My husband I are were very – believe it or not – opposed to the idea of traveling with little kids.
We thought it would be hard. We thought it’d be expensive. We thought it’d be a waste of time (and money) because they wouldn’t remember.
We were wrong about all of it, and I am SO glad that God used the pandemic to lead us to family travel and we got to find out just how wrong we were.
There are so many reasons to travel while your kids are little, both practical and pragmatic.
Here’s 15 reasons that I’ll take as many trips as I can with my kids now – even if it means I get less trips in my retirement years.
It’s an Amazing Learning Experience.
We homeschool, and I rarely give a second thought to world science, nature studies, geography, history, or cultural studies. These things naturally come up over and over again with the kids when you travel. The learn so much more in a week of travel than they ever could from a year in a classroom, and they learn it in a more memorable way. You can take it to the next level and watch movies / read books about the location you’re visiting or interesting things you encounter while you’re there.
It’s an Amazing Family Bonding Experience.
The shared memories you make with your kids are a fantastic bonding experience. Uninterrupted time together – away from the TV, the computer, your phone (really – try to stay away from your phone), and the every day demands of life give you a whole new way to enjoy each other’s company. Our family always travels with games, and even downtime at the airport is an opportunity to spend time intentionally together (that we don’t always make so easily at home).
It’s a Great Opportunity to Teach the Value of Experiences vs Things.
This is something I wish I had been even more intentional about when my kids were littler. If – for example – you plan trips for Christmas gifts (and forgo most of the traditional pile of “things” gifts), your kids will learn to look forward to the vacation and not the things. Less things is (imo, in our consumerist culture) a value-able lesson to learn as early in life as possible. If you go this route, you can also reap the benefits of not stuffing every corner of your home with things as the years go by.
It Teaches Adaptability.
This is another life skill that pays dividends the earlier it’s learned. Kids who travel often when they are little learn to accept new beds, new foods, new faces and changes in routine more easily than kids who don’t get to have these experiences. Kids who accept these things more easily are undoubtedly easier kids to have.
It’s Actually Cheaper to Travel With Little Kids than Older Kids.
If you think it seems expensive to travel when they’re little, just wait until they’re older. Most airlines offer free tickets for kids 2 and under (as long as they don’t have their own seat), and most attractions offer children’s prices vs adults prices. Not to mention; they eat less, you can put more of them in one bed, and they are less likely to notice / ask for “stuff” they see everywhere on the trip.
You Can Travel A lot Lighter (And The Stroller Does The Work).
When our kids were both under about 8 we could literally get a two week trip in ONE big suit case. (Now, we use one suitcase and 4 backpacks.) Plus, a major bonus of having littles on a trip with you is that you can use the stroller to take the brunt of the load. (Traveling with a stroller is often referred to as a hassle – but it is far from it… the airlines literally give you priority everything AND it has wheels.)
You Have More Control When They’re Little.
The older my kids get, the more I realize they need to be involved in the planning. Not because I am going to cater to every whim of my children, but because I want our vacations to be special times that we all enjoy. When they were really little, we did exactly what the grown ups wanted and they were just along for the ride. We could spend hours at a museum that they thought was boring (they’d nap, or snack, or listen to a Yoto story etc). That changes a little when they’re older.
You Have More Flexible Time When They’re Little.
We don’t do traditional school, so we’re able to get away during the school year… but if you plan to put your kids in school, you’ll be constrained by that schedule. Your little kids are also less likely to be involved in extracurricular type things that demand their time. (And, the older your kids get, the less likely they are to WANT to spend three weeks away from their friends and activities.)
They Actually Want to Spend Time With You.
Your kids will never be more excited to go on a vacation with YOU than when they are little. The older they get, the less interesting you get. (I do have this deep secret hope that if we travel enough with our kids when they’re little, and show them what a great experience it is, they’ll still want to travel with us when they’re teenagers.)
Even if They Don’t Remember It, YOU Will.
One of our most serious arguments against traveling with kids before we actually tried it was that it was money wasted – they wouldn’t remember the trip. But I remember the trips. They are some of my most precious memories. And we look at the pictures and talk about the trips… for certain the kids don’t remember every detail of a vacation, but they still have that shared memory that can’t be taken away from either of us.
