There’s a lot to dissuade you from travelling with children: they may not travel well on flights, they need to rest more often during the day and they can be picky with new foods. However, for all the negatives, there’s a world of benefits when travelling with children. In fact, travelling with kids, for whom everything is new and unfamiliar, actually enriches your experiences of the world. Here are some reasons you should travel with a young person on your next trip.
It enhances your experience
Kids are observant. They tend to notice and appreciate details that most of us don’t. Travelling with kids to see ruins in ancient cities, to explore museums full of wonders and to walk through bustling foreign cities will force you to move at their pace. It’s possible you’ll have to think differently about this new world around you and answer questions you may never have thought of before. Kids also have fewer inhibitions and are more likely to talk to new people. Being with inquisitive kids who stop to talk to locals: a busker, a street cart vendor or the waiter, means you’ll also be forced to meet new people and connect with the culture at a deeper level.
It allows you to be a teacher
Just as you guide children through life, travelling gives you a chance to teach children about the world in a truly special and unique setting. You will be their chaperone through an unfamiliar world. Travelling exposes both you and children to new foods, music, styles, cultures and languages. Your job will be to teach them to experience compassion for new cultures and understand histories. Teaching children to appreciate other cultures early in life is also a great way to set them up to be considerate travellers later in life. It gives them confidence and courage to know there’s a whole world out there to explore – a world that isn’t juts about toys, games and home-grown cultures.
It allows you to be a kid
It doesn’t matter if you’re five or 50 years old, travelling can be both exciting and overwhelming. Children love to explore, and travelling with them means you can rekindle your sense of adventure, too. While being a tourist means you can get away with almost anything, kids are also your free pass to indulge in particular experiences, such as Disney world, interactive science museums and Segway city tours (because let’s face it, groups of tourists riding around on Segways will always look a bit silly!)
Related articles:
Planning a holiday with friends
Why you should say ‘yes’ on holiday
How to find a travel companion
