Today I was passionately writing a reply to another mom who was tentative about travel with her 3.5 year old and commented that she didn’t want to travel just to shop, or eat, or play in another park. She was wondering how to find balance.
Here was my reply:
I hope I don’t sound like all we do is take my son to the park in foreign countries- that would be an expensive hobby!
We combine all the things you referred to. My son is now 4 and we really enjoy showing him different homes, eating different foods, buying different products not available in California, meeting different friends, playing in different parks, exploring castles, swimming – from Hawaiian beaches to the pebbles of the French Riviera beaches, hearing different languages, etc.
We cruise on an Italian cruise line so he can play with kids from Italy, Germany, Spain and France – the experiences are fantastic!
I know this was all international travel – but you could apply this to domestic travel as well!
My son runs through the corn field in Minnesota – in disbelief that we don’t have to pay for the corn (he is used to farmers markets here). He has heard cracking thunder and flashing lightning in Missouri and Minnesota that he will probably never hear or see in CA.
Wait – I think I blogged about this. Yep – here it is http://www.jetwithkids.com/blog/why-i-love-travel-country-life
Travel is such a gift – and can be whatever you want it to be. For some it is a trip to a third world country – and living amongst the locals. For others it may be exploring the caves and mountains and wilderness. And yet for people like me – I just like to see how it would be to live in another environment – what would daily life be like?
I met Rick Steves recently (if you ever go to Europe – check out www.ricksteves.com) He believes in understanding and respecting the locals. Fabulous!
OK – as you can tell I am long winded and passionate. I just encourage you to find what feels right – what makes you excited and what makes you want to work hard and plan for something so much that just the anticipation is worth it!
…Your son will benefit from whatever travel you plan as long as you are enthusiastic about it – and involve him!
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