How It Affects A Child To Travel From An Early Age And Learn About Different Cultures
Traveling can completely transform a person’s life. Knowing other lifestyles and different cultures makes us question our own point of view about things. The little ones do not escape this experience. Traveling from a young age can be a revolutionary event in a person’s life.
In a world where everyone is running behind their schedules and obligations, stepping on the brakes and observing our surroundings seems like a panacea. Knowing new destinations opens the mind and has a positive impact on many planes of life.
This doesn’t just apply to adults. Children, who are in the process of discovering the world, can be amazed by everything that is “out there”. Getting a child used to traveling from a young age is an excellent habit that parents can pass on.
Why do we affirm this? We will delve into this question below.
The benefits of traveling
Although we often distrust – and with good reason – the miracles that tourism companies attribute to travel, many of these positive effects are true. Taking the suitcase and leaving home for a few days has great advantages for physical and emotional well-being. These are some:
- Reduce stress: disconnecting from work, problems and commitments leads us to fully rest, regain energy and, therefore, be happier. It’s important not to over-plan, as we could experience post-vacation stress and come back even worse than we left.
- Stimulates the brain: knowing new places, aromas, tastes and living new experiences helps the brain “work” to assimilate everything it does not know. Thus, the mind is kept young and capable of continuing to incorporate information.
- It collaborates with emotional well-being: traveling improves self-esteem, since it involves personal challenges such as locating ourselves and getting used to new foods, rules and even languages. In addition, the experiences lived contribute much more to our happiness than any object that we can buy.
Traveling from a young age is even better
If the experience of going on a trip offers so many advantages to adults, for the little ones these are enhanced. Bear in mind that for them leaving home is, on many occasions, venturing into the unknown; they may not even know how far the destination is, how to get there or when they will return home.
Therefore, we could summarize these three great benefits of traveling for children in:
1.- A new perspective
When we are children, the way we are taught to analyze and interpret the world is what determines our point of view. However, when a child leaves his city, country or continent, he learns to see life with different eyes.
He will then realize that not everything must be done as he learned. Among so many things to observe, you will incorporate new habits for your life and other values regarding work, human relationships and the environment.
In addition, you will be able to experience foods that you have never tried or sports characteristic of that place. The world is full of alternatives, it’s just a matter of searching for them.
2.- Curiosity is awakened
Since you will see many things that you did not know and perhaps did not even imagine, the child will have many questions. Why is this language spoken here? Why do you like this food so much? What’s the name of that song?
The best thing about this is that your senses will experience an intense feeling of hunger. Their attention will be 100% dedicated to identifying everything they see.
Consequently, they will also be fostering their reflective, critical and rational spirit. Everything that exists and happens has a reason for being, and they will want to know it at all costs.
3.- Improves relationships and quality of life
Traveling with our family since childhood represents, in addition to the aforementioned, a challenge for all its members. Collaboration, tolerance and patience are needed to endure the presence of the other 24 hours a day, something that perhaps does not happen on a daily basis.
It is an excellent opportunity to deepen bonds through new experiences. On trips, siblings and parents cease to be family to be companions.
Both they and the children face new experiences, so what is central is what happens outside and not what the other does.
Tips to keep in mind when traveling with children
If you are going to go on a trip with your children, these recommendations can be of great help:
- Do not forget to bring all the documentation you may need, including the health book.
- Pack the elements safety, hygiene and feeding a baby or small child may require.
- A couple of medications – the most generic – are not bad for getting out of an emergency (avoid self-medication, anyway).
- Plan activities in plenty of time to rest or make last minute adjustments.
- Avoid places with too many people, without shade or adequate facilities to travel with children.
- Always have some food, drink and toys on hand.
Finally, get ready to enjoy. If you take the necessary precautions and with a good predisposition on the part of the attendees, a trip can become an invaluable memory for a child. Traveling from a young age is opening a window to the world that will offer a fresh breeze for the rest of their lives.