Slate Money: Travel – Bringing the Kids

Date: April 2, 2019
Host: Slate Money Travel Host (Felix Salmon)
Guest: Kim Barrington Narazetti, founder of Urban Crayon Press and author of "Traveling to Delhi With Kids"

Episode Overview

This episode focuses on the joys, challenges, and practicalities of traveling with children. Guest Kim Barrington Narazetti, a widely traveled parent and author, shares her deep well of experience about family travel, from taking infants abroad to involving teens in trip planning. The conversation spans details on logistics, budgeting, eating adventurously, and how the right approach can turn family vacations into memorable adventures for all ages.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Mindset: Don’t Be Afraid — Travel Is for the Whole Family

• Enjoyment Over Stress: Kim argues that vacations should be fun, not stressful, and that family trips can become a foundation for planning future adventures.

  • Quote: “People shouldn't be terrified of traveling with kids because you have them anyway. And it's your job to make sure that you all enjoy your vacation.” (00:48)

• Inclusion is Key: Involving kids in the planning process builds excitement and makes travel more enjoyable for everyone.

  • Quote: “Get them involved in the planning, get them excited. That's the trick.” (02:44)

2. Stages of Kids & What That Means for Travel

• Traveling with Kids by Age Group:
  • Ages 0–5: Kids are “basically potatoes” — easy to move, can travel as lap children.
    • Quote: “From zero to five, [kids are] basically potatoes. You can pick them up, you can take them wherever you want, you can save money on airfare...” (02:49)
  • Ages 5–10: More focus on school calendars and “Disney, kids clubs.”
  • Tweens & Teens: Greater autonomy and interest in activities like horseback riding or snorkeling; downtime and personal space become important.

3. Creating Adventure Anywhere (Including At Home)

• Staycations as Travel: Booking a hotel in your own city (e.g., Times Square in NYC) can recapture the feeling of travel and be as novel as going far away.
  • Memorable moment: “We've done staycations being in New York where we have just booked a hotel and gone to see Broadway plays like we are tourists and then eat bad food at Times Square.” (02:49)

4. Accommodation Choices: Hotels, Airbnbs, and the Family Dynamic

• Choosing the Right Place:
  • Family-friendly hotels with flexible room setups are vital, especially as kids grow and need private space.
  • Outdoor spaces and balconies are useful for teens’ downtime.
• Hotel vs. Airbnb:
  • Kim prefers hotels; she views vacations as a break from cooking, emphasizing that the trip is for parents too.
    • Quote: “A vacation for me was being away from the kitchen… I think the vacation is not just for the kids. The vacation is also for the family.” (06:33)
• Teaching Moments:
  • Kim uses travel as an opportunity for kids to order food in the local language and experience new foods (07:01).

5. Eating Adventurously While Abroad

• Gradual Introduction:
  • Before trips, Kim introduces kids to the destination’s cuisine at home.
  • Her kids’ multicultural background and New York setting foster open-mindedness about food.
    • Quote: "If you know you're going to Thailand on vacation, you start ordering Thai food or you go to Thai restaurants, so they become familiar with the cuisine." (07:35)
• Memorable Foods:
  • From chicken feet to mapani worms in South Africa, Kim’s family tries almost anything.
    • Humorous exchange:
      • Host: “Not everything tastes like chicken feet because those things are bony.” (08:40)
      • Kim: “But you have to take the nails off… it's not very good.” (08:43)
• Handling Picky Eaters:
  • Kim acknowledges her kids are unusual but emphasizes exposure and encouragement. (09:05)

6. Practical Tips: Planning, Predictability, and Spontaneity

• Balance is Critical:
  • Kim suggests 70% planning, 30% spontaneity. Key logistics like bathroom locations, naps, snacks, and jet lag adjustment must be anticipated.
    • Quote: “You need to have 70% of planning and 30% of spontaneity… for the most part with kids, especially little kids, they probably still need their nap, they probably still need a snack at a certain time.” (11:56)
• Factor in Jet Lag:
  • Longer trips require acclimation—don’t try to squeeze major trips into too-short time frames. (12:47–13:35)

7. Budgeting for Family Travel

• Hidden Costs Multiply:
  • Food, souvenirs, and extra tickets make trips more expensive as kids age.
    • Quote: “It would have been cheaper if we all got on a plane and flew to Bali [than go to Disney].” (14:01)
  • Kim advises adding at least 50% more to base vacation costs to account for the extras. (14:44)

8. Packages & Cruises: Sometimes Less Hassle Is Best

• All-inclusives and Cruises:
  • Kim recommends package holidays and cruises for families with young children for convenience and variety, and because money is saved upfront.
    • Quote: "When the kids were little, I thought cruising was a really good option because I felt you had seven vacations in one..." (10:51)

9. Meaningful Moments & Parent-Child Learning

• Unexpected Experiences:
  • Sometimes the best travel memories are the activities parents try for the kids, like horseback riding in Grand Cayman.
    • Quote: "...I, you know, am afraid of horses, but I got on a horse, so that was exciting." (15:20)
  • Kim highlights how travel fosters independence, resilience, and curiosity.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Vacation should not be stressful. It should be the basis of planning another vacation.” (00:48) – Kim
• “My kids don't think I'm the expert at anything because they're teenagers, but I feel like I'm an expert on traveling with them.” (02:00) – Kim
• “If you do a lot of pre planning to get the best sales, to get the best packages, I think you end up with a really robust family vacation.” (09:10) – Kim
• “You have to think that you made a decision to have the kids. The kids didn't make the decision to come here.” (14:51) – Kim

Food Talk: The Best Food Cities

• Host’s Question: “What's your favorite food city?” (16:38)
• Kim’s Answer:
  • Delhi for variety, speed, and street food freshness: “I think there's such a high turnover with street food that you don't actually get sick...When you're dealing with street food, it's affordable, it's tasty, there's lots of variety, and the turnover is so fast.” (16:47)

Key Timestamps

• 00:48 – Why vacation shouldn’t be stressful with kids
• 02:44 – The “trick” of involving kids in planning
• 03:49 – Staycations and being a tourist in your own city
• 06:33 – Hotel choices versus Airbnbs; vacations are for parents too
• 07:35 – Strategies for getting kids excited about new foods
• 11:56 – The importance of planning (bathrooms, naps) while allowing spontaneity
• 12:47 – Managing jet lag and trip duration with children
• 14:01 – The true cost of family vacations (Disney vs. Bali)
• 15:20 – Learning from kids and shared adventure (horseback riding in Cayman)
• 16:47 – Delhi as the best food city for families

Conclusion

Kim Barrington Narazetti’s candid, humorous, and practical approach demystifies the prospect of traveling with children. Her key takeaways: involve kids in planning, adjust travel style to their age, don’t over-stress about perfect itineraries, and remember that vacations are for parents, too. With a little thought and flexibility, family travel can become a source of cherished memories and shared discovery.