Thoughts on DC traveling overseas with only one parent

shouldbworkin

Let's say you have a family event overseas and you cannot take the whole family.  One parent thinks it would be nice to take one of the children overseas, leaving the other parent and child at home.  The child is old enough to obtain some benefit from the trip, you can get a good deal on airfare for a child accompanying a parent and you are going some place far, but safe (and you will be with other extended family).

Would it bother you if you were the parent staying home?  Would you understand why the parent staying home might not want your DC to go?  WWYD? 

femmegem

I would love it if DH could take DS abroad with him one summer. I think it would be such a great experience for him. It won't happen because DH is working when he's there and we would have no one to care for DS, but I would be all for it.

I guess I wouldn't understand not wanting my child to have an experience like that with my DH. Or my DH not wanting DS to have that experience with me. And, again, it wouldn't bother me to be the one staying home. I do stay home while DH goes abroad every year anyway.

I don't really know the extenuating circumstances, of course, but in our case I would definitely be all for it.

august06mom

If I was staying home, I would want to be sure that I could quickly join my DH and DC wherever they are in case something happened. I would be sure that my passport is completely up to date and that I had enough money in the bank to buy an emergency plane ticket. It also depends where they were going.

TwoChickens

Depends on where they're going.

If its somewhere I want to go, I'd HATE to be the one staying home.  I'd also hate to not be able to experience my child's first REAL traveling experience.

EliseB0323

I think there is probably more to this than just the logistics you have outlined. If there was a good reason for one parent to stay home, it wouldn't bother me. Otherwise, I'd rather the whole family go.

shouldbworkin

EliseB0323:

I think there is probably more to this than just the logistics you have outlined. If there was a good reason for one parent to stay home, it wouldn't bother me. Otherwise, I'd rather the whole family go.

Well, we're going to a place MH has been (with me) before, but he refuses to go ... not for safetely reasons.  I would rather the whole family go, but I really can't stomach an 11 hour flight with both kids (nor the $3000 in air fare) and I think my DS, who will be 5 at the time, will handle the trip better than my then 3 y/o.  DH refuses to go and I don't want to go overseas alone for 10 days - my time with my family is so limited as it is. 

He's afraid something will happen to us (which I get, I would worry too), but anything could happen anywhere.  If he's afraid something will happen if I take him on a trip, why is he ok with me driving him somewhere alone? 

Littlejen22

My DH's family is in England and he goes alone at least once a year.  Unless the other child was an infant this would bother me because I would not want them excluded.  But I do not think it is a big deal to take the child anymore than it is within the US unless you have a fear of them not returning.

Zenya

not a big deal, imo.