Can I let grandparents take my toddler abroad without me?
Allowing relatives to take a toddler on international travel without parents present is a massive ask that creates deep personal discomfort at this age. This makes it difficult to approve trips abroad, leading to inevitable conflict when grandparents request to take young children out of the country.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Saying no to international travel requests and suggesting domestic trips instead.
- 2Leaving the toddler at home with grandparents or other family members for the duration of the trip
- 3Shortening the trip duration or scaling down the itinerary
- 4Planning a separate, shorter drivable vacation that the toddler can enjoy more
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I wouldn’t personally be cool with any international travel at this age without me, regardless of country.”source ↗
“Taking a 3-year-old out of the country without either parent present is a massive ask, regardless of where they are going.”source ↗
“My husband and I planned a 15 day trip(mostly I) for next summer to 2 European cities. After seeing the final cost it would be to take our family of three my husband is starting to balk. He suggested that we leave our 2 1/2 year-old at home because we we could save a lot of money and it’s generally going to be hard to take a toddler abroad.”source ↗
“I also have never spent a long time apart from our son(not more than like 30 hours) but rearranged a potential itinerary for 11 days without having to cut anything. But I still just feel SO BAD at the idea of leaving him behind. I planned this trip for us as a family and I’d miss him so much.”source ↗
“But I’m still so anxious and guilty about leaving him behind.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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- 8How to plan your first international trip without missing anything
- 2Can I leave the airport on a long layover without a visa?
- 4Is it okay to let 10-year-olds hang out in a house with no parents?
- 5How to handle high energy kids who act out in public classes