Travelling with Children: Tots, Tantrums & Treats
The Mansoor family in Istanbul, Turkey. Photo provided by Samantha Mansoor.
By Crystal Kassab Jabiro
When Samantha Mansoor traveled to Honduras with Oakland University’s School of Public Health, she changed as a person. Experiencing different cultures, including the time she spent in Europe afterward, sparked a love of travel in her and she wanted to keep discovering more of the world. Now she does it with her husband, Dr. Brandon Mansoor, and her toddlers, Ave, 3, and Eli, 2.
The Mansoors’ strong devotion to the Virgin Mary inspired them to baptize their newborn daughter in Lourdes, France. Then three-month-old Ave (named for Ave Maria) traveled with her parents and their immediate families plus a Chaldean priest to Lourdes and Paris for a week, and then to Greece for two weeks. The infant was baptized on the Mansoors’ one year wedding anniversary.
“What a blessing to be able to do this for our daughter,” said Mansoor, 31. “I was nervous, but I did some research on tips and hacks for traveling with a baby.” Ave was crying so mom nursed her, and the tiny tot slept the entire time on the plane. That is one piece of advice Mansoor would like to offer to moms and dads taking their littles on planes– nurse or bottle feed during takeoff. It helps with ear popping and falling asleep, she said. She also suggests bringing toys and mess-free coloring books to occupy the kids’ times. Walking up and down the aisle with the baby when it is safe may also help soothe a crying child. She insists that the best idea is snacks. And lots of them.
“I take a very holistic approach to their eating, but snacks on the trip are fine. It’s not worth the struggle!”
The family then went to Miami, Florida, and Cuba when the baby was eight months old. Five months later, they trekked to Croatia, Germany, and Italy. They would have gone to more places, but COVID put a pause on their plans. In the meantime, the Mansoors had another baby - a son they named Eli - who is now two years old. The new baby took his first international trip to Turkey for two weeks just three months ago. This time they had two toddlers to deal with, which meant double the treats and double the tantrums. “We had stopped in Amsterdam and Ave had a meltdown,” Mansoor said. “I had to remind myself she’s having a moment and it’s no different than being at home. It’s just a little more stressful though.”
Mansoor noticed that Europeans and Cubans show a great deal of respect towards mothers. “I feel like they put you on a pedestal when you’re with a child. They don’t let mothers wait in line when their children are with them. It’s really so beautiful.” Sometimes people ask about what there is to do for kids in foreign countries, but potential travelers must not forget there are children in all of these countries. Mansoor advises booking kid-friendly hotels that have indoor pools or visiting local malls with arcades and parks with play structures. Turkey even has a Legoland, though they did not go. They went sightseeing to the seven churches from Revelations and since the kids are too young to truly understand the visit, they had fun running around and playing outside.
Mansoor has even traveled with school-aged children who were old enough to understand the cultural similarities and differences and were able to recognize cultural landmarks, like the Eiffel Tower. It was exciting to them because they had seen it in movies and books.
Just being outside at Joshua Tree National Park in California and enjoying nature, sightseeing, and picnicking is a learning adventure. “These are good experiences to expose them to,” Mansoor said. “Is it easy? Absolutely not. But enriching them through exposure to diverse cultures and experiences is priceless. They may not remember it, but it is cultivating their little minds and creating beautiful memories.”
Mansoor is a dedicated travel enthusiast and has documented her journeys on TikTok @MommysPassport, amassing over 15,000 Instagram followers on her page Mommy Travels @samanthamansoor.