I recently took my son on a pleasant arc of a trip to Iceland， Germany， and Poland. It seemed the perfect time for such a journey: First， Anton's age. An 11-year-old is still attached to his family， yet is independent enough to pull his own weight and make his preferences known. Second， he isn't yet mortified by the idea that he has a parent. And third， we would be staying with friends， all of whom have a child around my son's age.