It has been a while since I shared “Mom Peer-Mentors” articles, which are pieces where I share how learning from others continues to help me become a better parent. I usually share parents whom I personally know and are in-tune with my parenting goals. Last September I was lucky to be in correspondence with Marianne Perez de Fransius, the CEO and cofounder of Bébé Voyage. Since the travel season is coming up and many are planning holiday travels, I thought it best to share how this site helps, as well as the interesting insights of the founders.
Marianne Perez de Fransius, 38, is an entrepreneur and educator. She helps people see the value of peace and access to it in their daily lives so that everyone can live in a better world. She does this by teaching middle-school kids peace and conflict transformation skills through video games and helping parents travel the world with their babies.
Marianne is a French-American, currently residing in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with her husband Andreas and 4-year-old son Simon. She has led an extremely global life, having lived in numerous countries (Brazil, the US, Israel, Turkey, France, Austria, Sweden and Mozambique) and traveled to even more around the world. She received her bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and later received her Master’s Degree in Peace and Conflict Studies from the European Peace University.
Juliet Perrachon, 35, is the president and cofounder of Bébé Voyage. Juliet loves bringing people together. Juliet is French-American and has resided and traveled all over the world. While obtaining her bachelor’s degree at the University of Pennsylvania, Juliet had the opportunity to spend a semester in Buenos Aires. Afterward, she worked in the film and television industry in Paris, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Later, she taught English in northern Thailand, taking the opportunity to discover Southeast Asia.
In pursuing her Master’s Degree in Marketing and Creativity, Juliet moved to London where she attended ESCP Europe and met her husband. While in London, Juliet developed her expertise in digital content strategy. Juliet now resides in Chicago with her husband, Marc-Antoine, a Frenchman, son Felix (4 years) and daughter Alexia (2 years).
I was lucky to have gotten tips from Marianne, as well, on being an active parent. “I think for most working parents, it’s not having enough hours in the day. We also work from home, so sometimes we have to deal with a toddler having a temper tantrum while we’re on a conference call or similar situations. From the beginning, we agreed that Bébé Voyage should never get in the way of our ability to take care of ourselves and our families. And whenever we are dealing with people outside our organization, we always let them know that a 4-year-old might want to join a video conference or need to be given a snack. We’ve found that if you let people know ahead of time, they’re understanding,” says Marianne Perez de Fransius. She also shares advice to new parents. According to her, “Parenting can be tough and overwhelming, especially since no one really teaches you how to do it. But now there are so many (too many!) resources available for new parents. Don’t try to do them all! Just pick one or two that are recommended by people you trust or that you have researched on and stick with those. More is not necessarily better!”
Bébé Voyage is a global community of parents helping you travel with your baby. It has a community of over 10,000 members around the world. When you enter the site, the best route is to go to Destinations then pick a place. Currently, it covers London, Paris, Stockholm, Chicago, Tokyo, Sydney, Southern Africa, California, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Latin America and even Reykjavik, one of the greenest, most beautiful cities in the world located in Iceland.
On September 14, Traveling to Tokyo with Toddlers:
The Abridged Bébé Voyage Travel Guide (Traveling with Toddlers: Bébé Voyage Travel Guides Book 1) Kindle Edition was launched by Amazon (amzn.to/2QtaGqq). This was a collaboration by Wisterian Watertree (author), Victoria Spaeth (author), Dominique de Jerphanion (illustrator), Bébé Voyage (editor) and Kendal Rodgers (editor).
The book aims to help parents get the most out of their family visit to the capital of Japan. Tapping into the collective wisdom of the Bébé Voyage community of parents traveling with children under age 5, Wisterian Watertree has created a travel guide that helps parents navigate Tokyo with kids and minimum of hassle. The guidebook gives a curated list of easy-to-use tips for traveling to Tokyo: tips on where to stay, where to eat (and what not to eat!) and how to navigate the public transit system.
“The community has really been a fantastic resource,” says lead author Wisterian Watertree, a Tokyo resident for 10 years and father of toddler triplets (two girls, one boy).
Happy Holiday family traveling, everyone.