Re: Teaching abroad with a baby

Hi, Tracy! Yes, I would say travelling alone with an 18-month old infant is definitely a problem -- such to the degree that I personally, would not recommend venturing to China or Korea (the two countries where I have been an FT). In China, the teaching schedule is often quite changable and unpredictable; and in Korea you will have very long teaching hours everyday and new teachers often must work split shifts for the first few months (for example, teaching 7:00AM-11:00 and 6:00PM-10:00PM each and every weekday) and often pressure to work on Saturdays as well. The work is simply not conducive to infant childcare.

I'm sure you could find people to take care of the baby during your working hours, but (as in western countries) these people need to be screened carefully, and you are at a great disadvantage as you are in THEIR country and lack the savvy to know what questions to ask, and terms to accept. In short, I would greatly reconsider going overseas at this time in your life, unless you can arrange for someone to take care of your child back home. Good luck to you!