What are the benefits of travel for children?
The thought of travelling with children in tow may seem daunting at first, but it can be an incredibly rewarding adventure that has real-life benefits for children.
A familiar scenario: the school break comes around once again and you are at a loss as to how to entertain the children. Not every family has the time or means to go abroad for a holiday multiple times per year. Whether you are travelling abroad, exploring your local community or city for the day, camping overnight or discovering the great outdoors, any form of travel can prove beneficial for children and their future development. Here’s why you should start planning your next family adventure now!
Develop Empathy
School might be out, but that doesn’t also mean that learning is too. Museums offer a glimpse into a life long ago, allowing children to learn about the struggles and triumphs of previous generations. This can be especially poignant if your child has studied a specific event in school. For example, the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam and the Churchill War Rooms in London are impactful ways to develop empathy with a more pragmatic approach. Museums are also a cost-effective way to travel with the family as many are free or offer discounts for children. If you’re searching for an altruistic holiday for the whole family, volunteering abroad is a fantastic way to cultivate kindness and goodwill in your child and would likely be a life-changing experience for everyone involved. Through this, children will be exposed to people from different walks of life, which will in turn expand their scope of the world and help them to develop compassion. However, be careful to ensure you make responsible choices when it comes to volunteering, particularly with children.
Improve Planning and Problem Solving Skills
Travelling is a joy, and a part of that joy is embracing the inevitable hiccups that might occur during a trip. If the unavoidable does happen, try to take the chance to model how to get out of a sticky situation for your child. Problem-solving is a life skill that children must develop and continue to hone as they age. Seeing you keep your cool in a tricky situation is an invaluable in-the-moment learning opportunity for them to develop skills and resilience.
Exposes them to Diversity
Not everyone resides in diverse towns and cities, travel can help in ensuring your child is culturally aware, respectful of others and maintains an open-minded outlook on life. Introducing your child to the customs of other cultures opens their eyes to new experiences and therefore encourages them to be more accepting of others. Not only this, travel offers them opportunities to try new cuisines, discover new music and meet people they normally wouldn’t encounter. Be it trying some juicy Jamaican jerk chicken or dancing at the Notting Hill Carnival in London or partaking in face painting to celebrate Día de los Muertos in Mexico, or booking with a specialist like TUI to find the best holidays for kids, immersing themselves in an entirely new culture will promote your child’s curiosity and allow them to embrace the new and unknown with open arms. This also has the added benefit of developing community pride in culture and heritage for children at your destination.
Promotes Independence
Transferring some of the responsibility for a trip to your child is a great way to foster their independence. Pre-trip, encourage your child to do some research about your upcoming destinations. This gives them a sense of purpose in your adventure and they might even open your eyes to something new and exciting- you never know! For older children, you can even try user-friendly platforms like Sherpa to navigate travel requirements and take a more active interest in practicalities such as health and safety.
If travelling abroad, encourage your child to learn some greetings or words in the local language using a dictionary or the internet. You could also consider setting your child up on Duolingo, an app that teaches 19 different languages! Visiting a city with a metro? Challenge them with the task of getting the family group from points A to B and guide them through the process. Some cities even offer free travel for children - for example, children aged 5-10 travel for free on all TFL transport using a Zip Oyster card. The skills learned through travel can empower your child with confidence and independence long after they fly the nest.
Develop Gratitude
Appreciation for biodiversity and our planet can sometimes be a tricky lesson to learn, for children and adults. A great way to help your child appreciate and advocate for a more sustainable planet is to plan trips that help them connect with nature. Activities like responsible camping and hiking can be a welcome change of pace to remove oneself from their comfort zone and try something less immediate, less instant. With a little planning and some essential equipment, you’ve got yourself a weekend away under the stars without breaking the bank. Remember to leave no trace and abide by local rules and regulations, particularly regarding campfires and wildlife. Get the children involved when it comes to putting up the tent, cooking a meal outdoors etc. Normal daily tasks will most certainly take longer, but the reward is twofold. Simple, but truly spectacular.
Strengthen Family Bonds
It is all too easy to get wrapped up in the demands of life; we are all guilty of this. A holiday with your family, regardless of the location, length or expense is an opportunity to create lasting memories. If you were lucky enough to travel as a child, it is likely that many of your memories include trips or holidays. Whether it’s a Carnival family cruise or a local weekend away, according to PsychCentral, people who have a store of positive memories are more likely to be happier in life and are better at regulating stress. As well as this, unusual memories tend to stick out more in people’s minds, which is why going on a trip (an out of the norm experience) can have a lasting impact on memory.
So, get booking - it’s time to make some memories!
