When it comes to travel the new age parents have a different point of view, which I find interesting. It is generally said that once a child is born you forget travelling for years. To build on that parents feel it’s a waste of money to travel with kids after all they won’t remember any of their trips. But these days many parents differ from this thought process. They find it important to travel with their kids from a very early age. According to them, the world is the classroom where kids can learn a lot more from a very young age. They might not remember what they are seeing, but the experience and exposure start shaping their thoughts and imagination very differently than being confined in the four walls.
I recollect my friend’s daughter went to travel to Mauritius and when she returned it was amazing to see the amount of knowledge she had gathered. She started having more ideas; the description and conversation subjects were different from other kids. She had once visited North East where the tribal people greeted her, explained how they lived and what their history was. It was very interesting for her to know in that tribe the girl take the boy to her parent’s house after marriage, which is a completely different idea from what she was used to hearing and seeing. These are the experiences that cannot be taught in a classroom. Moreover, the child learns to accept a different point of views from a very early age and is ok even if it clashes with the child’s original belief. This makes them very fluid in their thought process.
If a kid is really small let’s say 2 years old and doesn’t remember anything you would have captured the moments, there will be multiple smiles as the kid would have experienced so many firsts with you. Those joys will be etched in your minds forever. The joy your kid felt while doing something new, like touching a dolphin, feeding an elephant, the time when your kid first said hello in the language of the place where you travelled, it would be so cute and loving. And then you will have all the photographs and videos that will help you re-experience those memories. Those cute innocent childhood days will never come back.
Besides, when you are travelling with a kid you are raising a global citizen in its true sense. These days it is important to raise kids who can respect people from all walks of life. With media extrapolating hate, religious biases, intolerance, racism and all the negativity to get viewership, true human nature of care and love is seldom noticed. During your travel, the kid will realise there are more nice people on this earth and there is more kindness all over. It is not right to have animosity towards a particular individual because he or she belongs to a particular religion, cast, culture, etc. based on the actions of a few.
Children are fearless and the speak the universal language of innocence. It becomes our responsibility to shape their mind in the right way so that they can learn to love and accept. The more they see the world outside the more they will learn. Remember there is no time like the present, make use of it. Find the joy of travelling with your kids see their eyes light up as you embark on the adventures and experience first hand how travel is shaping your kid in a positive way.
