Several people expressed an interest in my thoughts about this, after we
traveled in June/July with our two kids (ages 7 and 11). So here goes. I'm sure
these ideas don't make sense for everyone, so pick and choose as you like...
- Go to Beijing early. We left on a Tuesday, rather than a Thursday. So we
landed on Wednesday, then had 3 full days in Beijing before leaving for our
province. This extra time to get over jetlag made a HUGE difference to us, plus
we got to see more of Beijing. When we met our baby in Nanchang, we were pretty
well rested, which helped us take care of a new baby. I actually would suggest
this schedule to everyone, even if you aren't taking children, as long as you
have the extra time. I mean, how often do you go to China? You might as well
stay for a while.
- Get two adjoining rooms. If the new baby is crying a lot, most of the family
can still get a good night's sleep in the other room. The two rooms help even
when the baby is sleeping well. We could watch TV or play a board game during
nap time. The two bathrooms and the extra space help when you have to get 5
people ready each morning. And the older kids loved having their own room. (Of
course, this option is more expensive, but it helped us a lot.)
- Focus on family time, and what makes your kids happy, instead of group
activities. We traveled "alone" without a travel group, so this colors my
judgment here, but I think it still applies. We had wonderful sightseeing trips
with our guide and fantastic family experiences in China. But this would have
been much harder if we were locked into a group schedule. For example, kids can
manage one big activity per day. If we had tried to fit in two sightseeing
trips, or sightseeing plus a plane trip, in a single day, we would have had some
very unhappy kids. Getting packed and down to a group breakfast by 8 AM is
another example -- very tough for an 11 year old boy who is not a morning
person. So I suggest going at your own pace as much as possible.
Chuck Connell