'Hello, World', a documentary about the benefits of travel in the first years of a child's life
Where many find obstacles and fears, they see adventure and opportunities to enjoy family time. Lucía and Rubén, creators of the blog Something to remember, left their jobs in the world of advertising and embarked on a one year trip that has ended up becoming eternal.
Almost three years ago they were joined by their son Koke which, thanks to this way of life, they can enjoy 24 hours a day. From their Instagram and website they show us that traveling with a baby is not only possible , but it is also a highly recommended experience for raise happy and free children.
In case it wasn't clear, today they premiere their documentary at Sala Equis (Madrid). Hello World with which they hope to inspire from their experience and show us the world as a great playground and as the best school for parents and children.
The 'Something to Remember' family at Diamond Beach, Iceland
For Lucía and Rubén ** traveling is a disease ** that makes them "feel the need to be constantly in another place, discovering other customs, other smells, other foods ”. A disease that saves their lives. Illness that they already transmitted to us with their videos The Eternal Traveler Syndrome Y The Eternal Traveler Syndrome II , where they expressed their urgent need to travel so that and “every day is not just any day”.
Perhaps many of us suffer from the same disease. Many try to alleviate it by jumping from plane to plane, others suffer in silence for fear of taking the step with their children.
“ Of course it's scary something may happen, but the world is not as dangerous as it seems and there are children everywhere. Who is sure that something can't happen going from home to the park?”, they tell Traveler.es. They prefer to talk about opportunities, of unrepeatable experiences that mark inside.
The 'Something to Remember' family on Isla Culebra, Puerto Rico
"The first steps in life mark the rest of the way", can be read on the poster of the documentary accompanied by an image of Koke in the Salinas Grandes in Argentina. “And this, we believe at all levels. That mothers and fathers can spend the most time with their children It is essential for your training. ”, affirms the traveling family that has enjoyed all the first times of their child.
“We have not missed anything: the first crawl, the first word, the first steps...”. Because in Hello World traveling is just the common thread to show us **that those first years of a child's life are very important in terms of self-esteem, personality and confidence **. “If they can also develop in environments that constantly challenge their curiosity provoking multiple and effortless learning, normalizing contact with nature and people either promoting free play, better".
The 'Something to Remember' family in San Francisco
LOOK, MOM, NO TOYS
But what about the fatigue of traveling with babies? “ Everything with children cans a. Here and there. For us, day to day with him is easier when traveling than when we are at home. He entertains himself more and so do we.”
Surely many will wonder how a child on a trip entertains himself away from all his toys. “ The journey is constant stimulation . Every day is different. There is always a new park, new children, different animals, new things to climb… For Koke, his life is like that. It is what he knows ”, they conclude.
Another major concern that many families have when traveling with children is food , the fear of whether you will be able to eat something or whether the products will be of good quality. "Us with Koke, in addition to extended breastfeeding on demand , which is of enormous comfort during the baby's first months of travel, we practice black ( baby lead weaning or, what is the same, complementary feeding on demand) from six months. With which, eat the same as us, recognizing textures and flavors . For a long time now, he is totally autonomous eating."
Learn playing, without toys and traveling
The documentary goes beyond the small drawbacks that ** leaving the comfort zone entails,** making us reflect on the day-to-day routine in which parents end up immersed : work non-stop, spend a little time with your children every day and try to seek help from your grandparents.
“Today, it is normal for mothers and fathers to work with enough stress, dedication and responsibility. Many hours also, as if that were the most important thing in life. The children go to the nursery and in the evenings they have a time to play, tell stories and go to sleep. Suddenly, all that life of routine and control changes and you put everyone in the family on a hectic two-week vacation, and before everyone gets used to the trip and such an abrupt change in daily life, the vacation is over and you have to go back to work and daycare ".
Lucía and Rubén got away from that routine before Koke was born and when they thought of him, they promised him the world as a gift. Said and done. Little boy's first long trip he went to japan when he was only five months old . Now, almost three years old, he already knows 18 countries. Lucía and Rubén have not stopped collecting the pieces of the globe in the form of flavors, colors, landscapes and many many memories as part of the best inheritance for Koke.
