Travelling is an exciting and eye-opening part of life. What you see, hear and do all help you learn more about yourself and the world around you. That’s why travelling as a family can be an incredibly rewarding experience. Read on to learn more about how family travel is such a valuable component of familial well-being.
It builds memories
An important element of family bonding is shared experiences. It is an incredibly rewarding experience to sit around a dinner table years down the road and reminisce about the time you went to such-and-such place or met so-and-so. And passing those tales on to future generations can help reinforce family values and develop a strong familial bond. And you don’t have to spend a fortune to build lasting memories together. A weekend at a family friend’s cottage or a road trip to the lake is a great way to bond as a family unit and create moments that will stay with you for a lifetime.
It helps you interact in new ways
It’s easy to settle into a routine as a family. Everything becomes about work, school and extracurricular activities. You might manage to sit down for dinner, but even then, one or more of you is often in a rush to meet a deadline, do some homework or get to bed. Vacation takes you out of those circumstances and lets you find new ways to spend time with one another. Suddenly you have hours in a car or on a plane together and can enjoy the time chatting or playing games. Keep electronics use to a minimum so you can truly revel in one another’s company and spend quality time together.
It develops the ability to compromise
When on vacation, a lot of decisions need to be made. Where will you stay? What will you eat? What site will you visit first? It is unlikely that you are all going to want to do the same thing every time. And that means you will all have to compromise at some point. Making decisions collectively is certainly a skill worth developing for all areas of life, and you will all have a chance to work on compromising during a family getaway.
It makes room for new experiences
Although you do your best to get your children to try new activities and meet new people, nothing exposes them to fresh experiences quite like travelling. Having to sleep, eat and find entertainment in new ways is helpful for kids’ development. It’s a great opporunity for them to learn how to interact with people and places that are foreign to them and to make the best of any situation. It also allows you to try activities as a family you may never have experienced otherwise!
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