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AMA

My 3 year old has visited 32 countries AMA

611 replies

Dinoswearunderpants · 13/09/2024 15:14

No doubt I'd get a load of shade about 'bragging' but that's not the intention. If anyone is interested in asking any questions about travelling regularly with a little own, feel free to ask.

I often travel just the two of us as his Dad can't get as much time off work as I do.

OP posts:
Frintlinesetting · 13/09/2024 23:17

ZoeCM · 13/09/2024 20:31

We really need to do something to get the message about climate change out. This thread is proof that it just isn't sinking in. People are actually saying that jealousy is the reason people are pointing out the damage the OP is causing to her child's future.

Off-setting is mostly greenwashing; the idea that you can pay to balance the out the impact of dozens of flights per year is a fairytale.

It feels so hopeless doesn't when you read a thread like this with someone who clearly doesn't give a shiny shite about it but just wants daft people to follow her on social media

Bellaboot · 13/09/2024 23:21

Dinoswearunderpants · 13/09/2024 16:24

I guess so. Like I said, given a choice of say reading a book at home in my garden or reading a book sat by a pool watching my little one paddling in the pool, I'd always choose the latter.

How many books have you managed read whilst your 3yo happily paddles in a pool alone?😀

TadpolesInPool · 13/09/2024 23:21

@Dinoswearunderpants
Can you answer my question about diseases and getting ill please?

Your DC goes to nursery and airports and hotels all the time. Aren't you worried about him getting ill? Do you take stuff with you like calpol? (Trust me, when a toddler is ill is NOT the time to try a different country's version of calpol...)

What about tropical diseases? Some are incredibly dangerous. Others are just horrible. I mentioned dengue (worst illness Ive ever had and can kill even healthy people) but there are many others.

InterIgnis · 13/09/2024 23:24

Frintlinesetting · 13/09/2024 23:17

It feels so hopeless doesn't when you read a thread like this with someone who clearly doesn't give a shiny shite about it but just wants daft people to follow her on social media

Then don’t read it.

She didn’t share her social media page. She’s DM’d it only to people that have specifically asked for it

Inyournewdress · 13/09/2024 23:28

I do have a question for you or anyone who travels with young children which is, how do find a place for them to sleep that feels secure? I worry that a toddler or preschooler could wake up before parents and be in a room that isn’t babyproofed or get into all sorts of trouble. Do you take any safety products with you? Do you have your son trained to wake you or to stay in bed, and if so any tips for that?

Demonhunter · 13/09/2024 23:29

Frintlinesetting · 13/09/2024 23:17

It feels so hopeless doesn't when you read a thread like this with someone who clearly doesn't give a shiny shite about it but just wants daft people to follow her on social media

It could all be made up for all anyone knows, they've given different annual leave in different comments, the amount of AL and the apparent amount of long haul holidays in 1 year for someone who has a 4 day a week job that is only hybrid remote doesn't really add up, claiming to get discounts and freebies but only making a couple of hundred a month from SM so can't have many followers or views but companies willing to give them freebies!?! Plus hugely underpricing the amount of money they will have spent on that many holidays. I smell 💩
Plus giving insta handles via DM, anyone can do that. You could give me any random persons insta handle and say its you cos what's the chances I'm going to DM you on there if I went to have a look.

I think some of these AMAs are fantasies, like the superstar DJs wife 🤣

BestZebbie · 13/09/2024 23:37

Dinoswearunderpants · 13/09/2024 16:24

I guess so. Like I said, given a choice of say reading a book at home in my garden or reading a book sat by a pool watching my little one paddling in the pool, I'd always choose the latter.

No comment on the travel in general, but I'm amazed no-one has pointed out how incredibly unsafe it is to read a book even sporadically whilst being the only adult supervising an under-3 in a pool, especially if they are alone in the water in an unfamiliar hotel setting where they might accidentally go out of their depth or be tempted to explore.

Frintlinesetting · 13/09/2024 23:43

Demonhunter · 13/09/2024 23:29

It could all be made up for all anyone knows, they've given different annual leave in different comments, the amount of AL and the apparent amount of long haul holidays in 1 year for someone who has a 4 day a week job that is only hybrid remote doesn't really add up, claiming to get discounts and freebies but only making a couple of hundred a month from SM so can't have many followers or views but companies willing to give them freebies!?! Plus hugely underpricing the amount of money they will have spent on that many holidays. I smell 💩
Plus giving insta handles via DM, anyone can do that. You could give me any random persons insta handle and say its you cos what's the chances I'm going to DM you on there if I went to have a look.

