Comments on: Why We Travel with Our Young Children

By: Welcome, Star Tribune Readers | Travels with Children by minnemom

Welcome, Star Tribune Readers | Travels with Children by minnemom — Sat, 28 May 2011 15:10:16 +0000

[...] Different families enjoy different types of travel. I share what works for us in Why I Prefer Road Trips to Airplane Travel and The Vacation that Fits You Best, as well as why we travel with our young children. [...]

By: missionarymomma

missionarymomma — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 00:16:12 +0000

We travel with our eight children now 11 and under. We tok the all full-timing in a camper throughut the US. Then, we served with them in missions fr a few years in the Philippines. We together visted Japan and Taiwan and then Hawaii and much of some of the West Coast. Right now, we live back in our PA Mennonite area, but are gearing up to go to central America. We love to travel, but we travel with a mission. We want our children to love to learn and to lve to serve. We do lots of play, but play alone is empty in the end. We love the Lord. We love his creation. We love letting our children explore God’s world. We like them to see the result of sin in the earth and to see the fruit of those who love him. We travel to learn and grow as a family. We love being together. Life with our little ones is s very short. Thanks for sharing this great site.

By: Anthony

Anthony — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 18:23:52 +0000

Okay, I just read this post and it's much clearer now. Ur inspiring me to get up and go somewhere! .-= Anthony´s last blog ..Being Genuine and More On Asking Questions =-.

By: Travels with Children by minnemom » Is It Possible to Travel with Kids?

Travels with Children by minnemom » Is It Possible to Travel with Kids? — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 15:33:26 +0000

[...] recently wrote a post about why we travel with our kids. That post came about in response to a conversation we’d had with friends about money and [...]

By: Lorraine

Lorraine — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 05:35:23 +0000

You said it! And when anyone asks, I'm just going to send them right here. I especially like your husband's point about the kids growing up and doing their own thing. I hadn't thought it that way, but it's so true. Traveling now gives us some of those stopping-time moments. .-= Lorraine´s last blog ..Sea Turtles With Kids =-.

By: minnemom

minnemom — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 02:34:43 +0000

Elizabeth, your memories sound wonderful, and I love your points about having to get along with your siblings when you’re stuck in a car with them. Enjoy your travels with your kids. Have a good trip!

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:17:15 +0000

What a great list! When we were younger, my family (four kids, two adults) traveled by car to central Mexico from Michigan every year. It was 40+ hours one way. Now that we are all over and can’t do that, it’s all we talk about. Our best memories are from those trips, whether it was in the car or at our destination. We have zero personal space and we all get along great. We can laugh at anything or nothing and fall asleep anywhere. We would not be the same people if we hadn’t learned to tolerate and love one another while squeezed into a vehicle for days at a time.

Now, after several cross-country plane trips, two international plane trips and a dozen road trips from Chicago to Tennessee and to Florida, we are embarking on our first roadtrip to Mexico with our boys (ages 5 and 2.5). They will begin their journey of seeing how the landscape changes from cold Chicago to the plains of the Arkansas to the eternal roads of Texas to the mountains of Monterrey to the deserts of Zacatecas, Coahuila and Durango and finally the humidity and green landscape of Jalisco…all within a few days. Wish us luck!

By: Sharlene

Sharlene — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 00:52:02 +0000

We travel for all the same reasons and more. My son is on the autism spectrum and the more exposure to new things he gets as a young child, the more likely he will be able to adapt as he gets older. Yes, it may be harder for us than some famlies but my kids LOVE to travel and often cry when we pull back into our driveway after a long trip. They want more! I think there is no better education than a hands on education. .-= Sharlene´s last blog ..Road Trip Day 20- A Teton Sunset =-.

By: MJ’s Travel Favorites 12-13-09 | Traveling with MJ

MJ’s Travel Favorites 12-13-09 | Traveling with MJ — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 19:08:40 +0000

[...] Travels with Children has a wonderful explanation of why it’s so important for families to travel. Instilling a love of travel and other cultures in children in such a worthy effort. [...]

By: minnemom

minnemom — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 12:06:44 +0000

Eleni, I’m glad you like the list. We hope that we are helping our children to become all of those things you mentioned, and along the way, we are having a lot of fun.

Linda

By: minnemom

minnemom — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 12:05:10 +0000

Darcie, I’m sure you’ll have a great time. We haven’t braved flying with the kids yet. (With four of them and two of us it’s not economical.) Say hi to Mickey & company!

Linda

By: Eleni - Surfing Mom SC

Eleni - Surfing Mom SC — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 07:14:25 +0000

What a great list of reasons. I keep on trying to pick out the one I like best and I can’t. We truly DO learn more by experience. All of these reasons make people more complete. What wonderful character traits you are instilling. You are modeling and ultimately helping your children become people who can have fun, think critically, understand the diversity around them, appreciate beauty and value family. Seems like travel is indeed a great thing. I will definitely pass this on to others who wonder why travel?
.-= Eleni – Surfing Mom SC´s last blog ..Cappuccino Biscotti =-.

By: darcie

darcie — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 04:10:30 +0000

I say life is too short not to – We are taking our first ‘big’ family trip this winter – 7 days and 7 nights in Florida at Disney no less! I’m terrified of ‘getting there’ as it was cheaper for us to fly than drive – but I absolutely CANNOT wait!

I’m hoping it goes smoothly so we can do more traveling – though this will be the ‘biggest’ trip by far – though we LOVE to just get in the car and go…and there are soo many places to see and do -
.-= darcie´s last blog ..Tired of Voting Yet? =-.

By: minnemom

minnemom — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 13:29:40 +0000

Darngooddigs–Our experience was very similar–we loved to go places, so when we had one child, we kept going. Two kids? We still had a one-on-one defense. Three wasn’t much more than two, and four . . . well, by four it was in our blood and there was no stopping us.

I did get a lot of funny looks and questions when I would go on outings–to museums, historic sites, etc.–without my husband and with my four preschoolers. Knowing that it was entirely possible to take four kids out in public–and enjoy it–was the reason I started this blog.

Linda

By: minnemom

minnemom — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 13:26:08 +0000

Sandra, I agree wholeheartedly. There’s so much to be learned from travel. We’ve chosen this as our “thing” instead of early pushes into sports and other school-organized activities. We treaure the family time together, learning as we go.

Linda

By: darngooddigs

darngooddigs — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 03:08:52 +0000

We travel because we love to travel. We did it before we had a kid, and so why stop now that we have one? It's an added bonus that it's good for him. You should see all the pictures he's been drawing in pre-school about our summer trip to Spain. We had no idea he would remember so much, or that our trip would make such an impression on him. I belive our four year old is very curious about the world, and I think all our trips together have helped make him that way. .-= darngooddigs´s last blog ..Shelley Seale Nominates Casa Susegad in Goa, India =-.

By: Sandra Foyt

Sandra Foyt — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 03:02:38 +0000

When I was a teenager, I remember being astonished that an elderly man was taking college classes. Why did he need to take classes? He was old!

The elderly man explained that he took classes because he was curious, and that you should never stop learning. When you stop learning, you start dying.

That is why I’ve always traveled with my kids, because we never stop learning. We learn from books, but mostly from experiences. And usually, those experiences require leaving our cocoons and traveling.

Travel learning is just as important for this middle aged mom, as it is for all members of this family. That includes the kids, the grandma, and even the family dog!

By: Sarah V.

Sarah V. — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 20:26:04 +0000

I feel the same way! I always think that people are missing out when they don’t travel with their kids. And it doesn’t have to be that far away! Even little day trips can be fun.