyable for our family?
What resources can you recommend for independent French education that are at the very beginner level?
Any tips for those days when our kids are really missing home & friends?
posted by Amity to Travel & Transportation around South Bend, IN (18 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
My family had a similar experience - moving places overseas, so not the long travel but a lot of tight quarters for months on end.

What would have made a huge difference was conflict mediation between my brother and I - sometimes we got on well and the rest of the time we didn't, but my parents' failure to address these fights and help us resolve them made the travel more painful. I recommend Siblings Without Rivalry if you think you might face this issue. Even siblings who like each other will fight, especially while traveling.
posted by tooloudinhere at 11:28 AM on December 1, 2016 [4 favorites]


I don't have experience traveling in South America, but whilst in Quebec, my parents got French sing-along tapes to listen to in the car. I don't know if that's a thing anymore, but I still remember the songs today. Also, my parents generally encouraged me to read about the places we were visiting, so maybe getting basic French books about South America or the history of Central and South American countries could be helpful to orient your children to the many places they will be visiting!
posted by gemutlichkeit at 11:28 AM on December 1, 2016 [2 favorites]


I'm trying to find a way to phrase this that isn't snarky but... you're spending 7 months in central/south america and you're trying to immerse your kids in French?

That seems... illogical?

Also, having dragged kids of roughly that age on vacation before... expect them to have some "down" days where they just don't want to go to another museum / hike another trail / etc.
posted by Oktober at 11:31 AM on December 1, 2016 [15 favorites]


Are legos really the only toy you're bringing? I get that you can't bring a lot, but that still seems really sparse. Maybe drawing supplies? That would open up all kinds of word games, tic-tac-toe, coloring (my mother used to draw things for me to color when I was that age).

Also, I know you're trying to do French immersion with your kids, but what about bringing some familiar books and movies in English? When I lived abroad (as an adult who was capable of amusing themselves) I would often get culture fatigue and language fatigue and need some time with familiar books, movies and language. It's true that kids learn languages faster than adults, but you're still talking about a pretty overwhelming trip.
posted by Frowner at 11:48 AM on December 1, 2016 [6 favorites]


Is there a reason you guys are focusing on French language instruction and not Spanish? While I understand that your wife is a French speaker, your kids will be fully immersed in Spanish every day of your trip. While their natural language acquisition abilities will be up to the task, and I by no means think that also studying French in a classroom environment will confuse matters or make Spanish harder for them (that's not how it works), it seems pretty obvious to me that your kids have a unique opportunity to become bilingual Spanish speakers and most likely build Spanish language skills they will have for a lifetime.

With one parent fluent in French, and French being one of the most widely taught foreign languages in the US, they will have ample opportunity to pick up some French at any point in the future. Conversely, their chance to really cement those Spanish language skills is now. The two of you will also need to build your Spanish language skills, and defaulting to French for the benefit of your kids' education might confuse *you* even if it doesn't present a problem for them. Why not focus on learning Spanish as a family, rather than making things a lot harder on everyone with French?

Also, to be really super extremely clear with you: overland travel in South America is not easy. Even for an adult who is doing it under their own steam, because they wanted to visit South America. There's very little you can do to shorten or break up the trips, either, because -- at least in the Andean regions -- bus trips through the mountains just sort of take as long as they take. I spent a month in Peru and "broke up" the trip from Lima to Cusco by stopping in Arequipa, but that was still two overnight bus trips.

I can't speak for all of Central and South America, but in my experience with long distance overland travel in Peru, another problem was that there are still parts of the country which are politically unstable and where foreigners are not welcome. Which means you can't just sorta decide to get off the bus in some random nowheresville town because the kids are fussy. It might not be safe there, you might have extreme language difficulties, or there might not be any services for travelers. I once ended up in a popular Peruvian tourist town on the wrong day of the week and there literally was not a restaurant open for me to have lunch before journeying onward. And I'm an adult who can just be hungry or tired or holding my pee until I find a better place. This isn't to say that your trip will be dangerous. But Andean South America just isn't a very flexible place to travel, or an easy place to move around in, which might mean that it's not a trip that is doable with small children.

