If there’s one thing in this world that everyone has an opinion about – it’s on being a Mom. What to do, what not to do and how to do it better. Everyone has something to say on the topic.

One of the things that is deemed to be acceptable, is travelling with your kids. But what about travelling without them?

With travel opportunities being more accessible than ever, our generation is probably feeling the urge to travel more than previous generations did.

Should Moms Go Traveling Without Their Kids?

I’ve travelled abroad a couple of times prior to having kids and I still have the urge to travel some more. So when a friend who lives abroad invited me over for a celebration, I contemplated the thought of travelling without my kids, initially I was in two minds.

Will this make me a bad parent, leaving them? Or am I doing something amazing — not only for myself, but teaching them that it’s also important to care for yourself, as well as to follow what you desire in life?

It’s the latter that made me say YES to the opportunity.

In a few weeks’ time, I will be travelling solo to another country and my babies will be at home in the perfectly capable care of their Father.

To be honest, I am really anxious about being away from them for 2 whole weeks. I’ve travelled for work and was without them for a few nights – a number of times, but never this long. And never in another country.

But, I know that they will be fine and taking a bit of time away will provide a great refresh from all aspects of day-to-day life, not just the kids.

I’m also looking forward to new experiences that I can actually take home to share with them!

Missing The Kids When Travelling Without Them

Naturally, I will miss them and the thought of it almost made me put off the trip entirely!

But…I know that we will all be fine and I will have an amazing time.

Thankfully, I am married to a man who has no problems or hesitations about caring for our kids on his own!

Dealing With Negative Responses

I’ve already come across an individual or two who raised an eyebrow about my solo trip and they’re probably of the opinion that I am parenting wrong or being selfish. But then you also get the comments like or “Gosh, I wish I could just take off whenever I wanted” or “I could NEVER leave my child!”

But I don’t need their permission, do I? One person’s way of doing things isn’t the way that the rest of the world should do it. I am literally the only person who can give me permission to replenish my cup with doing something for myself. If I don’t, I’ll continue to have this unfulfilled and exhausted feeling!

The verdict

There is no right or wrong answer. I think it just boils down to what you would do and what you wouldn’t do.

I choose to have days fully lived, to replenish my cup when I need to instead of being burnt out and lethargic. And that’s the way I’d like my kids to remember me, always!

So in a few weeks I’ll be going on an European adventure and I’m really looking forward to it!

I’ll share a bit more about the trip soon.

xxx

Hayley