We didn't start riding with our son until he was 4 mainly due to proper riding gear availability. At 5 he fit into a BMW Stoke riding suit and the rest is history.

Adventure Trio.com ~ Don’t Ask Why, Ask Why Not : Adventure Trio

We travel more now with the kid then we did before he was born.


-Terry

Did you guys bring the Guitar with you or did you get that from a local to show off?

My wife and i are currently planning a trip with our kids.. We have done several overland trips in the past but now the kids are a little older it's time to get them inspired

We've been travelling (though shorter trips, and on 4 wheels) since our two kids were born (we're US expats living abroad, and the kids were born abroad). Younger daughter's first trip was to Moscow at 2 weeks for a friend's wedding ...

Even though kids don't directly remember the earliest travel years, I'm convinced they bring back experiential memories that are lasting - when you're back at "home" and reading about a desert, or an ocean, or a cloud forest, it just makes more sense if you've experienced one.

And the pictures ... have a great one of our daughter at 18 months holding court with the local village kids in a remote town in Madagascar. Fabulous. Or the memories of having the other daughter, at around 5, ask in all seriousness whether our destination was a "sit toilet or squat toilet" country... or, at 7 (when we were having to do monthly visa runs, usually to Seoul), complain that "Seoul is boring, can't we go to India for the weekend?"

But to your question - there are a few things I'd recommend to keep in mind with really young kids, just based on our experience ...
- make sure to bring rehydration solution of some kind. Kids can dehydrate very quickly, whether from an upset stomach caused by new foods, or just from heat
- fair-skinned kids burn very easily, and sunscreen is hard to find in many places (esp. africa). Bring your own supply, and a hat for the baby.
- ditto diapers, if you're using disposables.
- ignore the pediatrician when they say that grinding up malarone (pediatric antimalarial) into applesauce will work - our kids wound up refusing to eat applesauce for 6 months in retaliation. Burying the pill in soft candy or grinding it into maple syrup or something else really sweet works better.
- exposure to new germs is a good thing, and will give the kid a better immune system later in life. But there are limits ...
- kids will go through at least twice as many clothes in a day as you would expect an adult to
- kids can be interested in all kinds of things - sometimes just looking at the butterflies in a field can be much more fun than the $30 zoo and its crowds

And the most important thing - just have fun! Kids pick up on moods, and if you're having fun it's more likely that they will too.

Good travels!

Just realized that the original post is really old, so the above is irrelevant!