Multicultural Kids Blogs Telephone VLog
This week the Multicultural Kids Bloggers are vlogging about family travel. By telephone. Well, it’s a conversation, you see, it’s like face time, around the world.
My question came from Cordelia of Multilingual Mama, who asked what our biggest mistake when travelling with kids has been, and although I told myself I’d make a high-end production with plenty of time to spare, I was thwarted by a) my inability to choose just one mistake; and b) a three year old who kept waking up in the middle of the night sobbing because she didn’t want her mouth to say “sheep”. (“I don’t want my mouth to say “sheep” noooooooo it said “sheep” NNNAAAAARGH!” and so on, for ages.)
So to distract you from my low production values, I’ve used a hokey theme. But don’t let that distract you from my main message, which is that when travelling with kids you should try not to:
- pack everyone’s clothes into neat little packing cubes and then forget to put your own cube in the suitcase
- let your toddler stay on a merry-go-round until she throws up (over everything)
- squash three children into the back of a compact car which doesn’t contain any kid’s music CDs
- assume you’ll get time for a haircut (spa treatment, pedicure, novel-reading session)
- allow your mother to feed your toddler half a tub of beetroot dip and then NOT pack him a change of clothes in your carry-on
- leave your carry-on suitcase open on the floor in front of a non-toilet-trained male toddler as you’re washing beetroot diarrhoea out of his clothes
My question is for Annabelle of The Piri-Piri Lexicon. I asked her about the hand gestures her family have found themselves using on holiday and here’s her answer.
And you can find more at Multicultural Kids Blogs, or on the Travel with Kids Pinterest Board – and stop by our MKB Book Club discussion of Family on the Loose!
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So funny! Thanks for being willing to share your painful experiences with us 🙂
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Always willing to share a painful story. What else are they good for? 🙂
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Thanks for the fun!
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Thank you! It’s been a blast!
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It’s a good production! I like your last tip, made me laugh so hard. So did you manage to wash off the beetroot?
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Not altogether successfully at the time. I hit the parents’ room – it had a sink, soap and handryer – I ditched the trousers into a plastic bag, and then I just had to get the worst off the shirt (it wasn’t as bad as the trousers). He ended up wearing a bare nappy and slightly damp/stained shirt on the plane. Luckily only a two hour flight and no further incidents (aside from a couple of dirty nappies).
A lot of the suitcase contents were saved by my habit of putting everything in ziplock bags. The rest had to be cleaned off/discarded/set aside in plastic bags to deal with at the other end!
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hahaha…pearls of wisdom..ever considered writing a book??? 🙂
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Give me some credit. I haven’t made enough mistakes to fill a whole book 🙂 .
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full credit!! 😀
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🙂
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Haha. Very fun and useful tips. I learned the merry-go-round lesson the hard way.
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I’m so glad to hear that’s one other people have made. I felt like it was just me at the time.
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I love beets! We use them a lot in Ukraine. But they definitely will give red color ans “soften” any “diaper”!
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Another person I should have spoken to before all that happened! Love your inverted commas there – you put it so tastefully.
Good luck with the situation in the Ukraine. I’ve just been looking up the latest and it’s a nasty mess.
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beetroot diarrhoea 😦 Does not sound good. Blackberry #2 loves beetroot, he gets beetroot puree weekly, so i know what it does to to pee and poop.
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I’m glad you know about beetroot! I had no idea beetroot dip was such a foreign horse until I started reading the comments. I wonder where Australia got its beetroot from?
If only I’d known you before the incident I might have been more careful with the dip.
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Too funny Bronwyn! I nearly splurted my coffee. 🙂 I particularly love the one about the open carry-on suitcase and the non-toilet-trained male toddler. My parents used to cram 4 kids in the back of the car – one who got car sick and the other a pants wetter. It was always a 4-ring circus. ~Terri
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Sorry about your coffee – glad you didn’t spurt it and hope you didn’t burn your lips in the process! The non-toilet-trained traveller moment was a special “highlight”.
I am trying to imagine a wetter and a vomiter squashed in with two others in the back of a car. I’m guessing (since you survived) you got your sense of humour off your parents!
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OMG I love your points re travelling with kids! I had a good laugh 🙂
I didn’t know about this so thanks for pointing it out.
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Highly specific but extremely important travel tips every travelling family should know 🙂 . I’m sure there’s a couple there you can recognise after all your travels as well!
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Yes there are! Oh the mistakes I’ve made 🙂
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ha! ‘the beetroot dip incident’ sooo many lessons! ya know, for us one day 😉
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It’s always good to learn from other people’s mistakes, rather than your own. Anyway, there’s usually still scope to make your own 🙂 .
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Oh my.. just.so.funny! We’ve had our share of bodily fluid disasters, but none attributed to beetroot dip. 😉
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The beetroot really gave it that nice, pinkish hue all good diarrhoea should have.
