Travel with kids is sometimes a polarising topic. Many people, even those who were avid travellers, believe that travel stops once you have children. This doesn’t have to be the case. There are many reasons why travelling with young children is worth it. And I can think of a million reasons why travelling with kids is beneficial for both the parents and the kids. Is travelling with kids hard? Yes. Is it worth it? Absolutely! In my opinion the positives far outweigh the negatives.
Why I want my kids to travel…
Travel broadens the mind. Plain and simple. It gets you out of your box and exposes you to more of the world around you.
Travel keeps you learning. Learning is not restricted to a classroom. Travel teaches you as you go. You learn about people, places, history, food, the way the world works.
Travel helps you discover your passions. How do you know what you’re passionate about until you encounter it? It could be salsa dancing, activism, archeology. You need to find it to pursue it. And pursuing passion makes you happy and fulfilled.
Travel leads to self-discovery. Travel has been the catalyst for many epiphanies I’ve had about my life and how I want to live it. I want my kids to know who they are and be comfortable with themselves.
Travel puts you to the test. In those rough moments, when things go wrong or get scary, you find out what you’re really made of.
Travel breaks down barriers. Travel teaches you to talk to other people, make friends and live alongside people from all different walks of life. Whether they’re locals or other travellers.
Travel builds tolerance. Tolerance of other people, their cultures and customs. Tolerance of different foods and smells. The ability to be tolerant is essential for kids and adults.
Travel encourages a spirit of adventure. Seeking out adventure is something that little kids naturally do. It’s also something we can easily lose as we move into adulthood and get weighed down by expectations and responsibilities. Travel keeps your spirit of adventure alive.
Travel is hard. And that’s OK! Learning that life doesn’t always have to be comfortable is an important skill and one that is lost in modern day life.
Travel is what we love. Travel is my passion and I want to share that with my kids. I think it’s good for them to see their parents doing what they love and following their dreams. It teaches them that pursuing your dreams is possible.
If YOU want to travel with YOUR kids but have nay-sayers in your life, people that say it’s too hard or too dangerous or not worth it, send them this post and let’s help change their mind!
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YES YES YES!!!
Obviously you won’t be surprised to hear I agree with you completely. So many people dismiss travelling with kids as too hard, or too expensive, or not worth it, or not useful as the kids won’t remember it, etc etc etc. I’m absolutely positive my son would be a totally different person with a different character if he hadn’t travelled so much already.
I’m positive too! I think travel builds character and what better place to start on character building than with a young child.
I totally agree with all of these! I wish I could have traveled when I was young. The opportunities it now presents to me, would have been much more if I had been traveling my whole childhood as well! Great post!
Your blog is exactly what I’ve been looking for! Father of two small children but heavily in the throes of wanderlust. Thought it would be impossible to cater to both. You’ve shown me that it’s possible! Merci!
Excellent! I’m so glad to hear that Sasa. Did you read this post on how we travel long term with kids? Let me know if you have any questions. Are you thinking about travelling short term or long term?