Take the Trip, Take the Kids!

"Travel, it leaves you see speechless then turns you into a storyteller."

I am often asked "when is the best age to take my child to ____?" It is hard for me to answer that question as I am biased. By the age of six I had already traveled to a majority of the United States of America, Paris, London and the Caribbean. "I want them to be old enough to remember." I have so many memories from vacations that I would think I should have been way too young to remember. However, my family definitely recorded EVERYTHING. As a child I would replay the home videos (especially Disney, of course) over, and over, and over, and over. Possibly to the point of forcing the videos as memories. We live in the technology age. Between social media and our cell phones, we record everything. If your child simply remembering is what is keeping you from traveling, play the video everyday until it sticks lol.

Traveling not only increases knowledge, it widens your perspective. I once read a blog that outlined 10 Reasons Why Traveling is A More Valuable Learning Experience than School.

1. Because traveling forces you out of your comfort zone

Traveling means new foods, cultures, language, people, and places to explore. It pushes you out of your comfort zone. And it is a good thing, because it will help you grow as a person

2. Because traveling teaches you better time management skill.

In your travel adventure, getting late will cost you lots of money. After all, you can’t ask the plane to wait for you. It’s a good thing though, because you will learn to better manage your time.

3. Because traveling allows you to see and experience new ways of living.

You might be able to see the photo of that from a textbook, but experiencing it yourself can only be done through traveling.

4. Because traveling gives you the chance to reinvent yourself.

Travel can give you the blank white sheet – the chance to start fresh and explore the other sides of your personality.

5. Because traveling helps you build confidence.

You have learned a new language, and used it to haggle over prices in the local market. They’re all things you didn’t know you could do before.

6. Because traveling will improve your planning and organizing skills.

You need to organize your trip so that you have a place to stay and transportation taken care of. Traveling will help you sharpen your planning and organizing skills.

7. Because traveling makes you a more interesting person.

Travel is an opportunity to do things you might not otherwise get to do. Maybe you were almost bitten by a lion while doing a safari in Africa?

8. Because traveling teaches you gratitude.

Traveling often means you will meet all sorts of people. Traveling to a poor country can make you realize just how much you actually have.

9. Because you will learn social skills much better while traveling.You will meet lots of new people at hostels, guided tours, bars, cafes, monuments, and buses while traveling. Perhaps they are local people or other fellow travelers

10. Because you will learn how to be comfortable with uncertainty and the unexpected.

Travel will teach you that the unexpected is rarely as bad as you think. Often, they are just small obstacles that can easily be overcome. Eventually, you become accustomed to uncertainty and the unexpected challenges that come your way. In fact, you will start embracing them and learn how to overcome those challenges.

My family has always placed such a big emphasis on travel. We have so many crazy stories that we could write endless books about. Including my grandmother getting lost in Disney World (pre-cellphones) or her purse getting caught in the train door in London. I never thought that I would lose my grandmother so soon. There are so many trips untraveled and so many memories unmade. The day that she suddenly passed away we were planning an escape to Martha's Vineyard. I often wonder how life would have planned out if we had just taken the trip. But, God's plan. For the rest of my life I will be grateful for all of the stories I have to tell, my cultural appreciation, and global perspective.

Trying to figure out the perfect age to travel with kids is understandable. However, the perfect age may never come. Life happens, and it happens fast. The sad reality is tomorrow is not promised. Make the memories today. So to that I say, take the trip.