“Oh the places you’ll go.” Dr. Seuss
Do you want your child to learn some history or experience other cultures? Is your trip going to be focused on discovering nature? Do you want your child to learn to give back to his or her community? Do you want to experience a once-in-a-lifetime adventure? Whatever you choose, here are some helpful hints for making the trip a memorable occasion.
1. Travel can build stronger family relationships.
We all seem to be busier and have more stress in our lives. Parents take care of the household chores while the children work on school projects or use their personal devices. Downtime could mean sitting in front of the TV. Shared life experiences such as travel can bring families closer together.
Travel can bring your family together even during the planning stage. When preparing for a trip, you might find yourselves reading, watching and discussing movies, TV shows, and books about the town you will be visiting. Cooking food together or going to a restaurant related to your destination is also great fun and builds excitement about your forthcoming trip. Planning done right also means a lot of shared time researching and discussing your itinerary.
The trip itself provides many opportunities to strengthen relationships. Travel takes away distractions such as work, school, and the daily family routine and creates more time to talk, experience, and play together. As a family, you will enjoy many shared experiences that bring your family closer together. Even the misadventures and seemingly minor experiences can become fun, shared memories.
2. Your kids will become more adaptable and flexible.
Living in an unfamiliar area for a short period of time creates many new and unpredictable situations. When you are in a place where languages, customs, transportation, and food are different from what you are used to, there is plenty of unpredictability. While most of the time you will start each day with a plan of what you want to do, you must be flexible. Simple issues such as unexpectedly long queues, delayed trains or buses, bad weather, or a terrific park, restaurant, or shop you stumble upon accidentally can cause you to change your plan for the day. Such experiences also help your children to learn patience.
Children learn from watching you adapt to unexpected situations and become more flexible themselves. The experience of travel will at times take your children outside their comfort zone. If you give them a safety net when they are confronted with new situations, they will learn to handle new things.
3. Travel can ignite your child’s curiosity and sense of adventure.
Kids have a natural sense of wonder and excitement about the world around them. Curiosity is not just a desire to learn but also the spark that helps us learn and grow.
If you involve your children in planning your trip, by the time you travel they will be filled with excitement and looking forward to the adventure.
4. When travelling, the country becomes a child’s classroom.
Travel gives children real world learning experiences outside the classroom. Languages are a great way to help kids relate to other cultures, and learning a language can be great fun. Taking the time to learn at least a few key phrases prior to a trip is time well spent, and kids can get a chance to put their new language skills Into practice when travelling. Pointing out dialects when traveling from one state to another can also be educational and fun. Travel can also help children learn geographical skills such as using mapping tools and learning about the size of countries and towns, climate, weather, time zones, and terrain. Travel makes geography a concrete experience rather than a textbook experience. Travel also helps kids learn how to use timetables and learn about different currencies. Travel also provides plenty of writing opportunities such as keeping a travel journal.
5. Travel teaches children that diversity is to be celebrated.
Travel teaches children that although we may look different, sound different, eat different foods, have different values, and observe different social and religious customs, we are also the same in many ways. Travelling can help your children learn to socialize and make friends with children from a wide range of backgrounds despite not having a common language or culture. It’s easy to encourage these encounters simply by going to local parks and playgrounds in the places you visit.
6. Travel encourages independence and teaches responsibility.
Even in the trip planning stage, travel can encourage independence and responsibility. For example, depending on each child’s age and experience, with help when needed, your child can put together his own packing list and pack his own bags or suitcase. While travelling, children could look after their own things. Kids can also clean up when moving from place to place and repack their own bags. You can also ask kids to take on new roles and responsibilities such as photographer or navigator.
7. Travelling with kids encourages you to slow down and experience greater variety.
Particularly when your children are younger, you must travel at a slower pace. Children will not be able to cope with endless numbers of cathedrals, castles, temples, ruins, chateaus, markets, or national parks, so sprinkle some fun activities throughout the day.
8. Finally, depending on your child’s age, bring something from home with you: a favorite blanket, a toy, and of course, some favorite snacks.
Kids who have experienced different cultures, religions, customs, or nationalities tend to form better relationships with their peers and have an appreciation for, and an acceptance of, people who are different from themselves. Our world could use more of that acceptance.
