Family trips are a great way to improve relationships and experience once-in-a-lifetime adventures with the people that matter most to you. Travelling with your family can be incredibly rewarding, and there’s no reason it should stop after your kids are adults. In fact, according to Trafalgar Tours, family travel can offer opportunities for bonding since seemingly unglamorous experiences (like sharing a simple meal) can turn into beloved memories with your loved ones.
Whether you’re headed to Iqaluit, Nunavut for vacation or planning a road trip to Vancouver, here are four reasons why you should consider turning that solo trip into a family vay-cay:
1. Family Travel With Older Children Promotes A Global Education
Studies show that travel can provide educational benefits for children, since it opens them up to new experiences and offers opportunities to learn about other cultures and ways of life. However, did you know that travelling with older children can foster conversations about culture, politics, languages, music and art? Educating your children doesn’t stop once they’ve grown up. In fact, kids often continue to shape and mould their beliefs after the examples their parents set for them during childhood and adolescence.
Research from the Student & Youth Travel Association shows that kids who travel tend to excel in academics in comparison to their peers. If you’ve ever felt bad because your kid had to miss one or two days of school to travel, you should try to remember that you’re not hindering their education by encouraging them to explore new places. Travel has immense educational value.
2. Family Travel Can Foster Personal Development
Solo travelling is just one form of personal development. Did you know travelling with family can provide another form of personal development? In addition to having educational value, travel can allow you to discover new truths about yourself and the world around you. Whether you’re on an Eat Pray Love journey to “find” yourself, or simply looking to enjoy some time with friends and family, travel can be a great way to enjoy interpersonal bonds, build self-confidence, and––yes, develop a sense of independence.
3. Multigenerational Family Travel Trips Are The Best
The next time you plan a trip, consider inviting the grandparents, parents, children, aunts and uncles, in-laws, and more. Not only is it a good way to bring down the cost of the trip (if everybody contributes their share), but it’ll be a great way to catch up with family members you don’t see on a daily basis. The more, the merrier.
4. Family Travel Can Help You Create Lasting Bonds With Your Older Children
When recalling your most treasured memories, you can’t help but visualize the faces of your most cherished family members and friends. Although adolescence and adulthood often come with increased independence and less time spent with their parents, implementing travel and bonding time will help cement those lasting connections. If you’re finding that you don’t see your kids as often as you’d like, consider planning some trips with them. Making travel a priority is a fantastic way to form those unshakable relational bonds.
Spending time with your kids—even once they’ve grown up—is priceless. The next time you start missing the days when your children were young and at-home, remember that you can always continue to enjoy their company, even though they’re older and more independent. You may even consider snagging a great spring travel deal, booking a trip to a foreign land and inviting your loved ones to tag along.
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