Traveling with the family

One of the greatest tests of parenting young children isn’t the first time you have to change a diaper or reprimand a disobedient child, or getting a picky eater to eat their vegetables, or even ensuring they get to bed at a reasonable hour, it’s making sure the family doesn’t self-destruct on family trips. I’m not taking about a trip to the grocery store or an journey in the car to the beach or mountains, I’m referring to an extended stay at a remote location where the usual distractions are absent.

Its a true privilege to be able to experience the different cultures of the world, and I definitely recommend allowing your children to see how others go about their daily lives. But unless you have the convenience of family at your destination, you usually have to fill your time with engaging activities to keep your children satisfied and you sane.

It could be different with younger versus older children or the pre-internet/phone/iPad generation versus post but I am constantly struggling with my children to find interesting in the surround culture for more than a few minutes that I makes me wonder whether it’s worth it all.

But then there are those moments where they try eating a food they wouldn’t get anywhere else and enjoy it, or stand from the top of one of the worlds tallest buildings and look out at the city below and you understand it is the collection of experiences that makes it worthwhile. It shapes their perspective of the world and allows them to recognize there is much more going on than in the little part called home. And hopefully they’ll appreciate what you’ve shown them and want to expand their own horizons.