Why Travelling with a Child is a Bad Idea

Travelling with a child can be very challenging. My six-year-old daughter has the strength of four boys. She finds it very difficult to keep still for a minute and this has created more problems than I can handle.

Last summer, I asked where she wanted to go on holiday and she said Dubai. I obliged and convinced my mum to come with us. We touched down Dubai International Airport and made our way to baggage claim with my daughter by my side. Next thing I turned around to whisper to my mum, only to discover my little girl had disappeared.

Ah! I started screaming her name and running around the airport, looking for my little girl with so much anxiety. Next thing, the young girl shows up behind me laughing and screaming “Got Yaaaaaa”.

Fast-forward to our departure. We arrived early at the airport, checked-in and went on to shop for some perfumes. Luckily, the perfume shop had an aquarium to keep her busy, so we let her. We finished shopping and proceeded to sit and wait for our boarding gate to show up on the screen when we heard the fire alarm go off. More worrisome was the fact that no one was running.

Then it occurred to me that my daughter was missing again. I turned and asked my mother, “Where is Zuri?”.

Next thing, the naughty girl shows up behind one of the pillars, sweating.

I had to choose between laughing out loud and panicking. I chose to panic when I imagined the repercussions of a false alarm. I advised my mum that we should escape to our boarding gate. She disagreed and said it would be better to get arrested at that spot, rather than onboard the plane, so we waited. 🙂

The alarm went on for 10 minutes, everybody went about their business like nothing happened and nobody came for us. So, we got up slowly, located our boarding gate and left.

Travelling with an active child is not easy! I have learned that you cannot look away for a second- anything can go wrong!

 

Read more: Useful tips to avoid stress when traveling with a child.