Mom's Moment: Kid-Tripping with Kidtripster

 
 
 

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Photo: Shellie & Family

My kids have come accustom to traveling. My two toddlers know how to power through a 6-hour road trip. Upon arrival at any given hotel, my three year old picks up the phone and unsuccessfully orders room service. And admittedly, their idea of pretend play at home consists of role-playing vacation. I count my lucky stars that the zest for adventure and experience is clearly in their blood.

When we had kids, my husband feared our love for traveling would have to take a halt. Not so much, dear hubby- it's just evolved. As intimidating as family travel can be, we've gone gung-ho with booking any travel opp we can swing, gifting our boys (and ourselves) memories that will last a lifetime.

That's why it was a total no-brainer for me to gravitate towards Kidtripster, an online family travel magazine designed to inform and inspire families to travel. The publication's philosophy is simple: real reviews by real parents, giving the reader legit insight on exploring well known and unknown hot spots around the world.

But what really drew me into joining the Kidtripster contributor team was the woman behind the website: Shellie Bailey-Shah, a fellow boy mom. I'm all about a good mompreneurial story, but Shellie's exceeds many. In 2008, Shellie was diagnosed with an advanced form of breast cancer and feared losing her life. And so her perspective took a turn, jointly deciding with her husband it was time to knock things off their bucket list. After a year of intense treatment, Shellie started planning a 72-day trip around the world... literally. Soon after, she took sabbatical from work and set off with her sons, then 10 and 13, with nothing but one backpack per person. They traveled to England, the Netherlands, Tanzania, Dubai, and Nepal. Her husband then met up in Thailand for the remainder of the trip which included Cambodia and French Polynesia. No surprise, the trip was life altering.

After working in TV news as an investigative reporter for 20+ years, Shellie realized executing family travel was a lot like researching a story.  However, she recognized that not all parents had the time or inclination to do that. And so birthed the idea of Kidtripster, a travel platform for parents seeking insight and ideas in planning any given vacation.

Of course, not all families travel in the same way, so Kidtripster aims to showcase a wide range of destinations and experiences, from budget-friendly camping at state parks to exotic cruising in the Galápagos Islands. Every post includes pictures, information, tips and area attractions, restaurants, etc. The goal- to give people a full briefing per destination so they know what to anticipate. 

Shellie's kids are now 14 and 17. She's healthy- both physically and emotionally, grateful to wake every morning. She's transitioned out of TV News, and instead, pouring her time into family dinners, soccer games, and of course, running Kidtripster. And BTW, she walks the walk. Shellie and her family will spend much of the summer in India.  And in December, she and her oldest son are headed to Antarctica, achieving his goal of 7 continents by age 17. Surely, travel is in his blood as well.

To learn more, click here.

Nadine Bubeck is a TV personality, fashion designer, author, blogger, and Scottsdale-based blessed boy mom.