Did you go “Wait, what? Says the family that travelled for 7 months with kids aged 2 and 5??”
I bet you’ve heard the advice “Don’t travel with kids, they will forget! It’s a waste of money”? It’s a common sentiment expressed by some people, often unsolicited, to parents who are considering traveling with their young children. A really good friend just came back from a 4-month whirlwind travel adventure with her family of 5, including 3 kids below 9 and we had a short exchange with each other on this subject – the inspiration for today’s post!
Traveling with young children is a unique opportunity to experience the world together as a family. It allows us to slow down, connect, and make memories that will stay with us forever. Sure, children may not remember all the details of the trip, but that’s not the main point of the travel. We don’t travel solely for them to remember. We travel to create a shared experience that we can cherish in the moment and look back on fondly in the future.
The experience of traveling with children is different from traveling without them. Children have a natural curiosity and wonder that can help us to see the world in a new and different way. They ask questions that we may not have thought of, and they point out details that we may have overlooked. It can be a fascinating and enlightening experience to see the world through their eyes. It forces you to slow down and take it all in, in ways that are so beautifully enriching to the soul. I remember our trek to view Mount Fitz Roy in El Chalten, Patagonia – every single bit of it with our young coconuts joking and laughing and trying to out-do their trek time from the day before. The picnic lunch we packed with an assortment of fruits and boiled eggs! I made a video for us to remember as well, and the kids love watching it again and again (see below!). I could go on and on with more examples really.
By the way, if you enjoyed the video, there’s more at the kid’s YouTube channel – here. These were done by my brother, who has far greater skills than lil ol me (well he does it for a living so he better!), versus my attempts at compiling videos here.
Traveling with young children also provides an opportunity to bond and connect with them in a way that is not possible in our daily routine. It’s a chance to be present in the moment and create shared memories that will stay with us forever. We can immerse ourselves in new cultures, try new foods, and see new sights, all while experiencing it together as a family. The young coconuts still squeal in delight when we talk about how they loved eating cuy in Peru (that’s guinea pigs folks, not my thing but the kids inherit their refined taste buds from their dad).
The friend I mentioned above had a very good point as well that a person can be 5 or 50, everyone’s memory fades with time. That is so true, there’s a lot of details from my previous travels that I don’t recall and get caught by surprise when someone mentions a detail from the travel or I stumble upon a picture I’d forgotten about. What does not go away is the feelings we had whilst travelling, the sense of adventure and the joy and happiness and of being together.
Having said all of this, the most practical advice I have is to capture the experience through photos and videos. Mr.C was really good with random videos, whereas I just took pictures. Right now, I most definitely cherish the videos more as it captures their little voices and their silly dances. It’s a great way to keep the memories alive for both old and young. Looking back on these mementos can be a source of joy and laughter for years to come. It’s an opportunity to reminisce on the experiences shared as a family and to share stories and memories with each other.
So, instead of listening to the naysayers who claim that traveling with young children is a waste of time and money, pack your bags, and embark on an adventure with your little ones. The experiences and memories you’ll create together will be worth it. I know that if we could do it again, we wouldn’t change a single thing – except maybe that night I spent at the hostel with loud young men walking around in boxers (or less?) in the shared dorm room. Yep, lesson learnt, it was a problem money could solve – single rooms for the win!
