"You know he won't remember it" what do you say back?

[KTwiegs]

We are heading back to our happy place at the end of January and this time we will be taking our then 2 year old for the first time!!!!
So excited!
But honestly I can't stand that everyone tells us that our son won't remember the trip.
What do you say back when people say that??

 

[Lesverts]

I will

 

[sharonabe]

I will

Exactly! You will remember it and through you, he will know of it. I think I might say, "he won't remember his 3rd bday party, Christmas, Thanksgiving, or anything else from his first 3-4 years. Should we just skip all those too."

 

[melifeld]

When we took our now DS8, when he was 2 we got the same thing. I said "I will remember his surprise and delight and they will be memories I will cherish all my life".

And I do

 

[revdon64]

I know. But I'll remember being able to see the wonder and the magic and the excitement in and through his eyes. And I have a camera... and I know how to use it... and Disney has professional photographers all over the parks... and I know how to use them too.

I will always treasure the look of pure joy in my kids' eyes that first moment we stepped through the archway under the train tracks on Main Street on their first trip. They don't have to remember it because I tell them about it all the time as we're planning our next trip together.

 

[neenals]

He may not remember it but you're still making family memories. I would suggest taking LOTS of pictures. Our first trip was right when our daughter turned three. She would sit every night and look through our Disney trip photo album. She may not actually remember things but thinks she does because she is so familiar with the pictures.

 

[NJlauren]

I said the following things:

I will
This trip is for me not for him (I wanted the memories and stories)
And your point?
But these experiences shape them, do you not go to the park/zoo (insert other common activity) because they won't remember it

I am sure I had others this comment drove me crazy!

 

[5kidsmommy]

Honestly I would ask them what the point of doing anything then before they are aware then, I mean seriously no they may not remember it but they will enjoy it and as parents we remember.

 

[china mom]

my response was " I am going because I want to go and the state frowns on leaving them home alone at 5 months"

 

[CinderElsa]

What do they want you to say? "Wow, you're right, we never thought about that! Guess we'll cancel, then."

my response was " I am going because I want to go and the state frowns on leaving them home alone at 5 months"

Five-month-old babies are far easier to travel with than toddlers. As long as they're fed, changed, and cuddled, they don't much care where they are, and you get all the great pictures & memories. I never understood the pearl clutching about traveling to Disney with infants.

 

[LisaCM614]

We are heading back to our happy place at the end of January and this time we will be taking our then 2 year old for the first time!!!!
So excited!
But honestly I can't stand that everyone tells us that our son won't remember the trip.
What do you say back when people say that??

That is true, but I will always remember it. I can't wait for the first time my child sees Mickey Mouse. I can't wait to take her on Dumbo. I'm so excited to have our first family picture in front of the castle.

Don't let Debbie Downer drag you down! My goodness my children barely remember their visit when they were 5 and noone would question taking a 5 yeard old!

 

[Maddysdaddy]

My response would be "Yes, but when he's a teenager and says that I'm the worst parent in the world and don't love him, I can pull the pictures out and shut him up."

 

[MarieLightning]

I don't have kids yet, but that always seems like such a weird question to me.

I mean, by that logic, why do we do *anything* special with young children?

We do hope to have the budget to take our babies to Disney before they're 2. I mean, why not? They're free all around. It'll make great pictures, and it'll be memories for us. I think like most people have said before, it's more for you than it is for them - and that's 100% okay.

Magic only lasts so long in the life of a child, at some point they realize that maybe there isn't just one friend of Mickey, and all that glittery stuff in their hair isn't pixie dust (I mean, Tink really doesn't have that much to spare now does she?). So might as well give them as much of it as possible while they still wholeheartedly believe in it, even if it'll be foggy in their mind as they get older. Besides, by those standard, what is the right age to take a child on vacation? My cousin went when she was 8, and she doesn't remember that much of it either.

We're taking our little cousin this fall, and she'll have just turned 3. I highly doubt she'll remember any of it, but I'm quite certain she'll be very happy to be there while we're there, to meet Merida and run around Magic Kingdom, and we will have the pictures to remember it by when she's older.

 

[bellazachmom]

We have been traveling annually to WDW and DL for many years -- before our 4 kids and once they joined our family, beginning with our now 11 year old when she was 14 months old.

The pictures and memories I have are priceless to me and the kids actually do remember quite a bit from those early trips! They talk about things that we do not have pictures of and remind me of things. Our youngest, who just turned 3, constantly talks about things we did on our visit last December.

The kids love looking at the pictures of themselves at the parks and with characters from when they were younger and love hearing the stories of the silly things they did when they were little that they don't remember.

I think you've gotten some great advice here - when someone asks just smile and say "but I will!"

 

[lacy1101]

I will

This . . . exactly!

 

[ejdmomma]

The people who say that just don't understand the magic of Disney. So it doesn't matter what your response is because they still won't get it. By taking my children when they wouldn't remember the trip and then taking them later when they are older, I have cherished memories (and pictures) from both trips. Plus since they didn't remember the early trips, it was all new later on. I got to experience their wonder and excitement the second the time around.

But to answer your question - I usually respond along the lines of "that's ok because I will".

 

[Marbel]

So what? Just because he won't remember it doesn't mean he won't enjoy it.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

Ya know what's funny? Disney is the only destination where people seem to ask this question. Do people not understand the concept of family vacations? As in, vacations with the whole family?

I remember being astounded when my MIL ASSumed that we'd be dropping our then-toddler off with her rather than taking him with us to Disney. Um, he's a part of our family, lady. Back off. Yet she never assumed that we wouldn't take him to other places we traveled to as a family.

 

[elgerber]

Yep, my answer would the same as others, "no, but I will "

 

[jeepnjudy]

I would say "It's a family vacation and meant for everyone to enjoy the memories!"