PARENTING WITH A PASSPORT

Kate Wickers shares the happy memories she’s made with her globetrotting tots

- FRANCESCA WOODSTOCK

Digging out an old photo album, I smiled at a picture of my three cheeky boys pulling funny yoga poses against the backdrop of a tropical paradise. They looked so young, and it was hard to believe over a decade had passed since that picture was taken.

In March 2020, with the whole country in lockdown, my husband Neil and I were reminiscing about the many years we’d spent travelling around the world with our kids.

After we’d married in 1993, we’d ventured to new and exotic places together, island hopping around Greece, meandering through the markets in Morocco and going on safari in Kenya. I worked as a writer and photographer, and I was lucky enough to work on travel features, while also fulfilling my dream of seeing the world.

And when Josh was born in 2000, followed by Ben in 2002 and Freddie in 2005, we were determined that having children wouldn’t stop us from exploring.

Our family and friends thought we were crazy going abroad with young kids, and while there were challenges – jet-lag induced tantrums, nappy changing on the go and feeding fussy toddlers – there were so many positives, too.

Having a baby as a travel companion led to conversations with locals, as everyone wanted to say hello and tell us about the best things to see and do.