Kidding around the world
Published
Becoming a parent need not put an end to wanderlust. That’s the message in Kidding Around: Tales of Travel with Children ( Bradt Travel Guides, paperback, £10.99, ISBN 9781784771058).
This collection of travel writing anthologies, with a foreword by acclaimed travel writer Dervla Murphy, lifts the lid on the joys and perils of travelling with children in locations spanning five continents.
Sometimes comical and other times hair-raising, the 34 stories and one poem in the collection relate experiences of derring-do, confessions of inept parenting and potentially life-threatening situations. From trekking with toddlers in the Himalayas to sailing en famille across the Atlantic Ocean and the first circumnavigation of Mauritius by bicycle, there’s plenty of adventure. And the message is – whatever the pitfalls – travel is a portal to some of the most precious times that families can spend together.
Contributors come from a range of backgrounds and tell of many different types of trip. But they all share the convictions that parenthood doesn’t mean abandoning those itinerant instincts and that the experiences of travel in childhood can shape personalities and inspire lives. They include National Geographic Traveller editorial director Maria Pieri, multi award-winning authors Adrian Phillips and Mike Unwin, and nature writers Amy-Jane Beer and Nicola Chester
Discover how one family turned up six hours early for a flight… and still managed to miss it. Join families paddling with crocodiles and getting their jeep stuck on a beach as the tide is coming in, or eleven-month-old Rory as he eats alongside marine iguanas and three-year-old Quin who befriends a family of cockroaches. Kidding Around is a captivating read for anyone who has ever travelled with children, or wondered what it must be like to head out into the unknown with little ones in tow.
Snippets from Kidding Around
Adjusting to Life at Sea by Caspar and Nichola Craven
'Are we nearly there yet, Dad?’
‘No.’
‘How far is it to go?’
‘Several thousand miles.’
‘Oh.’
Early Birds by Adrian Phillips
Unless you’ve had to rush to meet an airline’s final call with four-year-olds in tow, you can’t fully appreciate how short their legs are.
Fun and Games Drives by Mike Unwin
‘Daddy, do leopards roll in every animal’s wee?’
James’s First Night Camping by David Lowen
The wind was now howling and we could hear the trees creaking. ‘Could the tent blow away?’ James asked. Does this boy ever stop asking questions?
Next Stop, Camping by Lydia Unsworth
Travelling with a little one is like diving in a rubber ring and setting off down the rapids, while trying to process a VAT return along the way. Wild, intense, continuous.