Your only way forward with these conditions, in my opinion, is to either schedule strategic domestic/inter-regional flights, or to just suck it up and know you'll have days -- often two and three day stretches -- where the kids will be bored and whiny and possibly carsick or not having their basic human needs met. If that's fine with you, by all means, travel by bus through South America. If you feel like you want your kids to have a baseline of being happy, healthy, clean, rested, fed nutritious food at reasonable hours, etc, please fly wherever possible. For their wellbeing and your sanity.
posted by Sara C. at 12:36 PM on December 1, 2016 [6 favorites]


Response by poster: To clarify a few questions:

My children are enrolled in French Immersion presently, and will be returning to that program next year. We are looking to maintain their French exposure during our travel.

We are looking at this as a marathon, rather than a sprint, and will be planning lots of downtime. We are also planning to spend long stretches of time in a place, with day or weekend trips outside of our major locales. The goal is not to see as much as we can, but to enjoy our time in the locations we are in.

Our major stops will be:
Leon, Nicaragua
Jaco & Playa Coco, Costa Rica
Quito, Ecuador
Lima & Cusco, Peru
La Paz, Bolivia,
Santiago, Chile,
Buenos Aires, Argentina.
posted by Amity at 12:40 PM on December 1, 2016


I would fly between every point on your itinerary after Costa Rica.
posted by Sara C. at 12:48 PM on December 1, 2016 [5 favorites]


I have a 5 year old and recently spent an extended period of time living in a rural town in Japan. She attended a Spanish language preschool in the US and we used/use some Spanish at home. We basically put most of the Spanish language learning on hold while we were in Japan so that her brain could take a break. Even if we had wanted to continue the Spanish while in Japan she would have absolutely rejected it just because it was already pretty challenging to communicate in Japanese and adding another language to the mix would have been really, really stressful. She did make friends with Japanese kids so there were times where we just used Japanese at home because it was easier to stay in one language sometimes.

I know you intend to continue the French studies, but what I'm saying is be gentle with the kids and don't push them too hard. If you can, give them control on what exercises they want to do and when they want to do them.

As far as toys, one of the best things we had was a butterfly net and a small critter keeper. We spent a lot of time walking through the countryside and would sometimes keep frogs or snails or tadpoles as temporary pets for a day or two. It was fun to catch them and observe them.

We also had a really nice set of markers, coloring sheets and a pad of paper and enough stickers that they will be able to give away some to new friends without feeling deprived. We also had a photobook of her classmates back home and she would occasionally illustrate a picture for someone she missed.

I would also recommend a treat tackle box like this one. Ours had a mixture of favorite treats and small toys. This was great on travel days and was a way to limit toys by size and number while maintaining some variety.
posted by Alison at 1:08 PM on December 1, 2016 [2 favorites]


Is it just lego? Or other toys? If either of your kids has stuffed animals or dolls, make sure they can bring at least one. They'll need something comforting. If they have two favorites, let them bring both.

Your kids will get homesick. You'll get homesick. Emails and skype calls, send postcards. Maybe start a blog or something to connect with people back home.

And make sure you schedule time for treats. Let them try different kinds of candy.
posted by umwhat at 1:12 PM on December 1, 2016 [3 favorites]


I think an Instax camera so they can make their own albums and journals, share pics with friends, etc would be tons of fun -spring for lots of film. One camera per kid if you can.

I would plan on buying local toys/art supplies at each major stop and mailing a box home periodically. That way they have some different stuff to do, some nice souvenirs, and something to look forward to opening when they get home.

Is there someone back home who can post a care package to a couple of the air BnB's? Some pics, letters, comfort food will go a long way.
posted by jrobin276 at 1:27 PM on December 1, 2016


To add a counterpoint to those saying to put the French on hold, I would like to suggest that you don't do that, based on experiences I had with Hindi and Tamil at around that age. I was learning Hindi and Tamil along with the rest of my class, until I moved with my parents to the US for 1.5 years. My Hindi and Tamil instruction was put on hold for that period and I just basically never caught up. Those early language learning years are basically invaluable - I'm just not as fluent in Hindi and Tamil as those of my classmates who never had a break. The only way I think it would be ok is if the school had a good plan for those students who took a break, but if they're going to be joining a cohort of children who never took a break in their language learning, it could be very tough for them when they go back if they don't maintain the language when they are away. I don't see the problem with learning both French and English - children are very good at learning multiple languages at a time. It might help to have one person (the mother) be the person always speaking to them in French though.
posted by peacheater at 1:30 PM on December 1, 2016


