A diagnosed travel addict, some of her biggest accomplishments include: travelling peacefully with coeliac vegetarians around Italy for 2 weeks, successfully haggling down the price of a scarf in Jodhpur by showcasing her Bollywood moves, being mistaken for a Frenchwoman at a party in Lyon, and attending yoga classes in Rio without understanding Portuguese. 1. Open a search engine of your choosing. Parental controls leave search sites such as Google and Bing accessible. 2. Search for proxy sites. Proxies bypass filters on your internet by diverting the traffic to another server, masking your computer's address in the process. 3. Go to the URL of a proxy site. 112 views, 11 likes, 5 loves, 98 comments, 8 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Casa De Oración Fluir Del Espíritu: Casa De Oración Fluir Del Espíritu Two years passed, and when my mother died, I knew I needed to go back to the place which had helped me so much. It was then that we made the decision to change our lives, buying a little bolthole My parents hope to travel around _____world next summer. >A. a >B. an >C. the >D. no article Answer the question before viewing the answer below. Correct answer C HSmfdyz. A couple of weeks ago, a reader emailed me asking for some advice on how to deal with her worried parents. She had long wanted to take off on a solo trip around Southeast Asia, but every time she brought it up to her family, her mother would get teary-eyed and her father would express his concerns about her traveling alone, resulting in her feeling guilty without an idea of how to get around this hurdle in her trip-planning process. All I could do was tell her that as an adult, she had to do what was right for her and know that their support would eventually follow. That said, I’m not a parent, so it’s hard for me to see it from their point of view. So, I thought it best to go straight to the source. The following is an interview with my very own mother about how she personally dealt with my solo travels and her suggestions to fellow parents of wanderlust-stricken children. Her answers and suggestions surprised me Q What thoughts ran through your head when I told you I was going to quit my job and take off on an open-ended trip far, far away? M for Mother “I think, because you had already shown a taste for travel, as an intern in Washington, during college, and as a student of Mandarin in Taiwan, I had a little bit of experience with this. Even so, the night before departure went something like this- Me So, do you know where you will be staying when you first get there? Anticipating that at least I will have the name of a hotel for the first night, or a contact phone number, in case of dire need Daughter No, I don’t have a specific place yet. Me So, what do you do when you get there? This was Bangkok Daughter I am just going to go to this street that I’ve heard about. Lots of backpackers go there. I will be able to find a place to stay. Me So, if I needed to get a hold of you, I couldn’t? Daughter No Me Internal dialogue inside head do not panic Me in blue Yikes! Sorry Mom! I didn’t even think about it obviously and how it would affect you! I feel a little selfish now. But hey, it all worked out! Q This isn’t the first trip I’ve taken solo. Were you more prepared for me to go away this time since I already moved abroad solo at 21? M The prior experiences DEFINITELY helped me, as a parent, to know that my daughter had proven herself in the “I can take care of myself in another city/state/country select option”, which was great. My advice to young adults would be – By all means help your loving folks back home have CONFIDENCE in your plans by taking a “baby trip” first. That’s not something I would have thought to suggest but think is a great idea! Mom and I on a glacier in New Zealand Q Do you ever worry about me and if so, how do you quell your fears? M LOL – we are from Los Angeles!!! Seriously, a parent can worry if her child is in the next city. I “worry” about all of my children, simply from the standpoint of being a parent and caring for them. In the end, it doesn’t seem to be any different if they are one hour away, or 20. Wow my mom totally used LOL. She’s so hip and “with it.” Q How do your friends and colleagues react when you tell them what I’m doing and do their reactions ever bother you? M The most common reaction is admiration that I have a daughter who is gutsy enough to follow her dreams, when her dreams lead her out of most people’s comfort zone, and admiration for me surprisingly to have raised such an offspring. That’s pretty cool, and I bet a lot of worried parents haven’t considered that! Q What advice would you give to worried parents whose children want to travel? M Plan to go visit them. I must say, I have seen more of my daughter and spent more quality time with her since she has become a traveler than when she lived an hour’s drive away! I visit her, she visits me, we make more of an effort. This is extremely true. My brother and I when my family came to visit in Taipei Q What are some things that children of worried parents can do to help convince them that solo travel is OK, even for a female? M You did extensive research before traveling. You attended conferences and read a lot about others’ experiences. You really planned. I am, by nature, a planner, but you’re not! The fact that you prepared so thoroughly for a year! did a lot to convince me that you knew what you were doing, and that it was in your heart. The other thing we found was, communication these days is so easy! I thought that you were going to vanish off the face of the Earth. In reality, due to email, and services such as Skype