International Adventures

Keywords: international, travel

By Stacy DeBroff

We went this past summer on a vacation in Italy with our one-year-old. Our strategy was to pack tons of very small toys or household objects that could be twisted or twirled and that he’d never seen before. I would produce one every five to ten minutes. It was challenging because he was a mobile toddler, constantly wanting to go up and down the aisle. We discovered that by wrapping a blanket over seat belt buckle, he couldn’t find the clasp to undo it himself and take off running. We also planned no activities the first day there, and it helped so much to not be expected to do things immediately on other end. —Viki Bok, mom of Cameron, 2, and Nicholas, 4 months

• Make a pretend passport out of cardboard and paper for your child to keep a record of the places he’s been. Ask for extra stamps at border crossings.

• If your child is up for the adventure, try smaller, less Americanized hotels and restaurants that serve regional dishes. That will give you all a better taste of the country you visit.

• If your child is old enough, teach him a few commonly used phrases, such as good morning, good night, please, and thank you, to make him feel a part of the foreign culture.

• Buy a souvenir coloring book wherever you go so your toddler can relate to the area.

• Take your child to see a local grocery store to marvel at the different products, and to pick an unusual treat to taste.

• Many foreign countries, such as Spain, have drastically different mealtimes, closing for business about the time your child starts wanting dinner. Stock up on healthy snacks for your child in case dinnertime rolls around and nothing is open.

• Give your child some local currency to examine and keep, and your school age child can help pay for goods you purchase.

• Be respectful of the local customs, explaining what specific behaviors you expect from your child. If you are visiting lots of churches and ruins, make sure your child knows beforehand that the site is not a large jungle gym.

Stacy, heralded as a “parenting guru” by the Wall Street Journal, authored four best-selling parenting books (Simon & Schuster) and launched Mom Central, Inc. (www.MomCentral.com), a company devoted to providing savvy advice to simplify and enrich the lives of busy Moms and their families. Stacy appears as a regular parenting expert on national TV show, including NBC’s Today Show, CNN, The View, Tyra Banks Show, CBS’ Early Show, The Daily Buzz, Mike And Juliet, Fox & Friends, and the Rachael Ray Show. Stacy also serves as a corporate spokesperson, trendspotting for the media on behalf of over 30 national brands.

In the 1990’s, Stacy founded and ran as an attorney the Public Interest Office at Harvard Law School. Stacy lives with her husband, Ron, and happily engages in imperfect parenting of their two teens, Kyle and Brooks, in Boston, Massachusetts.