When you have kids, particularly if they are on the younger side, you may find yourself debating whether or not to take them with you when you travel.
Undoubtedly, traveling with small children can be logistically difficult. You may find yourself bringing quite a bit more luggage than you would ordinarily, having to book a larger hotel room, and you have to deal with things such as car seats and booster seats when taking cabs and other forms of transportation.
While there can be struggles, there are also many more benefits to traveling with your children, and it brings excellent opportunities not just for you as a parent, but also for your kids. These are benefits that will likely last a lifetime.
The following are some of the top tips for traveling with kids you might consider on your next trip, even if it is abroad:
Family Experiences
A big part of being a strong family is having shared experiences and what better experience to bring you together than seeing the world?
When your children get older, they will look back on the experiences of their lives and they will appreciate having that time with their family in a foreign place.
Even if you feel that your children are too young to really remember these experiences, they will know that they had that connection with you and the rest of the family.
Also, if you bring your kids along you are more likely to get the most out of your trips. Your kids will push you to stay active and try new things while you are away and avoid the temptation to lie by the pool all day and not experience everything that is around you.
Disconnecting From Technology
No matter how hard you try, it can be extremely tough to disconnect from technology when you are at home and in your typical environment. It is much easier when you are traveling, particularly when you are traveling internationally and might not even have the option to use your smartphone or watch TV.
Traveling gives you chances to have real conversations with your kids, without the pervasive distraction of the technology of our everyday lives.
Better Future Travelers
If you start traveling with your children when they are young, they will learn not just to appreciate the experience, but they will also be more comfortable continuing to travel as they get older. When you wait until your kids are much older to travel, they might be more anxious or apprehensive about the experience, but when you see kids who started traveling at an early age, they are practically experts before they reach their teen years.
Empathy And Cultural Exposure
Finally, traveling with your kids, even when they are still young, is a great way to open their eyes to new experiences, as well as people, cultures, and food.
That is more likely to help them grow into older kids and eventually adults that are compassionate, understanding, and have broad world views. Those kinds of experiences are invaluable and they can often only come from travel!
