Travel 5. Website 6. Accident 7. Childhood memory 8. Favorite rooms 9. Presents 10. Historical place 11. Newspaper/ Magazine 12. Why I love my mom and dad. Funny things my parents say. Let me tell you about my imaginary friend. Secrets my mom does all day when I'm not around. What my brother/sister thinks of me. What my dad does in the. Hetalia x Child Reader - Japan x Baby!Reader - Wattpad from d. wattpad .com Mezon ikkoku) is a japanese manga series written and illustrated by rumiko takahashi.it was serialized in big. Jul 06, 2022 · Stranger Things Season 5 time travel theory predicts a mind-blowing twist When all else fails and the apocalypse descends, sometimes the only recourse is to turn back the clock. Here are 10 signs that you might be dealing with a difficult grandparent. 1. Undermining You As a Parent. When it comes to food restrictions, bedtime, screen time, or any other rules you have for your child, a toxic grandparent doesn't accept your parental authority. You Will Always Be My Son, from the album Sing Over Me: Songs for Parents and Their Little Ones, was released in the year 2019. To get You Will Always Be My Son lyrics, visit Lyricsmania by clicking this link: You Will Always Be My Son lyrics Album featuring You Will Always Be My Son Sing Over Me: Songs For Parents And Their Little Ones. Sponsored. From $10.28. food, grocery shopping"> <. From award-winning creameries from around the world, to artisan cheesemakers in the United States, our selection of gourmet cheese and butter is the best you can find online - and beyond! Discover our must-have picks for the cheese. Read more about "modified food starch" in Answers from a From figuring out your budget to designing your itinerary to packing your bags, there are so many things to consider. We know what it is like. It's exciting and terrifying and awesome all at the same time. It took us four years of discussion just to even make the decision to travel around the world. We know what a hard decision it can be. 12. Being Afraid to Talk to New People. "I can't talk around new people because I'm afraid my parent's words are going to come out of their mouths. I have to hear someone speak and interact with another person before I start talking.". — Shayla F. 13. Taking On Other People's Problems. 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 Vay Tiền Nhanh Ggads. Q. Dear Umbra My parents fly and go on cruises multiple times a year. How do I persuade them to stop enjoying a pastime they feel they’ve earned? — Keep It Domestic? A. Dear KID, You’re in a position that many adult children of now- or soon-to-be retired parents will find hand-wringingly relatable. As with most aspects of the current climate catastrophe, you can blame American culture for your parents’ position You work and work and work for decades, and you’re told that you can enjoy your time and money once your obligations settle down. Your kids are grown, your time is less regimented, you’re free to do what you like. You plan to spend those blissful, open years “seeing the world” — a week lounging in cafés in Florence, another on the beach in Tel Aviv. But all of a sudden, the thing you spent decades fantasizing about as a reward for your time toiling in some cubicle is morally at odds with the well-being of future generations. Womp womp! To productively answer your question, we need to address two conflicts. One has to do with the generational divide that climate change brings into such sharp relief; the other is about the challenge of trying to persuade someone to adopt your values. I’m assuming your parents are part of the baby boomer generation, which gets a lot of blame for the climate disaster we’re in. In the most simplistic terms, the children of the 1950s and 60s ate up a huge part of our global carbon budget before anyone even knew what it was, and they mostly won’t be alive to see the consequences. Certainly, there are many people in that generation who are directly to blame for that disaster fossil fuel CEOs, certain legislators, and a good deal of banking executives, just for starters. But to demonize tens of millions of people for simply being alive at a pivotal time in climate action history feels … unproductive. Particularly if you’d like them to understand and adopt your values. Because it’s your values, fundamentally, that make you cringe at the jetsetter lifestyle your parents have adopted. Travel is an upsettingly bad-for-the-climate activity. Flying is the most carbon-intensive way the average person can spend their time; so much so that the Swedes have developed the term flygskam, or flight shame, to describe the feeling of guilt that haunts most climate-aware people waiting in the boarding line. Cruises are almost comically bad for the environment; they are a perfect encapsulation of the lifestyle that you would live if you wanted to accelerate climate change as quickly as possible. One analysis suggests that cruises emit 1,200 kilograms of carbon-dioxide equivalent per kilometer traveled, another that cruise travel is between three and four times as carbon-intensive as jet travel. That’s just looking at the carbon emissions from burning fuel; it doesn’t take into account the ecological impacts of sewage and food waste dumped freely into the ocean, nor the particulate pollution caused by that infamously dirty fuel. Your values, understandably, tell you that this profligate pollution is wrong. The problem is that your values conflict with your parents’ values. Let’s say that your parents have been getting themselves through the drudgery of daily life with the eventual promise of these golden years of relaxation and exploration. That’s a life value Work hard and make your money, and you’ll be rewarded with a life of leisure. To tell your parents “you did it all wrong” is just going to create rift and resentment. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t help them redefine what the life of leisure looks like. Humans are programmed to adapt and change their expectations based on a shifting reality; some are nimbler at it than others, but it’s the whole way we’re able to able survive. I think the thing you can help your parents do is not give up the reward that they’ve planned for themselves after their long working lives, but just change it. The new reality, which you’re well-positioned to describe to your parents, is one that doesn’t accommodate frequent international leisure travel without some severe ethical quandaries. The desire to travel internationally could come from any good place a yearning to understand the world better, a curiosity about other cultures, an interest in the planet’s natural beauty. But here’s the thing I’d place a safe bet that there are an astonishing number of things to see and learn and marvel at within driving or train-ing or non-cruise-sailing distance of your parents’ home. “I think it’s a matter of shifting our understanding of how to take advantage of what’s available close by us,” Wendy Wood, social psychologist and author of the book Good Habits, Bad Habits The Science of Making Positive Changes That Stick, said to me. “I honestly don’t think it’s a matter of giving up what you’ve been looking forward to. I think it’s a matter of changing your framework to value what you’re doing slightly differently — valuing what you have close to home.” I’ve been delighted and impressed by so many things that are within a few hours’ drive of anywhere I’ve lived — and no, that’s not just Seattle, which is renowned for its majestic surroundings of mountains and sea. When I lived in Chicago, I found the Indiana sand dunes and the countryside of Michigan to be stunning. In the dead of winter, the long, snowy stretch of dramatic tundra between Minneapolis and Bozeman left me awestruck. In Poughkeepsie, New York, there was the entire Hudson Valley and the Adirondacks across the river. Even the beach was within driving distance, the Long Island Sound warmer than most waters in the region. Around my hometown of Pittsburgh, the misty, verdant Appalachians that span the state are worth weeks of exploration, in my opinion. I don’t think your parents are monsters for wanting to travel; to the contrary — I think it’s a far more respectable way to spend your leisure years than buying cars or big houses or fancy things. I do believe that you’d be within your rights as your parents’ child to share some of your concerns with them about the consequences of their travel, and to encourage them to put a little thought and creativity into crafting some closer-to-home vacations. That said Sometimes you don’t want to put thought and creativity into something! Sometimes the whole point of a reward is to avoid effort and work altogether! As much as I see all the awfulness of a cruise, I can appreciate that they plan every aspect of your day for weeks, and that sounds kind of dreamy. In that vein, might I recommend this approach for your parents You plan a super-nice and fascinating vacation reasonably near their home that they can undertake by car or train? You play travel agent, and they keep the carbon footprint of their trip smaller without having to put in extra work. There’s novelty and fun and, dare I say, luxury to be had without boarding a plane. Or a cruise ship. But frankly, those mostly sound like hell. Locally, Umbra 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! Learn how to write an email to give holiday advice. Instructions Do the preparation task first. Then read the text and tips and do the exercises. From Janet HillTo Sunny ChenSubject Hi! Hi Sunny! How are you? We're finally coming to Singapore so I wanted to ask your advice on what we should do while we're there. What shouldn't we miss? We'll have our two kids aged 6 and 8 with us so ideally we want to do things we can enjoy as a family. We've already got a hotel booked in Marina Bay and we arrive on 12 May for a week. I hope you're around so we can meet up! See you soon, Janet From Sunny ChenTo Janet HillSubject Re Hi! Hi Janet! Lovely to hear from you and how exciting that you're coming! You've picked a great area to stay in as it's right next to a must-see attraction, Gardens by the Bay. They light them up at night and the kids will love it. Another place to take the little ones is the zoo, and the Night Safari is really worth doing. The animals are much more active at night than during the day, so it's pretty special. As for food, there's quite a variety here. I'd recommend trying laksa and kaya toast – they're both really typical Singaporean foods. You can also eat well and cheaply at street markets. You should definitely check them out. Can't wait to see you all! Sunny My number here is +65 1234 1234. Tips Start informal emails with Hi + name instead of Dear + name. An informal email can be like a conversation, so you can start with How are you? If you're replying, you can start with Lovely to hear from you. Use these phrases to make recommendations ... is worth doing / seeing / going to. ... is a must-see attraction.I'd recommend ...You can ...You should ... Say why you recommend those things. You can add something at the end using Discussion Language level Topics Do you need to improve your English writing skills? Join thousands of learners from around the world who are improving their English writing skills with our live online classes and personal tutoring courses. 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 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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