I visited Brazil with my brother and his 6yo daughter for a family reunion type of trip. My niece did not have any Portuguese or really attempt to learn any; we spent most of the time in my aunt's English-speaking household, and traveling around with other family members. My niece's favorite parts were not the "cultural excursions", but playing at home and at the local playground with my aunt's housekeeper's kids, who spoke no English but were about the same age. She and those girls were all so sad to go at the end of the trip, it was really really sweet. So my recommendation would be to make sure they spend time with other kids, not to try to curate their experience too much - i.e. not always searching for museums, destinations, schools, French speakers, etc, but if they hit it off with the random kid on the playground, let that be not just okay, but an exciting and educational way to spend time.

On a practical note, my niece had her ipod shuffle and 6 books, and we all read them to her on the long van rides, which was much cooler than her reading them herself, and allowed us to loop through the same 6 books multiple times over.
posted by aimedwander at 1:55 PM on December 1, 2016 [2 favorites]


Jumping back in after reading your update - again, did this exact thing as a child where I was asked to learn Spanish, and then a few years later moved to Italy and asked to learn Italian. It was EXTREMELY challenging to maintain both languages along with my native English, and my brother and I essentially forgot our Spanish. Like peacheater, I never got back to the same level. Unless you speak only French with your kids while you are there they will find it very very hard to retain while also learning Spanish. More so because the languages are similar.
posted by tooloudinhere at 1:59 PM on December 1, 2016 [1 favorite]


I would fly between every point on your itinerary after Costa Rica.
Up to you, but I found the busses in South America (seven years ago) to be perfectly fine, especially if you bought a more expensive seat (they usually recline almost to flat). It's still a long trip in a bus, but I was very impressed.
posted by twirlypen at 2:36 PM on December 1, 2016 [1 favorite]


One thing about Quito is the altitude. Some people just can't take it. Have a backup plan in case. And don't drink alcohol on the plane.

On the bright side they replaced the scary airport.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 6:36 PM on December 1, 2016 [1 favorite]


The main reason I suggested flying is that 12-36 hour bus trips are awful for small children no matter how schmancy the bus is. I was OK with it, as an adult woman in my late 20s who signed on for this. Because, yeah, the buses are nice. But they're not "better than a 2 hour flight" nice.
posted by Sara C. at 8:48 PM on December 1, 2016 [2 favorites]


I spent 5 weeks travelling this year with my 5yo (on two separate trips, so no longer than 3 weeks at a time) and what I found most useful were games: card games, board games (these can pack up quite small) and logic games like Rush Hour. We spent a lot of time playing all of these.

Also, ymmv but my son gets bored very quickly with museums, zoos, and the like, unless they are *very* hands-on. Historical sites of adult interest I would barely even bother with unless they were of the A+++ Must See variety. So maybe don't overestimate the amount of adult stuff you can get away with at the expense of your kids' enjoyment.

Plus, a word of warning about Peruvian buses: in my experience they don't stop anywhere, ever, for snacks or toilet breaks - unlike, say, Turkey where they seem to stop every hour at worst.

I had to train myself to get super-dehydrated (eg with alcohol the night before) and plan to spend hours thirsty & just taking the tiniest sips of water to soothe my parched throat. Maybe with kids you could ask the driver to stop somewhere by the highway, but I remember trips of up to 8 hours managed the way I just described. And a huge bottle of water for the end of the trip.
posted by UbuRoivas at 1:57 AM on December 2, 2016 [1 favorite]


The buses I used in Peru didn't stop as a matter of course, for security reasons (see above about some parts of the country politically unstable or not welcoming to outsiders), but did have toilets. I mean, not clean or large or nice toilets, but there was somewhere to deposit your bodily fluids in an emergency.

Still, if you're looking at the 36-hour bus trip from Lima to Cusco, it's not what I'd want with two little kids with small bladders. Imagine every "Daddy, I have to go potty RIGHT NOW" you've ever experienced, except that you've been on a bus for 30 hours and there's one toilet for you and your 50+ fellow passengers.

Just fly. It was an adventure for me as a 28 year old solo female backpacker, but Disneyland it ain't.
posted by Sara C. at 12:03 PM on December 2, 2016 [2 favorites]


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