I think some of these AMAs are fantasies, like the superstar DJs wife 🤣

I agree, it sounds like a complete load of twaddle to me and I've been on here for 22 years so seen a fair few flights of fancy in that time!

TheCentreCannotHold · 14/09/2024 00:56

This thread is like a Bingo card of climate change denial. Otherwise intelligent people tying themselves in knots to justify the indefensible.

Of course our individual choices have an impact. To suggest anything else is an completely disingenuous. The flights won't 'just take off anyway'. A tapering off of demand will impact supply -every time. Ditto all the other carbon-intensive crap we

A PP is absolutely right to point to the racism inherent in consigning billions in the global South to 'climate hell' while blithely boarding flights or cruises with impunity. And to try to pull some kind of 'purity and hypocricy card' and wang on about glasshouses, not to mention 'rights'.

Berlinlover · 14/09/2024 00:57

Dinoswearunderpants · 13/09/2024 17:34

I've visited Ireland but not my son yet. That's on our list for a weekend next year.

I've visited Dublin. Where else would you recommend visiting?

Definitely the west and south west of Ireland. Clare, Galway and Kerry especially.

BanksysSprayCan · 14/09/2024 01:39

This thread is the OP’s fantasy. It isn’t real. I travelled overseas extensively when my oldest was a baby, it was absolutely exhausting. This was many years ago now but I don’t believe for a second that toddlers have suddenly become easy to travel with. 🤣

ShoopShoopShoopShoop · 14/09/2024 06:40

Frintlinesetting · 13/09/2024 23:13

What do you mean 'they're already going' they don't fly empty if the customers don't buy the seats fgs!

Educating a 3 yr old?? This thread is insane

Well, they do... because they need to take the people from the other end....

So if it's London to Madrid at 9am, landing at 10am, then the same plane is taking other passengers from Madrid to London at 11am.

They'd have to fly the plane to Madrid whether there were 0 or 300 passengers.

Bellaboot · 14/09/2024 06:54

BestZebbie · 13/09/2024 23:37

No comment on the travel in general, but I'm amazed no-one has pointed out how incredibly unsafe it is to read a book even sporadically whilst being the only adult supervising an under-3 in a pool, especially if they are alone in the water in an unfamiliar hotel setting where they might accidentally go out of their depth or be tempted to explore.

Edited

I jokingly asked how many books she had read as saying she is reading whilst child paddles alone is bullshit.

Fluufer · 14/09/2024 07:38

ShoopShoopShoopShoop · 14/09/2024 06:40

Well, they do... because they need to take the people from the other end....

So if it's London to Madrid at 9am, landing at 10am, then the same plane is taking other passengers from Madrid to London at 11am.

They'd have to fly the plane to Madrid whether there were 0 or 300 passengers.

Not if nobody booked the Madrid to London flight either.
It's basic supply and demand. Fewer passengers = fewer flights. Most people don't fly spur of the moment, fewer bookings means fewer flights will be scheduled in the first place.

marcopront · 14/09/2024 08:13

@Dinoswearunderpants

*Yes heaven forbid allowing a child a day off school to experience a new culture. Trying new food. Learning a new language. Lots of walking and swimming.

I'm a terrible mother!*

In four days your child is able to learn a new language. How?.

You are talking about a weekend long city break with lots of swimming included. How much new culture is he experiencing?

RedToothBrush · 14/09/2024 08:51

Dinoswearunderpants · 13/09/2024 18:18

Well yes creating a child who'd confident in new surroundings and adaptable to change. A child who sees their parents relaxed and happy. I don't think it gets much better.

You know in the OP where she says

No doubt I'd get a load of shade about 'bragging' but that's not the intention.

I fail to see how this isn't bragging and is definitely intentional.

It's the whole superiority thing of 'look how wonderful my parenting is and how amazing my child is because I've provided this wonderful opportunity'.

The kid is three. They've seen a bunch of stuff they don't understand and won't remember. They can literally be just carried around. You just have to deal with them being enclosed, tired and emotional. Just as you would at home. The only difference is how you might have made it more difficult for yourself.

Plus you have a cool Instagram account. (Is the child all over social media?)

The child can't express whether the experience is enriching or whether sitting on transport or around airport is the most boring and awful thing on the planet. Or whether they'd rather just snuggle up at home.

One thing I've learnt from people who go constantly travelling is they have an inability to communicate on certain levels because they are actually disconnected and don't understand the value of grounding and the importance of a sense of home and belonging. They have great stories but actually aren't able to cope with 'normality'.

