Your travels may look different once you have kids but by no means do they need to end altogether. In fact, several studies have proven the benefits for families who travel together.
Break Away From Stress and Routine
Many families spend most days dealing with deadlines, tasks, errands, and daily activities. Whether these are from work, school, extracurricular activities, or household duties, they bring stress to our lives. With chronic stress comes a handful of health problems. When you feel tired and overworked be sure to take a break! There is nothing wrong with taking a step back to take a breath. Although things need to be done your health is more important than anything else.
Learning Experiences
Traveling is a great way to expand your kid’s horizons by introducing them to new places, people, cultures, and things. What they experience at a young age is often their perception of the world as they grow up. By taking kids outside of their normal environment, they can learn new things that may include exposure to a new language, new foods, unique cultures, and beliefs that may differ from their own. Traveling somewhere new also allows your children to experience places and things that they may have learned about in school. For example, they may have learned about the unique cuisine of Honduras in school, but getting to taste mangos verdes from a street vendor in Honduras is taking that learning to a new level.
Helps with Fitness
While traveling can get in the way of your daily fitness routine, it creates a great number of opportunities for your family to exercise together. For instance, you may try surfing to stay active when you’re on a beautiful beach in France or you may notice yourself walking over ten miles a day while visiting historic sites in Italy. While it may be different than your daily fitness routine, it is still physical activity being done with your family, and that’s the best combination!
Traveling with your family is not all for the photos. There are actual health benefits such as stress relief and increased fitness that comes with family travel. Not only that but you and your children gain the cultural experiences that you’d be unable to find in your environment.