by Neha Sharma, a keen traveller was told she cannot pursue further on her travel bug interest, thanks to a life phase of stepping into motherhood. However Neha wanted to change this perception and began documenting her travels and show others it can be done, well in comfort. She also writes for Growing with Nemit, her blog on her travel experiences and life with her child, Nemit. She’s also the author of an ebook that talks on travelling with kids. This traveller mum has done quite a bit of travels with her child including a lot of variety in travels right from train journeys to river side camping to International travels and more.
Talking of her journey, she shares with Mums and Stories, “ I was a single child and I owe it to my parents who fought with their families to raise me on their own terms and not the way that society dictates. I remember my parents replying to people that I am their daughter as well as their son and they were proud to say that. It was the time when the trend was to have at least one boy child irrespective of how many girls have already been born. My childhood was fun, I was pampered & heard and was given opportunities to take part in decision making.
My memories take me to far off places which I had traveled with my parents. However, one of my best memories which I still remember clearly is my first school trip to Bharatpur bird sanctuary when I was in nursery. After that, there was no looking back. I started maintaining a travel journal when I was 11 years old.
So Growing with Nemit actually began during my pregnancy, In the sense the journey began there when I planned a family trip to Jaipur when I was 5 months pregnant and called it my babymoon trip although it was planned to celebrate my husband’s birthday. That time I was told that I should now stop thinking about traveling and focus on the home & motherhood responsibilities. I was a bit shocked to hear such comments since I wanted to travel with my baby just like I used to travel with my parents. I got a chance to change the outlook of people around me and I was successful in breaking the barrier attached to life after motherhood!
It was only later when my friends told me that they too want to travel like us but they are not sure if they can do it, I realized this is not just about mindset, it goes way deeper than that. It was then when I decided to document our travels on my blog.
So Nemit’s first trip was a long road trip from Delhi to Amritsar when he was only 2 months old. So far, we have traveled to 16 destinations which also include 3 International trips. But we have traveled the most in 2018, we took 9 trips in 12 months.
We travel as a family and if you read my book you will see Nemit’s dadi and nani also joining us on some of our adventures.”
Growing with Nemit team – Photographs are subject to copyright.
Neha has a few tips that she vouches for travellers and shares, “ I always advise parents to focus on PLANNING. If you have planned your travel will, there are less chances that it will go wrong. Planning includes everything from making itineraries to deciding the mode of transport to booking hotels to packing your bags even preparing yourself & your kids for the trip comes under planning.
It’s important for parents to understand that a family trip should have something for everyone. If you are traveling for the first time with your child or you are not comfortable traveling with kids, you should try and look for some child-friendly destinations. If not destination, look out for a kid-friendly hotel. You can find a list of recommended hotels in my E-book.
Talking about her blogging journey, Neha shares, “ I came to know of mom bloggers from a parenting community which I was a part of and it intrigued me to learn more about it. I loved sharing my parenting experiences with other parents on that community and had a good following which further aided me in starting a blog of my own. So, I started my blog, growingwithnemit.com in July 2017 where I share my parenting views & learning’s and of course our travel tales.
This year, I got a chance to convert my travel blogs into an E-book and My E-book ‘Travel India with a Toddler’ is available for free download on Blogchatter.
Travel offers unlimited opportunities to learn things which no classroom can ever teach.
You learn how to adjust to demanding situations, you get to know your strengths and use your weaknesses in your favor. Women tend to underestimate their skills and one can never get to test those skills if you don’t come out of your comfort zone. I never knew I could walk 5 hrs without a break and still not feel tired. When we travel, we are out in a new unknown world; it tests us at every turn. Whenever we travel to a new destination, we realize how big is this world and we are merely a very small part of it.
There can’t be a better teacher than nature itself for children. They get to learn life’s lessons in a fun way. They learn to make new connections with people of all kinds irrespective of whether they understand their language or not. A great way to show them the real world which is much better than the virtual one. Kids learn to trust their instinct and they become independent We never knew we could keep our child entertained for 7 hrs in his car seat while on a road trip whereas we struggle to keep him calm and happy at home even when he’s surrounded by toys and activities.
You need to come out of your comfort zone to actually enjoy what travel offers. Being a traveler mom, I have realized it is easier to travel with kids rather than spend time with them at home.”
Answering the question if there is a overdoing on travels, Neha shares, “ No amount of travel is enough for wanderer souls. On being asked on how do they for travels like budgeted or luxury ones, this keen traveller mum says, “Luxury is not our choice; we look for adventure and fun in our travels. We love experimenting; sometimes we go totally unplanned to far off locations and make some of the best memories. Other times we plan beforehand, more than luxury we look for child friendliness of that place. We have been to all kinds of travel with our son, next we are planning to try backpacking!”
Mums and Stories wishes this enthusiastic mum and family happy travels and lots of fun memories to be created.
( All photographs are subject to copyright).
