We thought that one of our first blogs should be why we believe travelling is the right choice for us as a family. Here are some of our core reasons for going around the world with our 7 and 10 year olds:
- FAMILY BONDING
This is fairly obvious, but important nonetheless. At home, we are frequently caught up with work, schools, activities, house chores etc. We look forward to taking a step back and bonding over some shared experiences at a different pace and with different priorities than at home.
- OPPORTUNITY
The world provides a wealth of opportunities and ideas. We want to immerse ourselves as a family to these myriad opportunities it offers. What experiences could be out there for us and the children that we never even knew about – new landscapes, careers, interests, people? There are amazing opportunities for business, goodwill and personal growth all over the world. Travel is one way to open your eyes.
- TRUTH
What do we know about other cultures and what will the children learn? From the comfort of our own countries, brief holidays only provide a glimpse of what other countries, people, faiths and communities are really like. Opening our children’s eyes to the multitude of ways to live your life and how some preconceptions may be hiding deeper truths, is an important life lesson. We have all these preconceived notions of others and the only way to know the truth is to go out and find it – learning through experience.
- TOLERANCE AND PATIENCE
Everywhere people are doing the same things, just in different ways. When you travel, you become aware that people have different eating habits, they dress differently, they have different expectations for personal hygiene. Some hug, some don’t, everywhere is different.
From our previous travels, we have found that when you travel, your mind opens. You become more patient. You learn to respect and embrace differences. This is something very hard to achieve when you are surrounded with the same culture day after day. We would like for our children to be more patient and tolerant, and to see that differences can be overcome.
- LIFE SKILLS
In our everyday lives, both adults and children are getting very complacent in terms of life skills required. Our children, as many of their contemporaries in the UK and many other parts of the world, have many things provided for them and don’t really have to learn many core skills to meet their basic needs. We will have to learn to be on time, to pack light, to find your destination, accept that plans change and provide solutions when they do. You see that most of the world still uses basic life skills everyday. Children around the world cook, they do laundry, they care for siblings, they create to survive. We would like for our children to know this and learn the basics.
- GOODWILL
By this, we mean goodwill that goes both ways – exploring the world and meeting people with good intentions. That can come in many forms – we may gratefully accept an invitation into a stranger’s home and offering something in return. Many people genuinely want to help and it is contagious. Children should see this – how generous people are and how generous they can be in return.
- EDUCATION
We have been fortunate that the children have been very happy and well educated in their local primary school, but the world can offer so much more than the regular classroom. Travel teaches you every step of the way. Real history, real science, the real value of money, cultures, food, religions, geography, biology – I could go on. In addition to learning from the environments we will travel through, technology has enabled us to have helpful tools available at all times. Ipads and e-readers can help us turn an overnight sleeper car in India into a mobile classroom. And when class is over you can jump out, visit a glorious temple and sit down for your taste buds to explore the world as well.
- HAPPY PARENTS
We simply love travelling! We both explored the world before we met in Thailand in 2000. Our initial 6 months as a couple was spent on the road. Some people have questioned our thoughts on stability and if this could be a concern on the road. Parents tend to sacrifice their own time, money and dreams in order to drive their children around in a nice car to activities they hope will stimulate them. We think that one of the most important things that children want is quality time spent with their parents – especially if they are happy parents. Travel is one of the things that make us happy.
Finally, while it will certainly be hard and testing at times, it is also certain to be a fantastically fun, beautiful and exhilarating ride! There are many more good reasons to take our children on a trip around the world and we have a sneaky feeling this one won’t be the last. So we encourage you to also explore and be curious.
Family Global Travel 