This child is going to go to school and if parent continues to do this every single holiday, potentially it's actually going to become a problem because it may actually make it harder to fit in with peers. Little Johnny starts talking about the time he was in Tibet with donkeys trekking up a mountain. His peers can't relate to it but can relate to their friends. Little Freddie goes 'Well I went to see the donkeys in the local park'. Then Little Arthur goes 'So did I Freddie! Wasn't it good?' Little Johnny actually ends up left out. Unless little Johnny also has these grounding experiences then he's going to find he's just the kid who boasts and no one is impressed because they can't relate. I'm not one for too much conformity but I do understand that kids need a certain amount of stability and a sense of belonging non the less.

Travel only starts becoming meaningful when kids are a bit older and can contextualise and understand. And they understand how they fit in and relate to others. It is a valuable learning tool. But not really until they are older.

At 3 it's just about the parents ability to cope with their child in different situations. That's just general parenting skills that you can get anywhere.

So yeah OP bravo. I'm sure you feel great and you are a great parent. But you also demonstrate the out of touchness and the issues with social skills of people who travel too much to me...

RedToothBrush · 14/09/2024 08:55

BanksysSprayCan · 14/09/2024 01:39

This thread is the OP’s fantasy. It isn’t real. I travelled overseas extensively when my oldest was a baby, it was absolutely exhausting. This was many years ago now but I don’t believe for a second that toddlers have suddenly become easy to travel with. 🤣

In fairness DS was a dream travelling until he was 4. He just fell asleep on the plane. Every single time. Stuck him in a backpack and dragged him round everywhere. He was a chill toddler.

I don't think it was giving him amazing life skills really. We had a great time though!

SuperBored · 14/09/2024 09:03

Dinoswearunderpants · 13/09/2024 18:21

I have zero childcare costs now thanks to the 30 free hours.

I earn £60-80k don't want to say specific

I have zero childcare costs earn roughly the same and there is no way that I could afford to have 52 holidays in 3 years. How many actual different holidays does your list entail?

You must consider the notion of visiting a country differently to me, I know someone who drives on trips round Europe and if they pass through a country (not necessarily stopping for more than fuel or a coffee) they claim they have visited it and you post suggests the same.

I recently went to a country and I used it's public transport system extensively, stayed overnight there and spent a couple of days visiting the same tourist attraction, but I don't actually feel that I have visited the country at all.

zingally · 14/09/2024 09:07

rainsofcastamere · 13/09/2024 17:42

Do you do nothing with children when they're little? You know, because they won't remember.

Of course not. But I did things that were more appropriate for a tiny child. We went to parks, playgrounds, library story times, soft play.

How many under 3s are honestly ENJOYING being hoicked through airports, being crammed in a metal tube where their ears feel weird and they can't freely move around?

I stand by it, but 32 countries with a 3 and under isn't the wonderful experience for the child the OP must think it is. Such a bizarre flex.

marcopront · 14/09/2024 10:04

If the purpose is to experience different cultures and languages then shouldn't the list of countries be more diverse.

It is mainly Europe and the Caribbean with USA, Mexico and one North Africa.

Is the culture in Saint Lucia so significantly different to that of Dominican Republic that you can realise that in a weekend?

mirrensidhe · 14/09/2024 10:34

MrsSunshine2b · 13/09/2024 16:58

What job do you have that you can take a 32 holidays in 3 years?

she is only going for a day or 2 here and there for an insta, thought that was patently obvious by now and trying to appear all worldly. 15 of those countries were stepping off a cruise ship for a day 😳how embarrassing 😂

Frintlinesetting · 14/09/2024 10:48

mirrensidhe · 14/09/2024 10:34

she is only going for a day or 2 here and there for an insta, thought that was patently obvious by now and trying to appear all worldly. 15 of those countries were stepping off a cruise ship for a day 😳how embarrassing 😂

It's all a lot of complete rubbish isn't it and then we'll all be told we're just jealous

Fluufer · 14/09/2024 10:52

mirrensidhe · 14/09/2024 10:34

she is only going for a day or 2 here and there for an insta, thought that was patently obvious by now and trying to appear all worldly. 15 of those countries were stepping off a cruise ship for a day 😳how embarrassing 😂

She didn't even step off the ship for some of them

marcopront · 14/09/2024 11:03

@mirrensidhe

she is only going for a day or 2 here and there for an insta, thought that was patently obvious by now and trying to appear all worldly. 15 of those countries were stepping off a cruise ship for a day 😳how embarrassing 😂

But don't forget her child has experienced all these new cultures, eaten the food and learned the languages.
He will also remember them all when he checks Mum's instagram.

Completelyneutralname · 14/09/2024 11:09

Fluufer · 14/09/2024 10:52

She didn't even step off the ship for some of them

It makes the whole carbon footprint issue even more depressing to me if it’s just photos for insta and not genuine. So depressing.