I’m a big fan of the Wanderlust and Lipstick website and I recently have been lucky enough to get my hands on a copy of Wanderlust and Lipstick: Traveling With Kids by Leslie Forsberg and Michelle Duffy (who blogs as WanderMom). This guidebook is a companion to the other books published as part of the Wanderlust and Lipstick series (which includes The Essential Guide for Women Traveling Solo and For Women Traveling to India). It is a great family-travel primer, brimming with stories and good advice.
I really can’t praise Traveling With Kids enough. Here are just a few of the things I especially like:
- The fact that the book covers everything from weekend books to round-the-world travel, treating both with equal weight and respect
- The stories from dozens of traveling moms offering insight and suggestions.
- The numerous and specific suggestions about what to pack – and the fact that the book gently encourages parents of babies and toddlers to rethink bringing all that gear.
- Helpful Hot Tips, which scattered throughout the text. Some of them are things I’ve already done, but certainly not all. A favorite: “Write down the time and duration of naps your child takes as well as any nighttime wakefulness. You will then have a record of cumulative sleep and can be more confident that your child is adjusting to the new time zone.” I wish I’d thought of that the first time we took Tommy to Europe!
- The chapter about flying with children, one of the most practical, detailed, and realistic selections I’ve read about this topic
- The long list of websites at the end. I thought I knew the online travel world, but I’ve already gone in and bookmarked a bunch of new resources that I know are going to come in very handy.
Most of all, I like the tone of the book – understanding, wise, generous, and inspirational. Reading it is like talking to a friend who knows you well, has been everywhere, and has all kinds of practical, realistic, and nonjudgmental advice to offer. Like the fact that it’s OK and possibly necessary to occasionally purchase fast food even in exotic locales (which made me feel a whole lot better about the fact that I gave Tommy McDonald’s French fries in the train station in Florence, Italy). The premise of the book, outlined beautifully in the first chapter, is that traveling with our children in any capacity is an important way to shape them as global citizens and to encourage their curiosity and wonder. Every suggestion the book contains is made with this in mind and it is therefore full of thoughtful suggestions for making family travel more meaningful. For example, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a book about traveling with kids that talked about how to help children integrate their experience into their lives once the trip is over, but this book has an entire chapter dedicated to returning home.
This book should be considered an essential purchase for anyone who is considering traveling with their children and has never done so. It would also make a fantastic shower gift for a traveling mom-to-be (one of the sections deals with traveling while pregnant and there are loads practical tips about traveling with babies and toddlers). And it’s a great refresher course for those of us who have traveled with new information for even the most experienced travelers. I lost track of how often I found myself exclaiming “now why haven’t I tried that?” while I read it.
You can purchase the book at Amazon, but I also have an extra copy to give away! To enter the drawing, simply leave a comment below saying why you want the book and what you might use it for. And I’ll give anyone who mentions the drawing on Twitter an extra entry for each tweet. The contest closes at midnight EST on Tuesday, May 12th.
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This book sounds fantastic lots of helpful travel tips in there. Well done Leslie and Michelle.
Peace (Australia)’s last blog post..Photo Friday: Sea Salt Beach House
I am the queen of traveling with kids…and everything going wrong in the process. Of course, it makes for an entertaining write-up but I adore Wanderlust and Lipstick and would love to hear what she has to say on the matter!
Amber’s Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck’s last blog post..Why everybody needs a Bode in their life
Sounds like a great book! I’d love to read more about flying with little ones, as we have yet to conquer that challenge. And of course I just love to read about other moms’ experiences, always.
Would love a copy of this book! Thanks for the great recommendation and fun giveaway!!
Jumbleberry Jam’s last blog post..W.I.P. Wednesday: Fashion Aid
We have finally decided that our busy schedule shouldn’t keep us from visiting family. We are heading to Dallas in June. You can bet I will be using some of your tried and true suggestions!
Lisa’s last blog post..A Fink Girls Book Club
I would love to have this to take my son travelling more often.
I love traveling with my kids, but must confess that I haven’t had the guts to get on an airplane with the whole clan, since a very traumatic flight delay with two just mobile toddlers heading in to separate directions. Would love to read that chapter!!
Bridget’s last blog post..Family Travel Tip Tuesday: Snacks to Pack for Theme Park Adventures
I love wandermom!!! The book will be great for our next adventure. We love to travel. I don’t think I can stay one year without going anywhere. Even a small day trip within our neighborhood is a great adventure for us.
Amy @ The Q Family’s last blog post..Photo Friday: Vietnam Veterans Memorial in DC
We love to travel with our 4 year old and would love some tips. Her goal is China!
Tweeted – http://twitter.com/phxbne/status/1739562942
Sounds like a fantastic book! I’m always keen to get more tips on how to make our frequent journeys (both unbelievably long ones and weekend getaways) more fun for everyone. We’ve now moved into a new phase of travel. I like to call it “diaper free, nap free kids”. I think it’s going to be marvelously freeing!
I’ve got 3 trips planned so far this year with my 15 month old. We can use amy help that we can get!
We have a few overnight trips planned this year, and I’m hoping this might help us more when we do the next transatlantic flight, since last year was horrific.
Jennifer Irving’s last blog post..iDrive Portable Hard Drive
We have a 4 year old and a 1 year old. We’ve put off traveling too long. It’s time to get back on the road! Help us find our way…
Hey with 5 kids in total and a 6 week vacation planned in the USA next month I need all the help I can get! Seriously I need some inspiration to immerse myself in on the 16 hour plane trip (red wine not included)!
By the way I need a new travel stroller for my 14 month old any suggestions?
I enjoy Michelle’s tweets so I have no doubt her book is a great read!
Corinne’s last blog post..Save More Than 40% On Travel To St. Kitts & Nevis…
We will be traveling in June, and also my husband travels for business, and he would like me and our 5 month old to go with him, but I am really apprehensive about traveling with an infant. It would be helpful to have this as a reference to ease my travel worries.
dearandrea
at sbcglobal. net
What a great book–I’m definitely going to check it out. We’re doing a road trip from MN to NYC in June, and I need all the ideas I can get for the 3 girls ages: 7, 5, and 2.
I’ve had a good bit of experience traveling with my kids but always wished I had more ideas on making the trips go more smoothly with them. This book sounds like the perfect solution for our next 10-hour car trip. Thanks!