We have had the pleasure of traveling with our children at various ages, from an infant through the late teen years. Regardless of the road traveled, traveling as a family has numerous benefits:
1. Allows us to "relax" together without worrying about laundry, running errands, work, and daily life.
2. We're away from the TV, so we can explore the local culture, spend time on the water (which is one of our favorite places), and partake in activities that all ages can enjoy.
3. One of my favorite trips was on a Western Caribbean cruise on Princess Cruises with my then 15-year-old son (before little sister’s arrival) and watching him bond with his father as he passed on his "knowledge" of certain things that he did not know how to do, such as learning to snorkel.
4. Spending time together traveling, we are able to really "talk" and bond together with our joint interests and try something new. On a cruise last year with our then 18-month old, we were at Grand Cayman and since we did not want to spend our entire time in port on a beach with a little one, we researched and found other activities that our child might like and we went to the island's turtle farm, which we all really loved. To this day, she still carries around her stuffed sea turtle and loves talking about how "do you remember when I touched a sea turtle's flipper feet?".
5. Traveling with children is like preparing for Christmas...the same excitement. We really build it up and show them pictures, books, videos to where we're going. We get so much joy watching them ask questions and get so excited about our upcoming adventure.
6. Vacations also have an important educational element...even for just our toddler. It's amazing what she is able to retain. Last August when we stayed at Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas, she was in heaven with the aquarium and the water park area. She loved going to the marina area and watching/dancing with all of the live entertainment. We could just watch her forever when she's in these environments.
As we have explored the islands and other tropical destinations, we've adopted a few traveling tips to help us prepare when traveling with kids, especially infants/toddlers. We do have a portable DVD player that has helped us in the long airport waits or the drives to Disney or the cruise piers. We also have her help us pack her own special backpack with a couple of her favorite books, some coloring items and most importantly, there's something new that really keeps her occupied (well, at least as long as a 3-year-old can stay focused on something)! We also always take snacks for her, a change of clothes, layers (airplanes can be cold), and some other essential carry on items.
--Bill & Jenn Thomas
1 comments:
100% correct on all points. There really is nothing quite like spending quality vacation time with family.
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