and KaKao Talk a free iPhone application, people can stay connected. Most Importantly, I’d say to parents that if you can, visit your son or daughter while they are abroad. They bring their world to you, and you to their world. This response actually made me laugh out loud. My mother knows me well, I’m no planner! I also love the suggestion of planning ahead as much as possible, and really showing your parents that you know what you’re doing! Pin me! Do you want to travel abroad but have worried parents? Do you have any other suggestions that worked well for you? Do share in the comments section! How to Stay Calm When Your Child Is Traveling, According to TripSavvy Parents Pro tip Avoid watching "Taken" at all costs We’re celebrating the joy of solo travel. Let us inspire your next adventure with features about why 2021 is the ultimate year for a solo trip and how traveling alone can actually come with amazing perks. Then, read personal features from writers who have traversed the globe alone, from hiking the Appalachian Trail, to riding rollercoasters, and finding themselves while discovering new places. Whether you’ve taken a solo trip or you’re considering it, learn why a trip for one should be on your bucket list. For many parents, the thought of their child traveling alone—especially for the first time—brings up a complex mix of emotions. Fear, anxiety, excitement, pride, you name it. Even seasoned travelers who have explored the world on their own can't help but worry when it's time for their kids to travel on their own. But it doesn't have to be that way. As a team of travel pros, the parents of Team TripSavvy have a lot of experience with solo traveling kids—here's what they had to say about staying calm while your child is off on their own. The first tip is to avoid watching "Taken" at all costs, trust us. Courtesy of Ellie Storck Sharing My Location Gives My Traveler Parents Peace of Mind My parents both got a taste for solo travel via epic cross-country road trips in the 1970s, which explains why I love them—the '70s, road trips, and my parents—so much. “My first really impactful solo experience was in 1975, the year after I graduated from high school,” my dad said with a grin. “I took a gap year and worked and did various things. And one of the things I did was get on a train to cross the country to San Francisco to visit my sister." Starting in New York, he spent three days crossing the country on his own. "It was a lot of fun because there were a lot of young people on the train and we all kind of glommed together into a unit. We took over the viewing car, which was double-decked, and sat on the top deck with all the views, and we just camped out there—slept there, ate there, hung out, played music.” My mom’s first solo trip was more of the explore-the-wild-west ilk. “I never was traveling alone until college when I went to Windham in Putney, Vermont,” she told me. “When I was done with college and moved home to Annapolis, I drove with a friend through Colorado and to the southwest. We stayed with friends here and there as we drove. We had to drive through the desert at night, so the car didn’t overheat.” Even though they have considerable experience, as a woman traveling around the world on my own, it comes as no surprise that my parents get nervous. “I never worried about you doing well with decision making,” said my mom, “but rather running into someone who would take advantage of you.” My dad had similar concerns a la Liam Neeson’s "Taken" "As a father, I imagined all the worst-case scenarios. But I knew that I had a lot of confidence in you, so I wasn’t that worried beyond the usual stuff.” He and I reminisced about when we figured out how to use the location sharing settings on our phones when I traveled to Japan alone two years ago. That technology made it simple for them to know where I was at all times, and it was pretty funny getting a text from him saying, “Oh, wow, you’re at the base of Mount Fuji!” —Ellie Nan Storck, hotel editor Courtesy of Astrid Taran I Send My Mom Selfies From My Location My mom was a prolific traveler throughout her twenties, so she’s always encouraged me to travel as much as possible. But when I started traveling solo, she definitely had some reservations. “I need to be able to contact you at all times,” I remember her telling me before one of my first solo trips. “So make sure to answer my texts immediately.” Like many parents, my mom is constantly concerned about my whereabouts. Add in the potential factor of me being in a different country—let alone a country where I didn’t speak the native tongue—and she was more than a little antsy. When I asked her why she needed constant text updates from me, she replied, “So I can make sure you’re alive.” In 2005, 18-year-old American teenager Natalee Holloway disappeared on a high school trip to Aruba. You couldn’t turn a television on or open a newspaper and not hear about it. At the time, I was a young teenager myself and had already been bitten hard by the travel bug. Natalee’s disappearance and its subsequent international news coverage was a dark shadow cast upon millions of American teens. I remember a group of parents protesting a high school class trip to Italy that spring, terrified to let their children out of sight. Before heading off on weekend road trips with friends, my mom would ask me to write down the name of where I’d be staying and make me promise to call promptly upon my arrival. These days, things have changed. I have a cell phone, which is constantly at my side. “The digital age has its benefits,” my mom conceded. When she traveled through Europe in the 80s, she wrote letters home every