Why you should keep travelling with young children?
I, personally, see travelling as an amazing way for the family to bond through discovery, discomfort (yes you read well), adventures, failure, laugh, the unknown…and time away from the routine. Don’t get me wrong, I think our children will not remember what they saw during these family trips…I sadly don’t remember the Matchu Pitchu I visited when I was 7 years old…but I remember the “Hacienda” (yes my love for hotels goes way back) we stayed around the site.
Most importantly, I remember being with my parents, away from home, and having their unconditional attention. I remember learning from my dad how to order “Tres jugos de naranja por favour” (“3 orange juices, please”) as we were 3 young girls.
I believe that all the travel, the unknown territories my parents brought us to, allow me to have a good general knowledge of different countries, geography, languages, history…and much more. This has enabled me to make conversation with people from all over the world but also, to be outspoken and comfortable with change.
We visited Sri Lanka, two years ago, with my daughters being 6 and 7 years old at that time, and the itinerary involved changing hotels every night for a week and driving about 4 hours a day around the country. My husband was super apprehensive about it at first, he thought our daughters would never adjust…but they did!
We wanted to see the country, not be on a beach which we can do in Dubai at any time of the year. It wasn’t always easy, but the key was to be prepared and to be willing to compromise. We did things that we (mum and dad) enjoyed like visiting 10001 temples and things that they enjoy like visiting the turtle rescue centre…most importantly we were together.
Stay tuned for the “BE PREPARED” part, as my next blog will be about my best tips on how to get ready to travel with children??
