My children are currently four and (almost) two years old. They have been all over the United States, to four countries, and probably close to fifty flights. We love traveling together as a family but often when I tell people of our plans they respond with “it’s not like they’ll remember any of it” or “you’re so brave!”. When did traveling with young kids become this crazy thing?
I wouldn’t call myself particularly brave, but I have always had a longing to travel. And while I love the idea of traveling the world with my husband alone, leaving our kids is just not an option I’m comfortable with right now. Traveling is just going to happen differently and I’m okay with that. I’ve found this change in perspective to be more than half the battle.
Here are the top ten reasons we choose to travel with our young children:
- Part of our jobs as parents is to socialize our kids and encourage skills that we hope they will have in the future. We talk to our babies, even though they don’t understand. We expose them to new foods, even though they’re too young to know the difference. And we offer them the experience of travel, even if they may not remember.
- Travel helps children experience a wide range of sights, smells, sounds, colors, and languages. Things that they wouldn’t normally encounter at home.
- Travel teaches the value of learning how to get along with diverse kinds of people. Whenever we travel, we inevitably meet people who speak other languages or have accents. Sometimes we see people who look significantly different from us. All these experiences are opportunities to teach our children first-hand about the differences that exist in the world and to teach them not to fear differences, but to celebrate them. On one trip to Mexico, we stopped at a playground and our daughter bonded with some of the local kids. Even with the language barrier, kids all over the world enjoy the same activities.
- Traveling teaches value of experience over things. I am going to say this is still a work in progress! We are definitely in the “can I have…” stage, but I think their values will evolve with continuing to offer them experiences.
- They become more adaptable and more flexible. Traveling with young children exposes them to a new normal. It allows them to be more adaptable to change and more flexible in their routine.
- Travel helps ignite their imagination and encourages them to be creative. Seeing monkeys in the wild in Costa Rica or an iguana climbing a tree in Mexico is not something they would be exposed to at home. Travel has made them more curious and instilled in them a love for adventure.
- Kids feel valued and included. We like to involve them in the planning of the trip, from choosing the destination (roughly) to the activities we will do there. When the movie Moana came out, our kids were obsessed and we took them to Hawaii. Even though it was actually for my husband’s business, it made them fell like an important member of the family by have a say in choosing the place.
- Travel provides opportunities to try new things. It opens up endless possibilities in their tiny minds and they become open to new foods (still working on this too), cultures, and activities.
- Reconnect as a family – taking a break from the everyday routine, sports schedules, etc. It allows us to spend more time together connecting and talking. This becomes much more important as kids get older and life gets busier.
- Travel because it makes me happy. This one is a little selfish but it is the truth. I love to travel.
Although it may not be easy and adds additional challenges, travel is never wasted on young kids. Letting go of our expectations for picture perfect trips can make traveling with kids much more enjoyable. Plan for some hiccups along the way (hopefully they will be funny stories later). The benefits for your growing children will far outweigh the struggles of traveling. Raising young little travelers is both astonishing and tiring. And so, so worth it!