week, dropping them off at the consulate. “I would send my mother photos of all the places I’d been,” she said. It took me a second to realize she meant physical photos. “So she would know I’m okay.” Today, I’m able to send my mom a selfie from my location in a matter of seconds—no need to wait for photos to develop. It’s the least I can do to grant her peace of mind. —Astrid Taran, senior audience editor Courtesy of Taylor McIntyre Regularly Scheduled Contact Is a Must for My Parents I took my first solo trip right after college, where I backpacked for a year, on my own, through 30 different countries in Europe. That was the first time I left the country, save for a quick road trip to Canada with my friend. Before the trip, I remember my parents being visibly nervous but trying to put on a brave face that would often break as I hopped from one country to the next. "We were nervous and frightened the whole time," my mom said. Of course, my dad referenced "Taken" and how, if I were put in danger, he was no Liam Neeson. I asked if they didn’t want me to do that trip. My dad paused. "No, no. I always raised you to be independent and to live out your dreams. I wanted you to do it," he said, "but I was nervous for you.” Even now, they still get nervous when I travel, but, according to them, it’s a parent thing, and one day, I will understand. “As a parent, you always have that feeling. Even when your brother goes out driving somewhere, it’s just a parent thing.” My mom said what helped her keep it together during that year was hearing from me, whether that was a long-distance call or a post on Facebook. Her advice for other parents in her shoes? “Make sure they have an international phone plan and set up regularly scheduled contact.” As for my dad, his sage words were, "Don't travel alone. Get a buddy." —Taylor McIntyre, visual editor Courtesy of Sherri Gardner I Establish Codewords in Case I Need to Subtly Ask for Help Much like me, my parents are worriers. Like the kind of worry where if I take too long to respond to a text or miss a phone call without advance warning, my parents assume I'm incapacitated. So when I left out on my first solo trip in South Korea, I needed to send my flight itinerary and hotel reservation as well as call them at least once a day, every day. And even then, my parents, especially my dad, found it difficult to relax completely until I was back home. I was surprised to learn that he was worried even when we traveled together. As a disclaimer, he did confess to watching "Taken" dozens of times in the two years between the film's release and our first international trip and it definitely didn't help that we were going to Paris, where the movie was set. While walking the streets of Paris he "kept looking around like 'No one's gonna snatch my baby.'" When asked what advice he has for worried parents, he says "number one is to set out your safe words so that kids can let their parents know that something's wrong without saying outright that something is wrong. It's also important to understand why they want to go where they want to go." This desire to understand manifested itself as intense interrogations about what neighborhoods would I be exploring, had I researched crime rates, where I would be staying, what is it like for single women there, what would I do if I lost my passport, and so on, and so on. It was frustrating for me but these conversations gave whenever him peace of mind that I did my due diligence. But his most important tip for soothing parental anxiety? "Give them experiences when they're younger. I don't think I could've survived you going to Korea if we hadn't done Paris and if you hadn't gone to Cuba or studied in London. Each individual trip along the way builds up experience that you can use when you go on the next one." —Sherri Gardner, associate editor Courtesy of Laura Ratliff My Parents Are More Afraid of My Everyday Life—Go Figure When I first wanted to ask my parents about their thoughts on this story, I couldn't get ahold of them for three days. Odd perhaps to some, but to me, this was entirely normal. You see, almost two years ago, my parents retired, sold their suburban home in Dallas, and bought a 37' RV that would become their new home. Since then, they've traversed the country, rarely spending more than a week or two in one place, except during peak pandemic, where they stayed put in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Perhaps their largely off-grid travels are simply a way to get back at me for jet-setting throughout my late teens and 20s? Not so, said my dad. "Honestly, I worried the most about you when you moved to New York City," he admitted. That move—which occurred over a decade ago—has been followed by more than 400,000 miles of travel, much of it solo, that clearly hasn't bothered them a bit. And, no, he no longer worries about my life in New York City, although he does worry about me driving the car I purchased last year instead of walking or taking the subway. The only other time he admitted to worrying when I was on the road? "It's kind of corny," he said, "but when you went to Paris when you were 15. It was just after Sept. 11, and the whole world seemed a little in flux... But I knew you would go and be fine." Little did he know that even I, the brave, smug teen, was a little nervous on that trip too, but of course, I never would've admitted it at the time. —Laura Ratliff, senior editorial director Cập nhật ngày 12-10-2021Chia sẻ bởi Kiều MyMy parents hope to travel around ______ world next đề liên quanWe are talking about the writer ______latest book is one of the best-sellers this York is not the capital of the USA, it