“One day…we’re going to take the kids to Europe”; “We really want to travel to Asia…maybe Thailand or Vietnam, but we’re waiting until the kids are older”; “We really want to go out West and see the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone, but our summers are just too busy”. Do any of those statements sound familiar to you?
The average American family doesn’t think they spend enough time together (guilty). Between school, work, sports, and extracurricular activities it’s no surprise that we feel disconnected and burned out. The best way to reconnect with your loved ones is to get away. No distractions and no excuses: just you and your kids (or Grandkids) spending “quality time”, enjoying each other’s company and maybe even experiencing an unfamiliar culture together. “Next Year, maybe” turns into the year after that…and so forth…until you “blink” and are sitting at their high school graduation wondering what happened and where did the time go!
Travel is proven to be a wonderful learning tool for children. Seeing how people live in other countries can open their minds and hearts and expand their imagination exponentially. Here are a few things that travel can provide for your family:
1. It creates lasting relationships…
between your own family members and people you meet while on the road. The folks that you run into along the way will give you a glimpse of what life is like outside your regular circle of friends and can give you a fresh perspective on how other cultures live. Our family welcomed exchange students, Emilio, Marta and Alberto from Malaga, Spain into our home several years ago. Over the years our relationship has deepened and we often times meet up with them in Europe and travel together. Most recently 2 of our 3 kids, Chris and Megan, met them in Barcelona for their college Spring break. They had a blast exploring the city, tasting mouth watering tapaps and visiting night clubs in the evenings.
2. You can learn another language…
There is something very exciting about being able to throw around a few words of French, knowing how to say hello and thank you in Portuguese, or ordering off of a menu written totally in Italian…and hoping you don’t end up with something inedible! And… knowing that if you do accidentally order something peculiar, that your whole family will still be laughing about it 20 years from now!
3. It gives you and your kids perspective…
Meeting folks from other cultures will teach you that the way you look at the world (maybe through the distorted lens of our mass media) is not always reality– and that you could be dead wrong about certain perceptions! We have had many meaningful conversations about why Europe is so far ahead of the U.S. in its transportation infrastructure, why people of Native Hawaiian descent still protest becoming a part of the US, and why so few French and Italian teenagers feel the deep temptation to drink alcohol in excess like ours do here in America.
Let’s Start Planning Your Family Vacation!
Are you reading this and thinking “Boy…I’ve always wanted to see Italy with my kids”? If you have this thought now, then you’ve probably always wanted to. You’ve imagined it, dreamed about it, envisioned it. Guess what? Now’s the time to JUST DO IT! I have several vacations options on my desk right now for folks just like you, who want to finally take their kids to Europe before they move onward and upward! So, let’s start designing your dream vacation and let’s engage your kids in the planning process!!