“In Japan the locals approached him surprised seeing such a small foreign child over there. In Paris he began to crawl (8 months) . In Colombia he tried all kinds of fruits and went crazy for the tray paisa (10 months) . In South Africa, at 11 months, he saw penguins, giraffes and elephants. In Jujuy (Argentina), with one year, he took his first steps . In Puerto Rico he gave himself over to music. In the United States he did 8500 km by car Y he got on a helicopter when he was a year and a half old . In Brazil, at the age of 18 months, in addition to seeing the Iguazú Falls, he baptized Corcovado as 'the lord of the arms'. In Chile he approached the moais . In Cuba, when he was two years old, he went crazy with the people. In Iceland, when he was two years and three months old, he fell in love with ice, the frozen waterfalls and 'the green sky' . In Egypt, recently, he has learned that you have to drink a lot when it's hot and what are the Pyramids. In short, we will continue adding moments. This has only started".
His first trip was to Japan, when he was five months old.
Among the most special memories of him they are clear about which one they keep: “If we had to highlight one, which of course appears in the documentary, it is when we were in ** Viñales (Cuba) **, we met a dance class in which there were about twenty girls much older than him . Seeing them, he turned around and told us 'I want to dance'. He made room in the middle and even though he was two seconds late because he didn't know the choreography and he was much smaller, he stayed the whole class. Well, he made us come back the following days. He wanted and got something for himself. Moved by his own interest."
The family of 'Something to remember' in Viñales, Cuba
It seems that they make it quite clear, but even so, we still have the doubt about whether it is worth taking such a small child on a trip when it is very likely that he does not even remember what they live. They remember more than we think and, although they may not keep the details, they keep the essence. That is the most important. We ask everyone who thinks that he is not going to remember, 'Why take them to see their grandparents on Sundays?' 'Why celebrate his first birthday in style?' 'Why give them kisses?' Total, if they are not going to remember ".
WHERE TO TRAVEL WITH A BABY?
Once we are convinced that traveling with a child is a pleasant experience for both them and their parents , it is time to decide if it will be easier to move only between Spain and Europe or choose a more distant country.
Lucía and Rubén have found the best prepared countries for children farther than we imagined. “We can assure you that all the Caribbean or South American countries in which we have been are more for children. On the one hand there are more and culturally people want them close, They are a symbol of joy and happiness. In Paris, on the other hand, we find the opposite effect. The older ones go on one side and the children… well, there aren't any. The most complicated destination for us has been Rome . We made the mistake of not having a stroller in the middle of August (carrying was not an option) and we almost got hit chasing Koke down those narrow sidewalks."
The 'Something to Remember' family in Rapa Nui, Easter Island
THE DOCUMENTARY 'HELLO, WORLD'
Hello World features the voiceover of Alejandro Sanz and with important specialists who argue, from his professionalism, the importance of the first years of children's lives.
Is about ** Alberto Soler, psychologist and videoblogger** who also gives talks and collaborates with Cadena Ser ; katia bone, doctor and biologist specialized in natural spaces known for being the co-founder of the first outdoor nursery school in Spain , and for writing books like Play outdoors and we are nature ; Lucia Galan , better known as Lucia my pediatrician , author of the best of our lives, you are a wonderful mother or the last My baby's schedule and regular contributor to Saber Vivir on TVE, programs on Onda Cero, La Ser, La Cope and columns in El País or the Huffington Post; and Alvaro Bilbao , Doctor in Health Psychology and neuropsychologist and writer of the international bestseller The child's brain explained to parents.
Other essential interventions are those of the Koke's grandparents , who talk about their mixed feelings about having their grandson travel the world for so long. “They always tell us to be careful. The fact is that they have joined our trips at various times and have been able to see first-hand how we travel and verified that the world is not as dangerous as they thought . Despite their worries and sadness at not having him around, they are the first to brag about being a traveling grandson."
This family does not need ostentatious decorations to excite. Their naturalness and their enthusiasm for showing us their way of life do it for themselves . How lucky is Koke! And how lucky we are to let Lucía and Rubén resolve our concerns and help our impediments end up becoming strengths. We are sure that Hello World it will change the traveling perspectives of many.