Flashback: Preparing the Little One

Since Xander was a little baby we've been telling him The Story of Tomorrow every night. His grandparents thought it was cute that even before he was talking we were telling him exactly what to expect the next day.

The Story of Tomorrow
Tomorrow is Friday, which just happens to be the third best day of the week. When you wake up Mommy and Daddy will both be here. We'll have a lovely breakfast, and then mommy will take you to school. You'll have fun playing with your friends all day, then Daddy will pick you up. We'll have a lovely supper, then we'll play a little, and then it will be time for story of tomorrow and goodnight

Xander, Mommy and Daddy want you to know that we love you very much. And if you get scared in the middle of the night, Mommy and Daddy will both be here, because we love you so. We want you to sleep well, and have very pleasant dreams (of cars and trains). Goodnight

In preparing a small child to travel, you need to make sure they know what will happen. Kids love routine, and travel is often breaking with routine.  On the road you can control somethings, and we'll talk about hotel selection, transportation, and the itinerary later. However, you would spoil the fun to implement a rigid regime, even if you think it is in the best interest of the child.

As I packed for the trip, and there were visible signs that we were going somewhere, I made up a story that I told to Xander. I called it the Story of Our Trip (see I'm quite original).  I told him about our great adventure, where he would sleep, what he would see, that we would be gone for a long time, but that Mommy and Daddy would be with him the entire time. Of course I had to give him the reason for our trip ... that he would be a big brother, but that is another story.

By the time we got on our flight Xander had the story memorized. However, he still got scared and wanted to go home on our first night in Frankfurt, Germany ... our stopover before heading to Russia. We again told him the Story of Tomorrow and the Story of Our Trip, and reassured him that Mommy and Daddy would be with him, and that he was safe. The night in Frankfurt was the worst, but it still took about five days on the road before he got used to traveling, and stopped being home sick.

The reassurance of the Story of Tomorrow, and preparing him well in advance with the Story of Our Trip helped a lot.