Kidtums visits the world...

[generaleclectic]

I really believe that even if down the road she doesn't remember every detail of these trips they still will have shaped her in some way. Whether it be hearing other languages from a young age, understanding how cultures differ, etc.

 

I've been obnoxiously verbose lately, so I'll keep this short.

 

Parents: Kids remember more than we give them credit for.

 

Elissa: Your statement is EXTREMELY accurate. It's likened to mommies to be that play music to the womb. Studies show that it DOES have an affect.

[mush619]

As the mom of a 3 year old, I think it's awesome you've been able to take KT traveling all over the world with you. I agree it absolutely will help her in life. She's been able to witness other countries and cultures, and learn to respect others. As others have said, she may not remember all the details, but I'll bet she will remember more than the average person since she has been traveling for so long. And of course you have tons of pics and videos to help her remember. My daughter just loves to look through photo albums of where we've been (which hasn't been far yet, lol) and of the people in our family. She's known the names of our entire extended family for a long time just from looking at all the pics.

 

I wonder too, why parents judge other parents so much. As long as they're not raising obnoxious kids, lol, all parents should be able to do what works best for them and their family. Other moms perhaps judge you because they're jealous?

Who wouldn't love to show their kids the world? I'd love to take my daughter traveling all over if I could. I think what you have been able to do with KT is great!

[SharkTums]

For those of you interested, here are KT's updated stats after the Middle America and IntimidaTour Trips...

 

95 - Jeff Johnson Credits

74 - Actual Credits

221 - Parks

26 - US States

[TPDave]

She can now also say the word "polygon". Next year i'll teach her about conic sections...

[Sir Clinksalot]

Dang, one more "real" credit and she's tied with Josh. That's awesome.

 

And I agree with pretty much everything everybody else has said. I think it's great that she's been able to travel around the world with you guys. Am I jealous, hell yeah, but that doesn't mean it's not awesome.

 

I thought the story about the teachers not seeing those places that she has was pretty funny. I love stuff like that.

[SharkTums]

^Sorry, I made an error when doing her list (forgot Fire in the Hole) so she's not at 75 real credits!

[Sir Clinksalot]

^ LOL ... Josh "could" be at 76 but he still won't ride V2 at SFDK. Can't say I blame him though.

 

I'm fully expecting KT to have more credits than me by the time the NE trip rolls around next year. She's gotta be getting close to 40"/42" doesn't she?

[Ledgy]

Elissa, you did update this topic, great!

 

I just think about how many new coasters will come up every year now and some new countries, also. Amazing!

[andre8]

KT has WAY more credits than me. Do you guys think she'll be an Intamin or B&M fangirl?

[ebl]

^ I think it would be hilarious if one day she decided that she likes Vekoma!

 

Eric

[Nrthwnd]

For those of you interested, here are KT's updated stats after the Middle America and IntimidaTour Trips...74 - Actual Credits

 

 

That's the (then) exact number of coasters I had eventually figured out, that I had ridden in my 53 years, before I took my first TPR tour (UK - 2006 - yes!) with Robb and Elissa. Before the awesome KidTums "entered" the coaster scene, the following year in Japan, and started her dizzying climb of coastering the world over.

 

Impressive and wierd, at the same time, to find this out, lol.

[Montuman99]

WOW! 24 countries, I haven't even left my time zone!

[printersdevil78]

Since, for all intents and purposes, becoming a pseudo (soon to be legitimate) stepfather this year, I've experienced a lot of that competitive momminess first-hand. The most "WTF?" moment so far came when we were at a local restaurant, and one of Kelly's mom's co-workers saw us and made a point of coming over to tell us that she had heard we were trying to get Lauryn in full-day kindergarten to help with some heredetery writing and vocabulary issues--but we were out of luck since she was friends with the principal and had gotten her daughter the last seat in the all-day class so she wouldn't have to pay as much for after-school care. So tough luck (which is pretty much what the school eventually told us, too)!

 

As for the "too young to remember" bit, we did delay our trip to Walt Disney World until earlier this year, when Lauryn was 5, in hopes that she would remember it a little more. However, I absolutely hate sitting at home doing nothing, so on the weekends I'm not working or volunteering, we're always going someplace fun. One Monday last spring, after we had spent the weekend in the Shenendoah Valley, Lauryn came home from school almost in tears.

 

Kelly asked her what was wrong, and she said, "We were talking about what we did over the weekend, and I said I went to see dinosaurs, and went to an underground cave and saw fish, and ate stuff at a picnic table that a man cooked in his big outdoor stove (pit barbecue), and saw a hot air balloon, and went to flea markets, and got a bunch of (trading) cards at the card show, and ate a giant hamburger and then came home and watched Nickelodeon... and they said I was lying! And they said I always lie because I don't really go ride roller coasters, and see movies outside, and go to water parks, and visit the 'seum (museums), and go to the zoo, and eat at restaurants where you have to sit in your car, and play claw machines, and go to carnivals, and get ice cream from cows (at dairy farms)... but I do!"

 

We live in a fairly economically depressed area. Kelly did her best to explain that most of her classmates don't have the opportunity to do most of those things, so maybe it was better if, when asked what she did over the weekend, she just went with the generic "Had fun and played."

