Benefits of Traveling with Small Children

I have been traveling with my daughters since they were infants. I’ve received a fair share of snarky remarks from people who believe that traveling with small children makes no sense. Sure, travel requires the dual investments of money and time. So, why take small children to amazing places they’ll never remember? It’s a waste, right? Wrong!

Venturing out into the vast expanse of the world with little ones in tow comes with deeper lessons and rewards. Here are three to consider.

The Virtues Imparted by Traveling

Travel with kids imparts crucial virtues such as adaptability and flexibility. It inspires empathy, tolerance, and understanding. When you make travel a priority, your children will grow up with an intuitive capacity to appreciate and celebrate other cultures without rushing to judgments. Travel makes the advantages of multilingualism blatantly obvious to young children, too.

Small children may not remember the first books that we read to them, but does that mean the reading represents wasted time? They won’t recall all of the playdates and visits to the playground. Does that render the value of those experiences and interactions null and void? Absolutely not! These activities are all essential to helping children develop and reach milestones. The same goes for the virtues imparted by travel.

Universal Lessons in Travel

Traveling with children—even the youngest—makes them inherently aware of what unites all human beings. It teaches them that we are all basically the same despite variations in skin color, hair color and texture, and eye color.

Getting out and seeing the world will make your kids more open to starting new friendships and dialogues despite cultural and linguistic differences. It will gift your children with a deep and abiding faith in humanity. And couldn’t we all use more of that?

Sparking Curiosity for the World

Travel will ramp up your kids’ interest in knowing more about the world. It will make them curious for adventure and encourage creative play. They’ll thirst for more knowledge about the world and devour world maps as you help them mark off the places they’ve visited.

When you get kids excited to travel, they develop a better understanding of how big the world actually is. They’ll thirst to learn more about geography and the natural world. Travel will open their minds to endless possibilities and help them see that trying new things is a great adventure, not something to be feared or avoided.

Traveling with Small Children

Traveling with small children is never a waste, even if they can’t consciously recall a play-by-play of every trip as they grow older. Your kids will carry subconscious, intuitive lessons learned along the way. These lessons are profound and life-altering, and your children will remain firmly grounded in them throughout their entire lives.

Interested in learning more about the benefits of traveling with kids? Or, need advice on places to travel with kids? We’ve got you covered. Follow our blog to stay on top of family vacation advice and ideas.

At Our Whole Village, we create tours carefully designed for families who want to create lasting memories while making a difference. We’re here to help you and your family experience the world, its peoples, and cultures. Contact us today to learn more about the unforgettable experiences that we handcraft for families just like yours.