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10 Reasons Why You should Travel With Your Kids Even If They Won’t Remember

Not sure if you should travel with your kids? Think your kids are too young? Here are few reasons Why You should Travel With Your Kids Even If They Won’t Remember.

By Annie André ⦿ updated January 10, 2024  

Why bother travelling with young children? They won’t remember anything! It’s too much work to travel with kids, besides they won’t appreciate it! These are just some of the sad things I’ve heard people say about travelling with children. My response is that you don’t know what you’re missing, and if you genuinely believe this, you’re missing the whole point of travelling with children.

Ten reasons I travel with my kids and how I think it has changed our lives.

I think it’s ridiculous when people say they don’t want to travel with their kids because it’s too hard or because they won’t remember.

Using that logic, you don’t need to hold your baby as much as possible because they won’t remember it. Ridiculous right?

For me, travelling with kids has not been only about giving them a  memory or doing it when it’s convenient. It’s about giving them an experience. After all, experiences are the building blocks that make us who we are, whether we remember them all or not.

1- Travel Can Help Broaden The Horizons of Your Children.

1- Travel Can Help Your Kids Understand and Accept that there is no one way to do something.

One of the many reasons I love to travel is that it teaches me about the different ways people live and do things. For my children, this translates to understanding that there is no single way or right way to do some things.

Consider the simple act of what to eat for breakfast on a trip to China?

If your kids are used to eating eggs and toast, imagine how eye-opening and different it will be for them to eat something foreign like rice porridge or Chinese donuts for breakfast. My kids love eating this for breakfast by the way. I have been exposing them to different foods through travel since they were born.

Food is just one example of how travel can expose your kids to different ways of doing common everyday things.

Photo via Flickr from Brett

2-Travelling with kids expands alters and stretches their little minds.

Traveling With Kids Expands, alters and stretches their little minds.

Nothing gives me more pleasure than to see my kids step outside of their comfort zone and be more willing to try new things.

Just by the nature of travel, your children can easily learn to stretch themselves and experience things outside of their everyday life and comfort zone. Each time they do this, they will gain the confidence to push themselves further and further even when they are not travelling.

3- Travelling Helps Kids Become Great Little Travellers.

Travelling Helps Kids Become Great Little Travellers.

The younger your kids are when you start travelling with them, the faster they become better travel companions.

All three of my kids are used to travelling. They learned from an early age what to expect, what to do and what not to do.

It doesn’t take years of training either.  Even if you only go on one trip a year, they will learn to become good travellers quickly.

My youngest child was already a great traveller by one-year-old because we started taking her on road trips at 11 days old. By the time she was 9 months old, she didn’t even cry on her first international trip to France.

4- Travelling helps kids learn to acclimate and adapt to change.

Travelling helps kids learn to acclimate and adapt to change

Sure stability and keeping a schedule are great for your kids but so is changing. Travelling with your kids is a natural and easy way to help them learn to deal with change.

5-Travel Can uncover your children’s hidden interests.

Travel Can uncover your children’s hidden interests.

One of my sons has discovered through travel that he loves art and loves to draw. Sure he could have discovered these things on his own but travelling put us in museums and surrounded by ancient works of art that gave him that initial spark.

6- Kids Can Let Loose and be themselves.

Kids Can Let Loose and be themselves

When your kids travel, they get to explore a side of themselves outside of their everyday life. They get to let down their guard, have fun and be themselves.  

7) You Will Create And Cherish Lifelong Memories

-You Will Create Cherish Lifelong Memories Together

It stands to reason that all the good times we have travelling together are memories i will cherish. You may be surprised to know that some of my fondest memories of travel were actually of times when we were the most stressed.

Like losing one of my sons in Nice France for 3 hours and freaking out only to find him hours later and just being happy is was safe.

Or realizing that our huge American stroller was not going to fit in most restaurants.

Changing diapers on the grass in front of the Eiffel tower after searching for a bathroom that was free for over an hour.

Convincing our kids to eat some new foods and putting up with all their whining.

These are all memories I will keep for the rest of my life and laugh about too.

8)  You will see the world in a whole new way.

 You will see the world in a whole new way

Travelling with your children let’s you see even the simplest of things in a whole new way. Sometimes it’s a useful reminder of how wonderfully strange some things are, particularly when you see them again through fresh eyes.

9) It’s Easier To Travel When Your Kids Are Younger: You don’t have to wait until they are older

It's Easier To Travel Wen Your Kids Are Younger: So You don’t have to wait

I have travelled with all three of my kids from birth. **My oldest is now almost 17 ( at the time of this writing 2013).

I have spent countless hours with each of my kids either attached to my back in a sling or sitting in a stroller while we travelled.

So trust me when I say this but you don’t have to wait until the kids are older to travel. In many ways, it can actually be easier and better to travel when the kids are younger.

Kids are amazingly flexible and resilient if you only give them a chance. They can sleep almost anywhere.  Everything fascinates them. They will and can eat almost anything and they don’t give you attitude like a grumpy teenager.

All you need is a sling or a stroller and you are set to go. Don’t forget the diapers and a few snacks too. You have the added bonus of raising children who adapt easily to change and creating good travel companions for both far and near travel.

10) Travel is a fun bonding opportunity.

Travel is a fun bonding opportunity

We are all so busy throughout the year. Travelling on a vacation is often one of the best if not the only times we actually get to spend quality time with our kids.

Our kids get to see us in a fun and new environment. We get to loosen up on the rules and everyone gets to spend quality time together.

What Do You Think?

Our Family in Le Pradet France in 2013

I don’t want you to think that travelling with kids is all rosy rainbows and unicorns.

There are definitely a lot of downsides to travelling with kids. It’s hard, stressful and can be expensive, but it’s totally worth it. The unexpected joys of travelling with children far outweigh any negatives for me.

Don’t take my word for it. Below are over a dozen articles written by other families who travel with kids who also think that travelling with children is worth it.

**NOTE: When I mention travel in this article, I realize that money may be a limitation. To reap the rewards of travel with kids, you can opt for travelling to places closer to home. The next town, state or province.

Just as long as it’s somewhere new and different and you’re all are together. 

Other Articles From Families Who Travel

Mary from Bohemian travellers

Nancy from Family on Bikes

Catherine Forest from Catherine et les fées

Alisa from Living Outside of the Box

Bethaney from Flashpacker Family

Jenn Miller from the edventure project

Kris Herwig from Simon Says – Traveling With Tots: The World is My Playground

Heather Costaras from Living Differently –

Kirsty from Barts go Adventuring

Anne from The Journey is the Reward

Lainie from Raising Miro on the Road of Life

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a 'petite commission' at no extra cost to you if you make a purchase through my links. It helps me buy more wine and cheese. Please read my disclosure for more info.

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Annie André

Annie André

About the author

I'm Annie André, a bilingual North American with Thai and French Canadian roots. I've lived in France since 2011. When I'm not eating cheese, drinking wine or hanging out with my husband and children, I write articles on my personal blog annieandre.com for intellectually curious people interested in all things France: Life in France, travel to France, French culture, French language, travel and more.

 

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