What age did you first take your child abroad?

[Leabee1234]

What age did you take your child abroad for the first time? My son has just turned 3 and I haven't taken him abroad yet. He also has autism and he gets very overwhelmed and even UK holidays are quite stressful.
I was thinking of going abroad next year but not sure I have the nerve to do it with his needs yet.
I feel like a bad mom seeing the young toddlers going abroad at a young age but not sure whether to stick to UK holidays until hes older and can handle it more.

My son was 3. He’s super active and I didn’t like the thought of parenting in the heat, so we went to one of the center parcs in France for his first abroad holiday and it was perfect. It’s 100% kid friendly but you’ve got the reassurance of your own lodge with plenty of space etc, and much cheaper than the UK ones!

My son was 1 (although a lot closer to 2) left it longer due to Covid and then surgery recovery

My daughter was 3 months old

16 months to visit family. Long haul overnight flight. Airline was excellent and we got decent seats etc.

4 months.

Mine was about two and a half, also with autism but a different kettle of fish where holidays are concerned, as he loves travel, transport and exploring new places. He rarely gets overwhelmed, it's only interactions with unknown people that troubles him.

In your case whether you decide to risk taking your son or not, you're not a bad mum for deciding not to - you're thinking about his well-being, comfort levels and the suitability of the trip. That's not bad mum territory, that's good mum consideration. He won't be missing out if he would find the whole thing stressful, so go with your gut!

Ours was born abroad.
We brought her back to England aged about 3 or 4 weeks old.
An ideal age, she slept for most of the journey

DD - 8 months.

DS - 7 years.

My DS is NT but still hard work, he was always crying and hardly slept. We did not want to take him anywhere far until he got a bit more reasonable! This meant DD never went abroad again until she was 9.

18 months

and it was so difficult we didn’t do it again for 4 years

Don't feel bad OP. We have no SEN and didn't take our kids until last year when they were 7 and 4 respectively.
DH and I were seasoned travellers before we had children, but just couldn't face the idea of taking them overseas until last year!

Both around 6 months old. They were so portable as babies and we have family who live abroad.

I went on an abroad holiday with my parents for the first time at 35.

Going abroad isn’t essential.

3 months

Eldest was 8. Couldn't afford it before that. Youngest (autistic) was 6. He's now a teen who prefers city breaks to beach holidays.

Honestly please don't feel guilty about this. Try it when you actually feel ready, not when you feel you ought to. In the meantime you can have plenty of nice holidays in the UK especially if the summers stay this dry.

I took my first child when she was 18 months old. Absolutely exhausting.
Had three more children and didn't venture abroad again until the youngest was five!

9 months just to Majorca so was a shirt flight and then at 18/19 months to America. I was very worried about that flight but he just conked out.

We took them for the first time when one was 5 and one was 2… We won’t be going abroad again next year. I found it really stressful.. the little one was ill, the older one enjoyed it on the whole but was very overwhelmed, overtired and overemotional.

Don’t do it just because you think it’s expected and because people love holidays. I can confirm it was definitely not a holiday for me and DSs would have been just as happy in the UK.

We lived abroad when ours were born. Used to fly long haul several times a year with them from when they were a few months old.

DS was about 8 months on first trip abroad and DD was around one for her first trip. But the age at which you first take your DC abroad has nothing to do with whether you're a good mum!

The week she turned 1.
We went to Indonesia for 10 weeks, just the two of us, all I booked was flights and did the rest when I got there.

23 months with DS1 and 18 months with DS2.

By the way there will be a massive bias in the responses you get. People who started younger are more likely to reply. So please don't read into these replys saying how tiny their babies were put you under more pressure than you are already giving yourself.

When we went my son was old enough to have a step counter and we kept him busy at airports by setting him step goals while we waited in queues. I have no idea how we'd have coped when he was 3.

18 months. He has ADHD but had a fantastic time playing around the paddling pool and seeing the sights.

Why does he need to go abroad? You can have perfectly nice holidays in the uk. Mine are 10, 8 & 4. Not been abroad. Not missing out.

My first - 8 weeks
My second - 4 weeks

About three months — as soon as he had his vaccinations and passport. But that was because all of both our families live in our home country, and weren’t all able to travel. So it wasn’t holidays, or not strictly. We did go abroad to see friends and for a few weddings, but I think we stick to UK holidays for years.