By Veselina Dzhingarova

Sometimes we hear from parents that, with children, hopes for international travel are an impossibility, or are at least put on hold indefinitely. This doesn’t have to be the case. Kids can travel. In fact, it’s one of the most interesting and helpful things you can offer for their personal education and development. Kids who travel learn; you may not be teaching them a specific curriculum, but you will be pouring a lot of information into their young minds. For parents who want to teach their kids a second language, or who want to give them a hands-on appreciation of history or world culture, travel is the best possible means to the end. But to get it, you’ll have to understand some of the practicalities of this kind of travel, and make sure that your kids can work within those bounds. It’s doable, but it will take some planning.

Find Flights With Child Discounts. Not every airline offers child discounts, but some do. This is a bit of moving target, so it’s important to research current offers and policies, as these tend to change monthly or yearly. Some airlines will let small children sit on your lap for free (second carry-on?). Others won’t. Some will offer discounted seating to older children as a perk to traveling parents, others won’t. In all cases. It’s important to look for deals well in advance of your travel date, as this is the most important factor in locking in airline deals of any kind. If you book your flight well enough in advance, you may not have to worry about child-specific deals at all – you may find savings the old fashioned way.

Prepare For Communication. If your kids are old enough to do their own thing while you’re overseas, you want to make absolutely certain that they have multiple ways of contacting you. NobelCom is a company that makes phone communication easy, within nations all around the world. You’ll be able to phone home or just get in touch with Junior when you haven’t seen him in an hour or so. NobelCom calling cards are a great gift for other travelers, or just something to provide peace of mind when you’re on your excursion.

Make Sure Your Kids Understand Various Things. If you’re traveling abroad, getting around may not be at all like what you’re used to back home. Your kids likely won’t take this for granted, and will need specific direction for the place you are traveling. This could include social and cultural awareness training, safety conversations, behavior requirements for places as diverse as restaurants and airports. Help your kids prepare for their trip with these sorts of helpful rules, and they’ll be a lot more successful when you arrive.

There are tons of ways to make travel with kids possible – even travel overseas. Savings can be had, kids can be well behaved, and communication can make the whole things safe and smooth. Prepare well in advance, and you’ll have this trip well planned, and (mostly) stress free.