[sspaz1000]

I've been wondering how is KidTums with jet lag, and ear pressure on the planes taking off and landing?

 

And I can't believe she's got 75 actual credits now. Only 24 less than me.

[jynx242]

Elissa - I can't see where this has already been posted, but Kid Tums has definitely been affected wonderfully by all of the experiences and travels with you guys.

 

She travels better than most adults. I was, mistakenly, using her as a guide to how 3 and 4 year olds should act. I had a friend from high school come visit with her 4 year old and I thought to myself, "I can handle this! Kristin is about 4 and she's a blast."

 

BOY HOWDY WAS I WRONG! Turns out - Kristin is nothing like any other 4 year old I've encountered. She is AWESOME! YOU GO MOMMY AND DADDY!! You guys are awesome.

 

David

[shesaidboom]

As an Early Childhood Educator and elementary school teacher, I think what you guys are doing with Kristen is great. Young kids, and even older ones too, learn a lot more from hands on experiences than from sitting in a classroom all day. When my students' parents ask me what they can do for enrichment for their kids I tell them to take them places, experience things, and talk about what they see. That is the best learning, in my opinion. For example, you can read a book about a cow, but getting to actually see, touch, hear, and smell that cow is the better learning experience. If you're a three year old you might not remember seeing that cow 10 years from now, but you'll remember the smell, touch, and sound. It's the same idea for Kristen's travels. She is getting amazing experiences seeing the world, experiences cultures different from her own, and meeting all kinds of people along the way. Like you said, even if she doesn't remember all of it, it will have shaped her as a person.

 

The example of her Pre-school teacher saying she hasn't even been to those places is great. I bet Kristen is enriching the whole class by sharing her experiences. Her teacher would probably even appreciate you sending in photos of Kristen at those places to show all the kids. What better way to learn about the world? I would love to have a kid like that in my class!

 

As for parents judging other parents... I see that about a thousand times a day and it drives me crazy. To me it seems that if you do something different from 'mainstream parenting' people take it as an attack on the way they do things instead of looking at it as a different way to do things that works better for you.

[ajc47]

but getting to actually see, touch, hear, and smell that cow

 

That might not be so pleasant.

 

But I agree with what you said.

[robmiester]

My parents started taking me on international trips when I was a little younger than three years old. I may not remember everything that happened, but I do have memories of certain events or instances. I also have a huge appreciation for traveling and world cultures, which I attribute to my being a traveler at such a young age. I find it wonderful that KidTums is traveling all over at here age and I hope that she'll grow up being able to love and appreciate the world, a trait increasingly rare in these days. Plus, as as added benefit, exposure to foreign languages at a young age will help her pick them up more quickly when she's older. I fully support Robb and Elissa with their decision to take KidTums all over the world. It doesn't matter if she remembers everything about the trip, but if my experiences taught me anything, they are extremely beneficial and will still leave her with certain memories revolving around her travels.

[DanTheBooker]

I hope this is the right thread to post this in.

 

I just watched the video of KidTum's first sky coaster.

 

I do have one question for you guys. I see your daughter is five or six. Does she travel with you guys all the time? And if so, how do you keep her entertained while visiting say six parks six days in a row? Some would say "Well, they are at amusement parks. It's a no brainer". However, children often become bored with even the most exciting surroundings.

 

Again, I'm just curious.

 

P.S. Through the related videos, I happened upon the video of KidTums giving a shout out to Big Mike on the Alpine Coaster. Cutest. Thing. Ever.

[SharkTums]

^She travels with us almost all the time. She's very good about sitting quietly and finding something to do if she's bored. She now has an iPad Mini and a Nintendo DS so we'll do that sometimes. We also play silly games; for example one of our favorites right now is listing off three terrible places to eat and making each other choose one!

[beatle11]

I remember her throwing the angry birds around the bus at one point. That was amusing.

[RideTheEdge]

^She travels with us almost all the time. She's very good about sitting quietly and finding something to do if she's bored. She now has an iPad Mini and a Nintendo DS so we'll do that sometimes. We also play silly games; for example one of our favorites right now is listing off three terrible places to eat and making each other choose one!

 

I have a question to add! I'm very curious...how do you manage all of the traveling with her while she's in school? (Or is she homeschooled?). I know I have several years to decide, but one of the reasons I'm not sure if I want to have children is because I want to travel a lot. But you guys seem to be doing an excellent job of doing both! How do you do it?

[SharkTums]

^Great question. I am TOTALLY AGAINST Homeschooling for a multitude of reasons and would never consider it. Up until Kindergarten she went everywhere with us and I would be fine pulling her out. Now it gets trickier because with Florida public schools they cannot miss a lot of days and it's really a hassle. I don't agree with it, and even states like California do a better job and would allow for her to be absent more. Because of this we have cut back some of our travel and tried to keep it more to school breaks. If we need to do a trip during school time we would either pull her or see if my parents could watch her.

[Coaster Cow]

I remember the sad day when school became too important for me for my parents to pull me out for vacations...It was felt especially with Disney, as school break times are just about the busiest. I guess living in Orlando makes that a little less of a problem when you can go over the weekends or the like.