is the home of the United a defender _______ a foul within the five meter area that prevents a likely goal, the attacking team is awarded a penalty throw or the existence of a wide variety of plant and animal species living in their natural the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the words CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined words in each of the following questionsThe USA is one of the most culturally diverse countries in the the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the words CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined words in each of the following questionsShe got up late and rushed to the bus the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the words OPPOSITE in meaning to the underlined words in each of the following questions I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the words OPPOSITE in meaning to the underlined words in each of the following questionsTraffic congestion in big cities deters many people from using their private cars at peak "Sorry, I forgot to phone you last night.”Tom " ______"BI have nothing to tell "Thank you very much for helping the disadvantaged children here.”Mrs. Angela " ______"The area was evacuated at once, ______?He ______ only three letters to his parents since he joined the tends ______ things at the last possible moment to it through with you has helped me to ______ my own thinking about the diseases are diseases that habitually infect only those persons ______ certain geographical he didn’t come to the party, he ______ walks so fast that I can hardly _____ urban population will continue to grow and it is expected that its proportion will increase to 70% _______ are encouraged to read books ________ they are a wonderful source of and Lila are talking about hiking in the Jack “I think we should set off early.” - Lila “______. Then, we can have more time in the mountain.”CSorry, I missed your point DI can’t agree with you more TravelFamilyPost-pandemic, we all want to travel more meaningfully. One tip Ditch the bucket there’s one thing pandemic lockdowns have taught us, it’s that the ability to travel is a gift to approach with reverence and gratitude. In 2022, many of us want to travel differently because we’ve changed. The pandemic has opened our eyes to our fragile world and to our own physical and psychological traditions such as keeping a “bucket list” now seem flippant—almost irreverent. “And so very 2019,” says Jacqui Gifford, the editor-in-chief of Travel + Leisure. “Bucket list travel has become tone deaf, especially during a pandemic. The idea that you must itemize destinations to see before you die, and that those select destinations will have a grander impact on your physical being or mental health than others, seems silly.”The lifting of pandemic restrictions gives parents an opportunity to help kids develop a healthy mindset around travel—one based on values of engagement and empathy, rather than achievement and acquisition. We seek more purposeful interactions at our destinations, and we want our footsteps across the planet to imprint less but mean backs the concept that exploring more mindfully not only benefits a destination but also our own personal health and happiness. Here are four ways families and kids can travel why you’re travelingJaime Kurtz, a psychologist at James Madison University and author of The Happy Traveler Unpacking the Secrets of Better Vacation, suggests starting any trip planning with the question, why do I want to take this trip? “Search within yourself,” she advises. “Why did I pick this place? What makes me feel happy and fulfilled?”Instead of checking off some guidebook’s list of must-see sites, connect with your family’s interests and passions, and use that to design a trip “that’s more authentic” to you, she says. It might also inspire you to explore beyond your usual the history of the people and places before you visit them, Kurtz recommends. Consider taking a destination pledge, such as the Sedona Cares Pledge, which encourages visitors to follow their “sixth sense of responsibility” and respect the area’s trails and heritage. Several popular destinations—including Iceland, New Zealand, Palau, and Big Sur in California—suggest travelers read and sign their destination pledges before arriving.Here are 25 amazing adventures for the year ahead.While you’re traveling, Kurtz suggests “getting to know people’s stories and finding ways to empathize with the people in the place as opposed to just seeing them as a spectacle.” If you and your kids listen to others more attentively and ignore distractions, such as your phone or getting Insta-worthy photos, that enhanced focus can lead to more authentic understanding and connections. “The more we can get to know the place on a deeper level, the more we’re going to care about preserving it and treating it with respect and treating the people there with respect.”For her own excursions, Kurtz hires local guides who often share their personal stories. They may connect you and your kids to lesser-known adventures, local makers, and local restaurants. Your dollars will then support that destination more in experiences, not thingsWe are happier, research shows, when we spend our time and money on experiences rather than things. Choosing the experience of travel usually has personal rewards beyond the trip itself, says Amit Kumar, an assistant professor of psychology and marketing at the University of Texas, his research doesn’t focus exclusively on travel, it does reveal that “a whole host of benefits [can arise from] spending on doing versus spending on having.” Consuming experiences—attending a concert or snorkeling a reef together—is more likely to make you happy than buying a bigger TV.This is why travel should be considered an essential human activity.