I’ve heard a lot of people say that you have to travel before you have children because once you have children you won’t be able to travel anymore. I’ve also heard a lot of parents say they want to travel more with their kids but they think it’s too much work, too hard and too expensive. The truth is that traveling with children can be fun and affordable, it’s also a great learning experience. For our family traveling has had an invaluable positive impact on our lives. My daughter has autism and travel has improved her social and emotional skills and has helped her learn things that where difficult to understand at school because she did not learn them in context; even her teacher is amazed at what travel has done for her improving her self esteem and providing her with so many positive experiences!
As a child my fondest memories are the times I spent on road trips and camping with my family. My parents took advantage of every weekend and vacation to travel and although we didn’t always have the budget to hop on a plane we would explore different parts of Guatemala (my home country) and Mexico on camping trips to the jungle to see Mayan ruins, to lake Atitlán or to the beach. I look back on those memories and it’s clear to me that traveling is not about having the money to make an expensive trip, it’s about getting creative and finding ways to make travel a part of your life and about being open to new experiences.
5 Great Reasons To Travel With Kids
I am passionate in my belief that travel changes lives and that you don’t have to travel to another country to make a travel experience meaningful and enriching, you can start by exploring your own back yard on day or weekend trips close to home and family travel is much easier, cheaper and more rewarding than most people realize. Here are 5 great reasons why we think that traveling with kids is awesome!
- Travel builds stronger family bonds. While we travel we get to spend a lot of quality time with our children building memorable shared experiences that bring us together.
- Travel gives gives children (and adults!) perspectives that extends beyond their own neighborhood. Travel helps children gain a broader perspective by putting them in contact with people, situations and perspectives that extend beyond their own lives at home. Children even bring those experiences home with them and helps them understand the unifying nature of humankind and how we are all more alike than different.
- Travel provides lots of opportunities for hands on learning experiences. Our children have learned so much about earth sciences and the importance of protecting our land and wildlife when you visit national parks. They have learned about history and Native American traditions and customs by visiting national parks and historic sites. They have even gained a deeper understanding and love of art thanks to great museum experiences in different cities we have visited. Learning all of these things through actual experiences not only shows them but also involves them making learning come alive for them and making facts become meaningful! When traveling children also have to learn how to handle new situations, and interact with new people helping them improve their problem solving skills and as well as their social skills.
- Traveling keep kids and families active. When we are always moving from hiking, to kayaking or discovering a new city travel keeps us active and keeps the kids engaged on getting getting physical.
- Travel helps children find new interests, or expand on interests they already have. My daughter has become really passionate about wildlife and it’s conservation and this is in great part, I believe, to all of the experiences we have had visiting reserves, parks and being able to interact animals at zoos and conservation facilities.
Are you planning a road trip with your kids? Where will you go?
Paula studied architecture and now makes a living as a freelance writer,traveler and amateur photographer.She started her writing & publishing career as the editor of Bebé y Mamá, the first parenting magazine in Guatemala.She is the founder of www.GrowingUpBilingual.com and www.365thingsswfl.com and writes articles in Spanish and English for both magazines and the web on travel,food and bicultural and bilingual parenting .
When she is not on a plane or road trip she likes to create recipes inspired in the flavors of her native Guatemala.
- Guatemalan Dulce de Chilacayote Recipe (Crystalized Chilacayote Candy) - February 26, 2024
- Guatemalan Naranjas en Miel Recipe (Candied Oranges Recipe) - February 25, 2024
- Traditional Guatemalan Candy - February 25, 2024
Preciosa, if BB had read this first, she wouldn’t have bothered entering the contest!! Of course you HAD to win, what a post. EXCELENTE!! Have fun with the family on your well deserved trip. BB2U
We love traveling!! Now that our kids are growing, and travel gets less complicated, we look forward for more adventures in our future. Hope you get to make your road trip soon.
Que lindo es compartir con la familia!! Felicidades!!!
I love traveling with my girls and husband. Road trips are my favorite! Great post.
excelentes consejos! aunque mis babies aun están pequenitos algo que si quiero hacer es sacarlos a explorar el mundo lo mas que pueda 🙂
Travelling with kids is such an amazing opportunity to spend time together as a family and discover new things. I completely agree with you on that one. We’ve travelled with our kids to about 20 countries and lived in 8 more and I still don’t find it too complicated. Here is a little post I wrote about it:
http://www.littleworldcitizens.com/common-excuses-not-travel-kids-debunked/
You nailed it! Traveling is an education like no other!!! We have so many plans for the summer, I think we will be going all over the place. We do have a stop at the Museum of Natural History, so we might see you in NYC!!