Why I travel with my kids
I love travelling. Even if it’s taking a trip to the neighbouring town, I will do it willingly. Thankfully, my husband, shares the same love. When we were expecting our first baby, our shopping list mainly had stuff that would make travelling easier with a child. For us, refraining from travel was not an option, nor was travelling without our kid an option. We wanted to travel with our baby and all the future babies we would have (we just have two).
When our son was a few months old, we planned our trip to Singapore and when our friends and family got to know, most people responded with amazement and very few with excitement.
‘Why would you take a baby?’
‘Babies will never remember these travels, so why bother and why spend so much?’
‘Travelling with babies is so inconvenient. All the extra weight the diaper bags and bottles add? Plus, they restrict your plans.’
‘Leave them with grandparents. You’ll have more fun.’
‘Not worth it.”
These were some of the common responses we got.
Well, I disagree. It’s totally worth it.
A child might not remember the travel, but will remember the experience. We cuddle our babies every night before sleeping; these cuddles the child might not remember, but the effects of it will always stay. It’s the same with travelling. They might not remember the details, but the change it brought in them will always stay.
So, being a firm believer in travelling with my kids, my husband and I continued to take numerous trips, outside India and within India, with our toddler son. Soon after, I had my second kid and our travel diaries continued to flourish. Each trip was a lot of work, a lot of planning and smart packing, but we are glad we did it. Let me share why I feel so.
It made my kids accept new things easily
I have seen my people (not just kids) being averse to change or being a little uncomfortable with new surroundings. Each time we travel with our kids, we make them step out a little from their comfort zone and that makes them excited about change and not averse to it. They learn to accept new thing and changes very easily. I remember my travel to Thailand, when my kids were 2 and 6. They talked about the various safaris and beaches and aquariums for months after that. While I got a little uncomfortable with doing a few things, they were jumping with excitement. They helped me get over my fears.
“Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” – Miriam Beard
They started to view the whole world as their own
Travelling expands their world. My kids, as they grew a little older, made friends with kids their age in various countries or cities, where we travelled and it was beautiful to see how much they learnt from these trips. They got curious about history of a place, its location on world map, its culture. In fact, they both have a journal where they write about their experiences. My husband and I were quite surprised when my 7-year-old kid came up with difference in architecture in India and Italy. Their brain starts to work at a different level (Totally my view). What they learn from seeing things and experiencing them, no books or internet or classroom can teach. They are excited about learning new things and that is nothing can compete with. This learning is for ever and is priceless. They become citizens of the world.
“To travel is to evolve.” – Pierre Bernardo
They became more flexible, patient and adapted to things better
On any trip, no matter how well you plan, unexpected happens. Your luggage can get misplaced or food might not be what you are used to or you might be crossing a few time zones, clothes that are required to be worn is not what you are accustomed to… So many things. It’s the unexpected that makes them flexible and adaptable.
Sitting in a seat for hours or standing in queues for security check or the long train rides or never-ending bus trips or hotel check-ins will teach anyone patience.
They also interact with people of difference culture, who look different and talk different and live different and eat different. That make them more accepting and social. This exposure they can never get anywhere else.
They also learn to express themselves better, mainly because we ask them about how they like things or their opinion and views on something new that they see. After they are back from their trips, they talk about it with family, friends, teachers. This gives them confidence, enhances their vocabulary and makes them good talkers. Knowledge is key to human development. Travelling with kids, fills their mind with knowledge and therefore boosts confidence.
“Travelling — it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” – Ibn Battuta
Made them responsible
Since my kids were old enough to talk, we involved them in planning our travels. First was deciding the destination, cities, what to do, booking tickets, hotels, hiring cars, booking shows, even deciding the time we will dedicate to shopping. When they were in the age group of 2 to 8, they were very accommodating with all that we decided, but then came the real challenge because they had their own views and choices. I remember, we were planning our Dubai trip and my kids had a whole itinerary ready, even before we had the tickets booked. Thanks to the internet! They even had a detailed list of which airlines to take, which day the tickets were more economical and which airlines had better services. There was a list of hotels to book, which were centrally located and were not exorbitantly priced, yet comfortable. The theme parks were organised day wise, with time slot for my shopping assigned every day. I was so proud that day. They actually were thinking of budget, comfort and convenience and were doing enough research before deciding.
Best time to bond with each other
On vacations, we four have each other’s undivided attention. I consider these holidays the best time to bond. We have done weekend getaways, staycations, abroad trips, some adventure trips and even trips solely dedicated to theme parks and with each of these trips we have come back with beautiful memories, stronger bonds and an unbearable desire to plan the next trip immediately.
We all have shared the same experience, so we all have a common topic to talk about. My mother very often comments, “What is this constant discussing you four do? It’s like no one else exists.” No totally true, but we do talk a lot with each other.
Each holiday that we take, leaves us with beautiful memories that we will always cherish.
Instils trust in each other.
When you travel, there will be situations when your kids will feel a little uncomfortable about something. Its during these times, when you hold their hands and make them overcome that discomfort or fear, you develop a strong sense of trust in them towards you.
We as parents are constantly worried about our kids getting hurt. I’ll tell you something from my personal experience, leave that worry home. Join your kids in all the silly tricks they might want to do and you will be amazed at how much fun you will have. You will get to trust their thoughts and ideas and will fall in love with their quirky imagination.
My daughter, on a desert safari, wanted to go looking for snakes. We all joined her in her search. Fortunately, we didn’t find any, but we did have a fabulous time chasing each other over sand dunes and rolling off them every now and then. It’s another story that we could never get rid of the sand from our clothes and had to spend an entire evening scratching ourselves.
My son, in Paris, wanted to try all different kind of crepes from the street vendors. The day we wanted to spend at a Louvre museum, was spent walking the streets of Paris, hunting for crepe vendors and clicking his pictures eating them. Honestly, it was one of the best days. We did eventually visit the museum, but we had to extend out trip by a day, but it was worth it.
If you ask me, children can handle just about anything and they will probably do it better than us grownups. They are fast learners and are always curious to know more.
My advice, ‘Travel with your kids’. It’s going to have its own challenges, but it’s ok. You will probably have to bear with a few tantrums initially, you will definitely have to change plans last minute, you will have to let go of a few things you would have otherwise wanted to do, the trip will be dominated my kids’ activities, your luggage will be bulky, your rooms will be messy, but its these challenges that make memories.
They are not going to be around forever. Don’t wait for them to grow up. Take those trips now. They will remember it, no matter how young they are. Make those memories, strengthen those bonds, widen their minds. You will be glad you did so.
It’s a very intersting and beautiful write up… Really loved reading it.
thanku Svadha