“Experiential purchases like travel tend to be more reflective of one’s identity or sense of self,” Kumar says. “Compared to expenditures on material possessions, investing in these experiences tend to be the kind of investment that contributes to who we are.” And that can translate into how you and your kids interact with the world. It can also inspire gratitude.“When people think about these experiences rather than their possessions, they actually end up being more generous to others,” he says. For example, if you feel grateful to be hiking through the Sonoran Desert and getting to know new people and learning about the delicate ecosystem, you might tip more generously or teach your kids to use water more respectfully. And the travel gift keeps giving, says Kumar. We all know that joyful glow of anticipation before a trip, but your whole family can also look forward to building closer bonds with friends and other families through your after-trip storytelling. Here’s why grateful children deal better with life’s challenges.Discover how the brain benefits from travelYour travels, both near and far, may actually boost your family’s overall brain health, says neuropsychologist Paul Nussbaum, an adjunct professor of neurological surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and founder of the Brain Health Center. “On a physiological level, travel is very good for the brain,” he doing new things—like learning to surf or trying an unfamiliar local delicacy—may be challenging, but will become easier “because [brain] plasticity is such that you’re beginning to develop physiological, cellular connections to do those things,” says Nussbaum. “Something that was foreign is now more familiar.” As you face problems or challenges to solve in your travels, your hippocampi keep forming new networks, and your brain says he even toys with the possibility of doctors prescribing travel for brain health. But your family can always self-prescribe more travel as part of your wellness journey.“It’s a kind of universal massage of the brain that travel provides us,” Nussbaum says.Learn how thinking about your next trip can boost mental health.Center your family in their own travel narrativeNeuroscience and functional MRI studies have revealed that multiple parts of our brain engage and have heightened connectivity while and after we consume fictional stories. As we read or watch a story, parts of our brains can even light up as if we were the characters in here’s my idea for a way to replace the outdated bucket list with what I call an “encounter list.” What if we more consciously envision ourselves as the main character in our evolving stories? When your kids perceive themselves as the main character of their story, they can feel more aware of their agency, of their power to craft a narrative they can be proud of. And travel is one of the most vibrant and memory-making parts of any self-construction.These 25 books may inspire your next adventure.Ask yourself in what novel settings might you place your family this year. What complex characters do you hope your kids intersect with? What out-of-your-box adventures will your family take on? Then imagine all the ways your lives might spark with greater engagement and Brecount White is a writer based in Virginia who aspires to deepen her family’s connections to the world. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter. As years go by, one question never changes, Why do you travel? I love to plan trips as much as I hate to pack for them but that is not something that ever stopped me… In any case, that question still amazes me every time it comes up. I sometimes find it hard to answer. Mostly when the next question is Why do you want your kids to travel? Or better, why are you making them miss school? Well, my reasons are endless and these are some of them. Disclaimer Posts include affiliate links to products or services. I might earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no extra cost. The Importance of Travel for Children I believe we should start by asking ourselves about the importance of travel for us, as adults. Why is it that we travel, other than for pleasure, holidays or relax? I believe that it must be for more than one reason and that some of them are not as obvious I think that we travel because we are eager to discover. We want to know more, and to know better. We wish to experience different things, and probably we also want to learn. I’ve always thought that travel is part of a learning process. First and foremost, we learn about something different from what we were looking for. We learn to face challenges, overcome fears, and, most importantly, about ourselves. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all these experiences were also part of your kid’s life? The kids checking olives right from the trees. The mind of a child is constantly evolving, kids are always learning. How many times have we heard that kids learn languages effortlessly exactly for that reason? If travel is an important learning process, then a kid exposed to travel will benefit from the same things as we adults do when traveling. When kids get in touch with different cultures and lifestyles tolerance becomes something natural. I’ve seen it with my kids, and I’ve drawn these conclusions, the reasons why I want them to keep on seeing the world. 