On our recent trip to Maui, I was thinking about how much my family enjoys traveling. For those who haven't traveled with kids, it may seem daunting. It may even seem like unnecessary torture! However, after countless road trips, camping trips and flights with my children, I realized that I should share some of the benefits of traveling with kids which keeps us traveling as a family.
1) Build Confidence: My kids are not the most outgoing, but they have enough confidence to converse with adults, buy things, and request what is necessary. When we're traveling, my kids meet new people on airplanes, in restaurants, and in hotels. They ask flight attendants for snacks, they let the waiter know their orders, and they call the front desk to ask for extra towels. They make friends at the hotel pools, and they enjoy talking to locals.
2) Instill Self Sufficiency and Responsibility: My children are almost always responsible for packing their own carry ons and backpacks when we travel. I let them know how many outfits to take, but they choose which ones. They pack their own swimming clothes, undergarments, footwear, and fun items for road trips and plane trips. Since they pack their own items, they don't argue with me over what they should wear or why something got left at home. It also saves me the time I would have to spend packing their luggage. They even roll their own carry ons and carry their backpacks, although sometimes my 3 year old decides to let me carry her backpack for her. :-)
3) Value Experiences and Family and Memories: Traveling has allowed us to experience some amazing moments. When we were in Thailand, the kids and I walked onto a local pier on a beach city where vendors were selling local crafts and foods. We walked hand in hand as the light, warm rain pitter pattered on her heads. Wearing our flip flops, we sloshed in the little puddles. We stopped to watch a lady make som tam, the most amazing papaya salad, from scratch. She allowed us to taste it as she added different ingredients. When she finished making it, we sat down on her makeshift table to enjoy the fresh, delicious, sour, yet sweet and spicy delicacy as the rain drops fell around us. Our tongues tingled and our eyes took in the beautiful ocean in front of us. To this day, my children and I remember that som tam--not just because it was the most delicious som tam we ever tasted, but because it was a moment we all shared together.
4) Embrace Different Cultures: I often feel like racism and ethnocentrism, and often many disagreements are a result of not understanding the ways, culture or traditions of another person or people. We are often afraid of what we don't know, and we tend to assume. I want my children to understand that different people will do things differently. That's why, I encourage learning about different people and how they live in different places. Allah says in the Qur'an "And of His signs is the Creation of the heavens and earth and diversity of your languages and your colors. Indeed in that are signs for those of knowledge." (Rum: 22) We discuss which aspects of a culture we can take part in as Muslims, which foods we love to incorporate, and what we enjoy most about different ways of living. When we went to Thailand, we enjoyed Thai food immensely. When we went to Hawaii, the children picked up many Hawaiian words and used them while we were there and even when we came back home! As Muslims we believe in a single God, so we did not take part in any Buddhist activities, but we understand that people of different religions can still live in peace and harmony.
5) Practice Patience and Flexibility: When we travel, we're taken out of our homes and our regular routines. We're required to wait: wait for transportation, wait for food, wait for a hotel, wait for the bathroom. Granted, my kids don't always wait patiently, ;-p but at least they get to practice their patience, and they are patient most of the time. We also have to be flexible and learn to make do with what we have. We don't have our own beds, so my elder two share a bed. My youngest shares our bed or sleeps on a makeshift crib. We all share a bathroom, so we wait for each other. We learn to live with less for those traveling days, which in turn makes us realize we can make do with less even when we are home. We learn to care for each other and help each other out. For example, my elder two often help my youngest get dressed, use the bathroom, eat, and put on her shoes, among other things.
Of course when we're traveling as a family, there are always times that are difficult, mostly when the children are hungry or tired. What I've noticed, however, is that we have really come to enjoy exploring new places together, and the benefits greatly outweigh the difficulties. Our experiences together have made us a closer family and encouraged us to be better people.
Are you inspired to travel with kids? Have you traveled with kids? If so, what benefits did you see? If not, what holds you back?
