Even in today’s busy world, parents should still make it a point not to lose touch with their children. And one way to strengthen your relationship with the family is by going on small trips with your kids.
Sure there are destinations kiddie travellers love, but family bonding need not involve long-haul flights or a week’s stay in an exotic destination abroad. You do not have to go on travels permanently too. Trips can be a weekend cross-country drive, an overnight stay at a nearby hotel, or just a day out at the park or museum. The important thing is that you get to spend time with each other.
Going on family trips lets you discover more about your children and even yourself. Outside the confines of your home, there are new experiences that unleash the skills, character, and individuality of a person. You get to see a different side to your kids — their interests, their thoughts — at the same time, they see yours. This will lead you to learn to appreciate and relate to each other.
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Teaching Them Modesty
Taking your children to small trips also helps you teach them more of the world, allowing them to open their minds to ideas that they don’t usually find within controlled environments like the classroom. Going to new places trains the kids to be more adventurous, tolerant, and patient with the things around them.
Gustave Flaubert once quoted “Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world” and this couldn’t be any true. Even for us adults, seeing different places removes our prejudices on cultures and people. When kids explore a place or undergo an activity, they would know just how much more there is that they need to see and understand.
Experiences also makes them curious and teaches them to question stereotypes.
Change of Pace
Small trips also give you the luxury of quality time that you might not have while going through your daily routine. Because you sit back and take things more slowly during those days off, you get to enjoy each other’s company away from all distractions like work, chores, phone calls, or emails.
And since you are not going on big cities, there’s no need to hurry up from walking or spending time by the lake just staring at the water.
Developing Reliance and Trust
Moreover, because you are traveling to a different place as a single unit, you learn to rely upon each other more. As a family, you all take in the highs and lows of the trip, cooperating with each other to make the trip work and be something worth remembering.
Before leaving, brief the kids on important points about manners, what you plan to do, and what to do if untoward incidences happen. Give them instructions of not walking too far off from everyone, and to not be too friendly with strangers. Always tell them to find police officers if they get lost, or when other problems occur.
Fun Along The Way
Whether you go by car or by public transportation (bus, train), there are fun things you can do that will make the trip memorable (just be considerate of others if you are travelling with a lot of people on board. And you can continue having fun when you arrive at your destination.
Creating Memories
Focusing your time and energies to going on small trips with your children is actually a rewarding activity. Not only does it offer shared experiences that strengthens the family bond, but also creates wonderful memories that your children would want to look back to and even share with their own brood.