11 Reasons to Make Your Kids See the World In no particular order, these are – for me – the most powerful reasons to make my kids travel! When Children Travel they Overcome Shyness Buying and paying for a pair of shoes with his savings. Some years ago, and while still living in the north of Italy, I took a day trip to Rome. It was a quick, crazy, one-day city break, planned at the very last minute. We took a very early flight and off we went. We arrived early and did some exhausting sightseeing. Everything went fine during the morning, but as expected, at pm we were exhausted, sleepy, and the heat of the Roman summer was not helping. We needed a rest. However, my son, tired but still full of energy, was dying to see La Bocca Della Verità, or The Mouth of Truth, an impressive mask made of marble located in the portico of a church. He didn’t stop going on with his questions about the mask and after minutes of non-stop questioning, I simply answered that since I was not from Rome, I had no clue where we could find the mask. To my amazement, he turned, fixed a man, and walked towards him. He asked him two questions. Are you Roman? Could you please tell us the way to La Bocca Della Verità? Dromedary ride, Erg Chebbi. He was the shyest kid in his class… so who would have ever guessed that in a different context he would just go and ask? This was the first of a long series of “Go and ask” with a positive outcome. And he manages to do it even with language barriers. Both my kids engage in endless conversations on trains, markets, the beach, they make friends, and they interact with monks, vendors, and of course, with other kids. As the mother of a very shy boy who is not shy when he travels, this is one of the most important reasons to make my kids travel. Travel Makes Children Overcome Their Fears Making friends on the train. Travel involves facing the unknown. Even when every year you return to the same destination, summer after summer, there’s always room for the unexpected. When you travel to new places this room widens. When a destination is also remote, fear can be recurrent, at least until they arrive and relax a little. It happens to adults too I used to repeatedly dream about snakes before traveling to Asia for the first time!, for kids that feeling is enhanced. They love exploring archaeological sites! Some kids might be afraid of flying or getting lost in an airport. But there is more, they can even be scared of sleeping on a different bed, staying in an unknown room. Even a new city can be scary. New sounds, food that they never tasted before… Put everything together and the feeling can be overwhelming. But they have no other option, they must face and make peace with fears, and in most cases see that those fears were not real after all. Travel Makes Kids Smarter Discovering new places. I love to plan my trips at the dining table, sometimes with Internet research, travel guides, and maps. We all discuss and even argue about what we will do in order to make the most of our time in the place we will visit. As much as I love this, several times I’ve been a non-disclosing parent… I haven’t always told them everything about what they are going to see, do, or discover. I love to let the trip be the guide. A great honor for a tiny soul… opening the doors of an old church. However, I’ve often found them discussing and deducing facts on their own, resulting in a more effective learning process. I hear them asking for a price in another currency, making the price conversion, or I overhear them trying to deduce what a street sign might mean in another language. They are even able to guide me through a city while reading the map, because I know there’s no way I get lost when they read the map. When Kids Travel They are More Independent As they are still young, their independence is limited, but not less important. It’s been a while since they are responsible for their luggage, and they need to know in advance what they will need so they can choose what to carry. They know they have to carry their own backpack because I have my own stuff. So if they don’t want to get tired, they know that they must be wise as far as weight is too. For that same reason, travel has taught them to decide on entertainment Is a book better than my Kindle? Is the Kindle better than a tablet? Do I need pens? If I carry my savings, what will I buy with that money? If I want my souvenir to fit, should I leave something behind? They learn to make choices, their first choices. And they get ready for more important ones still to come. About to board our plane, Berlin. When Kids Travel They Learns from Differences Everything is different when you travel, kids learn to adapt to a different environment. But they also learn that different doesn’t equal bad. Or scary. It just means something other than what they know. Neither worst nor better. Just different. A different kind of house serves the same purpose, a different religion too. Selfies in Bangkok airport. Differences get us closer to what is different. And when you get close to it, you see it better… And fears go away. When you understand differences, you tolerate them, live with them, accept them, and recognize them as natural. You can stand for them even if they don’t belong to you. Isn’t this world lacking a bit of that? … And About Other Religions My small son praying in Thailand. My kids were not educated under any religion. I went through conversion as an adult but I personally don’t want to impose any belief on them, or on anyone else, for that matter. I just like to give them the tools to approach religion candidly. They can ask questions and even pray in whatever kind of temple they are visiting, and they can choose not to. As long as they are respectful of rules and traditions, they are free to live religion as a very personal