Traveling with family is the best childhood memory one could ever have. To these days, I still remember those bright summers of my childhood when my siblings and I were filled with excitement, eagerness, and delight in seeing new places and trying new experiences as a family.
Family vacations are important for a happy strong family and for its positive impacts on children. One great writer Og Mandino said, “The greatest legacy we can leave our children is happy memories”. Many happy memories are created when families explore new places and try new activities. The world is the biggest and the best classroom for members of the family to learn together, have fun together and create powerful memories that last a lifetime.
To some parents, traveling with children could be overwhelming and dreadful. Leaving your abode and breaking the pattern could be challenging and stressful, but with careful planning and preparation, the rewards and benefits of family travel outweigh all the inconveniences.
With more than two decades in the travel and tourism industry, DailyTravel.com has served many families in planning their itineraries for wholesome and enjoyable family trips. We value the family as the most important institution in society and we understand the long term benefit that families can experience from a holiday.
Here are the 5 wonderful reasons why family should travel together:
Traveling with the family creates a wonderful bond of togetherness
Let’s face it. In the modern world full of interruptions, everyone at home seems to be busy all the time. Ironically, each member of the family has his or her own comfortable individual space. More often than not, we tend not to pay much attention to the most important people in our lives. Finding quality time to have worthwhile moments at home is becoming more and more difficult because of the parents’ busy work schedule. And well, even the kids are busy too! With those loads of school activities and homework, (plus the gadgets) there’s barely enough time for family bonding at home. Hence, school breaks are the best time for parents to take time off from work and spend some dedicated time for children (and vice versa).
Traveling gives the family a wonderful opportunity to bond together and spend time meaningfully. Members of the family come closer to each other when traveling. This is because you are more focused on each other and on what’s happening at the moment since you are in an unfamiliar environment. Children feel more attached to their parents and parents are more watchful and protective of the kids. This situation creates a feeling of security and trust on the part of the children and on the parents, more connection to their children.
Parents and children get wider perspectives about the world and its people
Every time you go to a new place, you take a piece of that place to your heart forever. This is true not only for adults but also for children. When you visit another country or any other popular destination, you see not only the place but the people and their culture. The more you travel with children, the more the family will have a wider understanding of unique cultures and ways of life. Very often, as adults, we see the differences between people and their cultures. However, the children tend to adjust more easily than adults because they see similarities easier. That’s why a child can easily make friends with other children regardless of nationality or cultural differences. Traveling opens the eyes of an individual to see a bigger world. As a family, what a great gift it is to travel and earn a better understanding of the greater world!
Children develop self-confidence and a sense of independence
Children who had the chance of traveling and exploring the world with parents gain more self-confidence. Because they gain awareness about other places, they meet more people and develop more social skills. Children also learn to think more creatively as they explore new adventures. These experiences have a positive impact on the well-being of a child and could boost their success in the future.
Outside the comfort of home, the kids learn to do things on their own. As the world gets smaller due to globalization and technology, travel opportunities have opened up to the younger generation. According to some studies, the average child by the age of 15 will have traveled miles twice as much as their parents did at the same age. Children who traveled to foreign lands outside their home country seem to be smarter, independent and more mature. And parents who have open minds in the travel culture are the greatest influencers of their own children.
Family travel teaches new responsibilities to both parents and children
When you travel with your children, you see the world from their eyes. How kids respond to the change in the environment, the freedom and the learning experiences they are getting, are pure joy to the parents. Going to foreign lands is exciting but could also be grueling. While it is a delightful and enjoyable experience for the family, traveling also requires planning, preparation, a lot of attention. These moments are opportunities to teach especially the growing children. That sharing responsibilities, things to do before the family travels even in their little ways could make the heavy tasks of Mom and Dad, a lot lighter. By letting the children participate even in simple tasks of packing of the clothes and stuff. Thinking together what to carry or not to carry. Some responsibilities are learned and shared not only by kids but by parents as well. When members of the family listen to each other’s expectations before and during travel. When kids know that behaving nicely would make their travel convenient and enjoyable for all. A good helping of responsibility must have been clearly learned by the kids, that’s a job well-done for the parents.
Traveling breaks the routine and lets the family step out of the comfort zone
When you travel as a family, you just not spend real quality time together, you also break the monotony of your schedule and that of the kids! Expect the unexpected! And that’s normal. When you travel, you break many patterns for a while, and that’s part of it. You may have to deal with changes in schedules, circadian rhythms, sleeping patterns, food, and eating habits. With these changes in the routine, the children always find ways to adjust (and to fill in the time during long queues) and this creative skills will help them not only when they get back home, but in other areas of intellectual development. Having a break from work is also very healthy for the parents. According to many studies, vacation time gives many health benefits as it lowers stress and helps in having better mental health. More so, people who take vacations are likely to have improved productivity at work.
