Is there any funding available for taking baby/toddler abroad for a work trip/conference?

[WhereIsMyCoffee]

Hello,

I'm hoping to visit a University in another country next year, probably for a couple of weeks. My own flights (expensive!!) and accommodation would be paid for by a fellowship, but I am considering bringing my toddler along with me as well (if I can find the money for his flight somewhere).

Does anyone know whether there are any funds available for women (or men I guess!) needing to take their children with them when going abroad for research purposes?

I know that for visits of longer duration (6 months+) there will often be relocation costs for the family included in the fellowship, but because mine would be a short term fellowship (1 month) there is no money for relocation expenses.

I'm in Science, in case the discipline is relevant.

Thanks in advance!!

I worked as an academic for more years than I care to remember but have never heard of financial help for someone to take a toddler along. There's also the issue of you having to find someone to look after your child in the day and also if you wish to socialise and network in the evening - you won't be there on holiday!
But I guess it's always worth asking?

Thanks for your reply.
I hadn't heard of it neither until I came across this article
sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_magazine/previous_issues/articles/2014_08_14/caredit.a1400208

Bizarrely L'oreal used to have some really flexible women-in-science type grants that would have covered this. No idea if they still do this.

You would probably need to be more specific about your field to get useful answers.

In my own area there are a few sources of funding for travelling with very young children to conferences but they typically only provide partial support and are extremely competitive.

L'oreal's grants are applicable mostly to women working in biological sciences or related areas and are increasingly competitive as more people are becoming aware of their schemes.

I travel quite a lot - I'm away about 8-10 weeks per year, spread through the year. I got funding to take my DC with me when DC was younger than one year (I didn't take much maternity leave so was travelling from the time DC was about 2 months old) but most of the funding came from outside the UK i.e. host institutions abroad had flexibility to give me such funding.

As pointed above childcare whilst away is also a big issue: I have used a mixture of daycares, nannies and family members, but this takes some amount of planning plus more money.