In deciding whether to take your children with you, consider the safety of the place to which you are traveling and the availability of aid in any emergency that may occur.
Friends of mine initially planned to take their daughters on their trip to pick up their son. This was a region that required one parent to make an initial visit several weeks before both parents traveled for the actual adoption. When the father made the initial visit he was startled at the absolute lack of adequate medical facilities in the remote region and decided he was not at all comfortable traveling there with his daughters.
It is also worth noting that the biggest risk, statistically, to Americans traveling abroad is auto accidents. Driving habits differ in different cultures and vehicles may be built to different safety standards.
I know people who have been happy bringing their older child or children on their adoption trip and others who wish they hadn’t. You will have to make your own decision. Consider your stress level as well as your child’s: How adaptable is your child? How does she do with disruptions of routine when traveling on vacation or sleeping at a relative’s house? How will you deal with a long plane ride?
Even weather may be a factor. We had anticipated traveling in September or October and bringing our three-year-old (a calm child who used to come to work with me and who had traveled frequently). When our daughter’s travel papers were delayed until December, we were glad that our son by that time was comfortable staying with his grandparents. It was one thing for us to misread a bus or train schedule and stand around for 45 minutes in freezing temperatures. It would have been a much different thing with a young child.
Please see these related blogs:
Hating the Carseat and Other Cultural Differences
Tips to Remember when Traveling with Children