I'm married to a cruise doctor. Our 10-year-old son has been to 43 countries and leaves school for 8 weeks at a time.
28.10.2023 - 13:53
/ insider.com
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Krisztina Rakos, Barni's mom. It has been edited for length and clarity.
Many people are worried about traveling with small children, but for me, seeing the world only got easier after the birth of my son, Barni, in 2013.
My husband has been a cruise ship doctor since 2010, which comes with certain privileges, including their families being able to join them on board, a bigger cabin, being allowed to use everything on the cruise, and eating at any of its restaurants. Until Barni's arrival, I saved all my vacation days so I could join him for a couple of weeks.
Then I became a mom and had a long maternity leave, which meant our family could be together all year round and we could explore new places together.
My husband stayed with us and worked in Hungary until Barni was 7 months old, as due to health and safety rules, babies under 6 months old are not allowed on board. I'm not a worrier when it comes to traveling, but surely, knowing I've a doctor around if anything happened to the baby felt like a safety net.
Barni's first cruise experience was a nine-week-long trip around the Caribbean departing from New Orleans.
My husband was accepting only temporary contracts on the cruises, so we were away for four to five months a year. By the age of 20 months old, Barni spoke in full sentences in Hungarian and started learning his first English words.
When he turned 3 and started Kindergarten, we had to decide if I'd go back to work and keep him in school or we carry on with our traveling lifestyle. His school was very understanding of our adventures, and they allowed Barni to be away for four to eight-week periods at a time.
The cruise workers alone are from 60 different countries. The health department consists of about nine people who are dependent on each other as they're responsible for the health of thousands of passengers. They're a good community, chat a lot and have dinner together.
This multicultural environment and the people's life stories had a huge effect on all of us. It allowed my son to be more open to the world, different cultures, and food. We've become more accepting and empathetic. On trips, we always make sure to try local dishes and get an insight into where and how the locals live instead of only visiting the luxurious tourist spots.
The kindergarten teachers noticed the benefits and said Barni was a very open, well-spoken boy with a rich vocabulary. Luckily, when it was time to start school in 2019, the headmistress also recognized the value it added to his life. So, just one week into school, 6-year-old Barni was off on another adventure in Asia for four weeks, where we did all the schoolwork together.
To keep him part of the