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Post by TravelinTexan on Jan 13, 2012 14:39:07 GMT
Hi all,
My husband is currently in the interview process for a job with Aramco in KSA. This forum has been such a great resource for me! I have a couple of questions that I'd like to put to the community.
1. Life with a toddler
I have read all the posts that come up for a search on toddler/children/kid etc. I would love to hear from moms via the forum or email about these topics:
Airplane travel with a toddler
Helping a toddler with jet lag
How in the world did you stand in lines/fill out paperwork/etc with an active toddler in tow?!
2. Life for African-Americans in KSA
My husband and I have both traveled extensively so we are very tolerant and open minded. I spent an entire semester in Johannesburg while in graduate school. This was shortly after apartheid had been lifted. I had no problems there and found the country to be beautiful and the people generous and kind as a whole. We would just like to know if there is anything we need to be aware of in KSA and the Middle East b/c this is a region neither of us have direct experience with. I'm happy to correspond via email if folks don't want to post here. Just leave me your email address.
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Post by Twofeets on Jan 14, 2012 19:42:44 GMT
Welcome!
I cant answer all your questions, but can simply say what I know or what Ive seen.
As to traveling with a toddler we have an 11 month old which we've flown back and forth from the states a few times. It can be a challenge, but ill give what advice I can..
1) Try book a flight for the childs normal sleep times. A sleeping child is much easier to deal with than one who's running around and wanting to play
2) Try to get yourself a good night (or 2) of sleep before traveling. From the US to KSA, from door to door (not just flight time) is usually over 20 hours
3) If the child still uses a bottle it comes in handy during pressure changes. The sucking action helps them pop their ears.
4) Ive seen some people advise benedryl or other sedatives, be very careful with this route as it can have the opposite effect on some kids, leaving you with one very hyper and penned up child!
5) A lot of airports have express lines for mothers/families traveling with small children, dont be afraid to ask!
6) Some airlines will make special arrangements for small children (we usually get bulkhead seats when we fly coach which gives us more room). Also be sure to ask how much luggage and such you get for the child (child seats and such).
Once here, life here is great for kids. In fact, it was the number 1 reason I came here. I live in Ras Tanura (RT) and kids play freely in the parks, on the streets, etc without fear of abduction, assault, abuse, etc. There are plenty of playgrounds, pools, and even splash parks. There are mom and totts groups and other such functions for new moms.
As to your question about african americans here, I only know a few but they have never complained of any ill treatment. There are a ton of different nationalities here, the dominant of course being arabs, but there are a lot of caucasions, asians, etc. Its a very mixed society.
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Post by TravelinTexan on Jan 15, 2012 1:29:20 GMT
Thank you so much, twofeet, for your reply. Those are great tips for the flight. I hadn't thought about the need to rest up. And I'll definitely make use of the family line and any other help for traveling with a little one.
And the family friendly aspect of Aramco is my number one incentive. I love that it's so safe and activity filled.
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Post by TravelinTexan on Jan 16, 2012 11:45:01 GMT
Thanks, twofeet! Your travel tips are great. I've been reading through this forum and I'm pretty impressed so far. You guys have a great community. Very different from living in a big city.
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Post by cacord on Jan 16, 2012 12:33:25 GMT
I can post some of my experiences with a toddler in regards to getting settled/traveling. I have a 3.5 year old and a 10 month old and in addition to our flight over here I just recently flew back to the States with them by myself.
As for traveling/flying, the best advice is to plan and think through everything you need, and all the stops etc and what you are planning to do. Also, don't plan on you sleeping very much! It seemed like whenever I got everyone to sleep then I wasn't able to sleep! When we flew here for the first time, we left Houston around 5 PM on an Emirates flight and although it was a long 15-16 hours we only had to do one long flight as opposed to two. We arrived in Dubai, got a hotel room for our layover which allowed us to shower, repack and allow our kids time to be active. This past trip home I left DMM around 1:30 AM and flew threw Amsterdam. I worked to keep them on Saudi time as much as possible so at least the flight there was more enjoyable and they did fine. I recommend bottles/sippy cups or for older kids lollipops for take off and landing. The iPad has been a lifesaver flying as well as driving around here.
As for jet lag...coming here to KSA it takes about a week for my kids to get turned around. We are very intentional in watching how often and long they nap and just know that for a week we will have late nights, early mornings and just have to keep working towards our normal schedule. The way back to the States...it took my three year old a day and my 10 month old about a week.
Life here with toddlers has its positives and then frustrations. There are lots of parks, and the beach at RT, there are Mom and Tots groups, lots of play dates and my oldest goes to preschool four mornings a week. In addition to parks, play groups, there are numerous extra curricular activities that go on such as swimming lessons, ballet, art classes and a very welcoming community of moms.
It is hard and frustrating at times to go on the shoppers bus with two little kids. The buses (at least the ones from RT....I believe that Dharhan has much more frequent and convenient buses) tend to leave camp at 8 AM and not arrive back until 2 PM which makes for a long day with little ones and the evening shoppers buses come back very late and are impossible with young kids due to bedtime. Also, if your child is in school then you can not take the bus in the mornings because there you won't be back in time. So, we are entirely dependent on my husband and going shopping/errands etc on evenings or weekends which is frustrating at times as it would be nice to take care of those chores during the week.
Overall it is a great place for kids and also the amount of time that we get to have with my husband is why we came here. To be able to have him home at a reasonable time and have time as a family is worth it. Good luck!
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Post by Carolina on Jan 16, 2012 14:28:37 GMT
o I can see that you already have received great feedback from the other Aramcons - thanks once again Twofeet
the only question I could not answer is travelling with small children as my daughter is very much grown up but anything else I can help you with do PM me.
Thanks very much
Carolina
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Post by TravelinTexan on Jan 19, 2012 5:13:44 GMT
camcorder, thank you for your detailed and honest reply. You've given me a very clear idea of life with kids. I totally sympathize and understand the frustrations you mentioned. Glad to hear about the family time though.
And Carolina, I've sent you an email to the address you listed with a question. Thanks
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Post by Carolina on Jan 19, 2012 9:25:30 GMT
o Travellintexas I have replied to your e-mail hope my information will be of use. Carolina  |
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Post by Twofeets on Jan 19, 2012 18:37:30 GMT
Ahh, that reminds me..
When traveling with kids, bring extra everything..
Extra clothes/diapers, because it never fails, they will get sick or have accidents
Extra money in case of emergencies
A phone if possible that works overseas
basic carry on meds such as headache remedies, nausea/diarrhea/etc remedies
It sucks lugging it through the airport, but it sucks more when you're 2 hours into a 10 hour flight and dont have it ;-)
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Post by TravelinTexan on Jan 21, 2012 20:56:02 GMT
cacord sorry about the typo above - didn't catch the autocorrect before posting! And twofeet I'll be sure to bring lots on board. I didn't think about his medicine. Great tip! I'm starting a list.
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Post by cacord on Jan 24, 2012 11:08:15 GMT
One other thing I thought about...if you are traveling through Amsterdam, there is a really nice indoor playground that is great for letting them run around and get out extra energy. I let my daughter run around while I am unpacking/restocking everything. Also, remember extra clothes for yourself in case of accidents. My husband shortly after we boarded got spit up all over him and was thankful for an extra shirt to change into.
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