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Ha! Mine would be hoping that the curvy road through Yunnan wouldn’t make my car sickness prone child sick, rather than preparing for the worst. Always prepare for the worst! (Or be prepared to spend hours Ina van that reeks of vomit)
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Oh yes – I remember you posting about that one…
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“leave your carry-on suitcase open on the floor in front of a non-toilet-trained male toddler as you’re washing beetroot diarrhoea out of his clothes”
I have to admit that I was cringing while reading this lol! I had no idea what beetroot dip was and I had to google it. Not sure if I’ll ever be able to try it as I now have that and diarrhoea linked together in my mind forever……
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Sorry about that! Taken in moderation it really is very good. Please try to put the diarrhoea out of your mind if you get the chance to try it!
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Once again you make your readers laugh… we can relate to merry -go-round – not the kids – me as a 15 year old – can’t get back on them since – And yes the mums always ensures all is ready for everyone and in the rush forget things.. i.e. hairbrush, spare clothes for the flight – etc.
Worst recent travel experience – being vomitted on whilst on a long haul flight – as a silly parent ran down the aisle with a chucky toddler – It was a long flight home till I got to a shower… still feel sick at the thought.
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Oh no, so it wasn’t even your own kid! I can understand the instinct to run for the toilet, but sometimes it’s definitely best to just cut your losses and deal with the consequences.
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This was so funny, but I hope these are not examples from your personal experience. I know better of course. (Thinking of the kind aunt who fed my tiny tot most of a package of dried apricots.)
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Oh yes, dried apricots, another good one. And yes, of course these are all our experiences. I’m sure other parents have their own tales to tell!
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Haha, you win the competition of travel incidents that are a lot more fun afterwards 😀
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They’re all more fun afterwards 🙂
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This is too funny! Thanks for the laugh!
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Thanks! Glad you liked it. 🙂
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Oh wow love it and still laughing as I type! Crikey, that’s what you call a low end production? (hides under duvet in shame). I now always pack changes of clothes for everyone in individual ziplock bags…of course the first time I forgot an extra bra for me. Silly me not to think the kid’s vomit would go down my top! I’ll be heading over to Singers for some video editing tips shortly. I promise I’ll leave the beetroot dip at home.
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I think I had grand visions. There was definitely a choreographed dance number. 😉
Ah yes, the wonders of vomit! Hope you feel comfortable not wearing a bra in public then?
And on my husband’s most recent trip it took almost two days for his luggage to catch up with him, so that’s made me double my resolve to pack a spare set each for our next family jaunt (beetroot dip aside).
Zip lock bags for the spare stuff is a good idea. I’ve used them in the main packing but they would really shine in the carry-on.
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Been there with the merry-go-round – more than once!
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I’m always glad when people chime in and say they’ve done the same things, because I always feel like a complete idiot at the time. Thanks for making me feel like less of an idiot (or at least less alone – you can choose 😉 ).
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The best part is your mum chiming in the comments. Just say no to beetroot! Oh and the packing thing, I always manage to pack enough for everyone else but forget my own things. Always!
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I’m glad someone else does that! On this occasion I literally did bring nothing for myself but the clothes on my back and the contents of my handbag which was much more extreme than usual (for me). But I can believe it’s a common problem – I guess it makes sense!
My mum’ll be chuffed you enjoyed her comment 🙂
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It wasn’t me who gave the toddler the beetroot dip. I’ve never ever even bought a beetroot dip. Very funny however – but not when you are on the receiving end. (End! Get it? Ha! Ha! – sorry)
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So as I recall it I bought the dip and said, “He really likes this!” and then left him in your care and you may have indulged him a bit more than I would have, being the Grandma.
I’m not even going to go into the “end” pun. I’m just going to let everyone mutter amongst themselves about where I get it from.
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Oh Bronwyn you make me laugh out loud. I don’t even know what beet root dip is but the vision of it zooming through a young digestive system while in flight is the stuff nightmares are made of. The open suitcase of the non toilet trained…well the icing on the desperate cake.
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It was actually *just* before the flight. I would have spent more time gaping over the open-suitcase toilet incident but I was too busy listening to final boarding calls.
I would have liked some desperate cake. Any kind of cake.
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Really ..laughing hysterically…not at you. Just the thought of it all. Yes bring on some cake I say…or possibly some red wine. 🙂
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Red wine cake.
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Perfect 🙂
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Oh hey – that’s a real thing:
https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=red+wine+cake+recipe&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
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You will have to start a cooking blog…or a drinking one. 😉
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They sort of go together, don’t they? I’d be more the anti-cooking blog, though. You haven’t seen how my cakes turn out…
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🙂
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To be fair, the wine doesn’t always turn out much better.
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