Traveling on business is GOOD for kids – and for mom!

Today's post is by guest blogger and traveling mom, Phaedra Cucina.

 

What a treat to spend the day with smart women travelers!  I’d first like to thank Carol, not only for hosting me today but for creating this wonderful site.  I find it to be a great resource, and I’m sure you do too.  Today, we’re talking about one of the more inevitable career challenges for working moms – the business trip.  Whether you are one, or have them on your team, there’s no doubt, business trips are a touchy issue in most homes and offices.  Often trips start with tearful goodbyes from the children, and the nightly calls don’t always go so well either.  Kids can certainly tug at your heartstrings and heap extra helpings of worry onto your already guilty conscious.  To make matters worse, those few moms who don’t feel guilty about their time away often tell me they feel guilty about not feeling guilty!  Let’s put a stop to this self-inflicted nonsense!

 

Traveling on business is GOOD for kids – and for mom!  Here are just a few reasons why:

At Home:

·         Kids and the grown-up taking care of them get special bonding time together that simply isn’t possible when you’re at home

·         Kids learn to be more reliant and gain self-confidence (this does require a certain degree of proper preparation, which we can talk about in another post)

·         The grown-up in charge gains a special appreciation for everything you do while you’re home, and vice versa

 

On the Road:

·         You get a rare, uninterrupted night’s sleep!

·         You get to walk through the airport with only your own bags to worry about, stroller-free, nicely dressed, with perhaps even a hot latte in hand!

·         You get to catch up on your reading!

·         You get to be so thankful that the crying kid on the plane is not yours!

·         You get grown-up conversation over dinner, hopefully with your girlfriends living in whatever part of the country/world you’re visiting!

·         You get to give yourself a mani and pedi in the hotel room!

·         You get to watch a movie – of your own choice!

·         You can get your inbox under control while on the plane/train!

·         You can call a long lost friend or family member!

·         You can organize your computer files, playlists, and photos!

·         You can workout!

·         You can REST!

 

The choice is always yours – you can sit in your hotel room, worried about what’s going on at home and the office, or enjoy this special opportunity to treat yourself to whatever simple pleasure strikes you in the moment. 

 

What’s one of your favorite things about business, or kid-free, travel?  What do you think you will do (or not do!) to make your next trip more rewarding?

 

Posted by traveling mom, Phaedra Cucina, author of the children’s book, My Mommy’s on a Business Trip.