experience. I’ve seen them praying to Buddha in Thailand as well as in thoughtful introspection inside a Synagogue. I’ve seen them marvel at the call of the prayer in Morocco and visit Cathedrals in wonder. These visits have ignited endless questions about God, traditions, and wars as well. About – again – differences. They are still young to make a choice and, in any case, I am in no hurry. But when the time comes, if it ever comes, it’s going to be their own and they will have all the instruments they need. I believe that is how it should be. Travel is Way Better than Formal Education I’ve always supported homeschooling. We’ve done it for a while, before and after moving to Greece, and it was incredibly valuable. And to tell you the truth, I’ve usually been less supportive of formal education mind you, I worked as a teacher for ages!. Learning is a difficult process, it implies stress and effort during an age when things aren’t always easy. When my kids stopped with their formal education, they never lost interest in learning. Experiences were more real and intense, making them hard to forget. Learning about fossils. Morocco. However, when we moved to a country where that language was so complex and different from their own, we all agreed that going back to school was not a bad idea. In a very short time, they were speaking the local language fluently Greek. Travel Enhances Communication at Home When kids come back from school, they sit in front of their homework and look exhausted. When asking them how was their day, or what they did… well, does the answer “Nothing” ring the bell? When kids travel that “nothing” changes There is always time to discuss and talk about something that we have seen or something we are about to see. Some new taste, or how this compares to that. There is always interest and expectation about what’s about to come. I have also noticed a more open attitude to subjects that are not their favorite. They concentrate better and focus more because there is more to see, more to listen to, and more to learn. Playing dice at night in our hotel. It’s not strange for children to be offered things when they are traveling. A piece of fruit, a little souvenir from a place, even advice from some random passer-by. This puts them on the other side. They met people who are happy to offer what they have to strangers. Being brothers. And when people have very little, a smile can do as well. This has made them aware that there are people who have less, others that have more. And they’ve also seen and learned that it’s easy to be on any of the two sides Their bond as brothers has become stronger as well, as they find themselves sharing a lot more than they do at home. Other Lessons Tolerance, Patience, Respect… Have you ever been to an airport waiting for a delayed flight to depart? This is a great lesson you can teach a child about patience, tolerance, and respect. Waiting in lines to board, to go through security, to enter a museum, to check in a hotel. It is a mess at the beginning if you let it be. It can break your parent’s nerves. But suddenly it becomes part of the routine. It’s not an ordeal that I make my kids go through, as I’ve been told. It’s just another lesson. The Game of Traveling Kids Remain Kids Children grow up fast. Too fast, these days. The joy, the excitement, the thrill of preparing for an adventure is one of a kind and keeps them closer to that wonder so typical of childhood. The adventure in itself is a huge amount of experiences and memories. When traveling, children learn without noticing. They understand the world without making themselves useless questions, but meaningful ones. Kids become passionate, alert, open-minded, and have their own opinion. Even better, they understand it’s ok to change one’s mind. And they learn to live in awe. Nothing is taken for granted. Not even a dish of food, not even a place to sleep. At the Science Museum Milan The latest phone device or the ultimate computer game gets a new perspective, there are more important things to wish for playing with the sand, bathing an elephant, climbing a mountain, swimming with whales. A boring rainy afternoon in a hotel room does not mean dull cartoons anymore, it’s family games and planning the next adventure. A trip to the market can be a quest. Treasures are real treasures. You found them on your own. So, when they ask me, why do I make my kids travel? The answer is so simple. If adults love to travel, why wouldn’t children love it too? Which are your reasons to travel with your kids?Let me know in the comments below! READ MORE FAMILY TRAVEL BLOGS We love to pack light! Especially the kids, they both have their carry-on backpacks. Since he became a teen, my eldest son has started traveling with a 44-liter backpack that was affordable and has proved super sturdy so far. My little one is a fan of tactical backpacks no comments here!, so for him, I got a 40-liter assault backpack in beige and he loves it! They both love taking pictures, one of my kids has inherited my Nikon D5300 with an 18-55 kit lens, while my other son has a Fujifilm FinePix but we are thinking about upgrading it soon. This Belongs to a Board! Why Should Your Kids Travel the World About the author of this blog Gabi Ancarola Gabi has been living in Crete for the last six years. On the island, she juggles being a solo mom, hosting culinary tours in summer, translating, and freelance writing for several travel written for Greek Reporter, published several travel guides about Greece, and had more glasses of frappe than any regular person could ever handle. You might also want to read

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