Traveling With Children: Educational Benefits

Traveling with children offers more benefits than you might expect. This experience allows children to learn about cultural, historical, and religious differences and to be able to develop a positive point of view on diversity, which helps them maintain a happy and productive life.

Educational benefits of traveling with children

The journey opens up worlds of experience, education and exposure to other cultures, races, languages, history and especially people, something that could never be experienced in the same way at school.

Children who have the experience of traveling find self-confidence, an open mind to new ideas and philosophies, and become more advanced intellectually, emotionally and collaboratively, which improves academic success.

Let’s see below some educational benefits that traveling with children brings.

Family time

Taking your children on educational travel experiences ensures that your family will spend quality time together. Sharing with parents can help children feel secure in their relationship and can help parents get to know their children better.

 Appreciation for different cultures

If you have the opportunity to take your child on a vacation to another country, he will gain an appreciation for the differences and similarities that exist between different cultures. Tasting foreign foods, hearing different languages, and visiting homes and places in other countries can be an eye-opening experience for a child.

If you can’t take your child to another country, visiting ethnic stores, restaurants, or other multicultural places on a trip can yield similar benefits.

New perspective on history

The experience of visiting historical sites in a new place, listening to guides tell stories, seeing and experiencing historical spaces up close can bring history to life for children and this helps make sense of the names, dates and events they learn in the school.

Knowledge of geography

Traveling is not limited to history and social awareness lessons. Geography is another topic that comes to life. Depending on where they are, the trip offers the opportunity to show your children dormant volcanoes, marine life (especially if they are old enough to dive), huge mountains and all kinds of other interesting natural phenomena.

Brain development

Traveling with children can also help their brain development. This is because in a family moment two genetically rooted systems are being exercised in the limbic area of ​​this.

These are the play system and the seeking system. The brain’s “play” system is exercised whenever, for example, children dig their feet into the sand, tickle them, or take them for a walk. The brain’s “search” system is exercised every time you go with your child to explore together a forest, beach, a hidden gem of a town.

These brain systems were discovered by Professor Jaak Panksepp, a world leading neuroscientist at Washington State University. Once family vacation experiences activate these brain systems, they trigger neurochemicals of well-being.

Panksepp called them “nature’s gift to us.” These neurochemicals reduce stress and activate warm and generous feelings towards others and give a feeling that all is well in the world.

The use of the brain’s “play” and “seeking” systems, as often happens on family vacations, causes the brain to grow and mature in the frontal lobes, the very part of the brain involved in cognitive functioning, the social intelligence and well-directed orientation, behaviors that can last a lifetime.

Motivation for high educational achievement

Children who participate in travel experiences are more likely to pursue their greatest potential for educational achievement as they enter adulthood. The opportunity to understand various cultures can have a positive impact on a child’s educational and career options.

As they mature into adulthood, they understand the importance of pursuing a career and placing themselves in positions to further their educational pursuits.

So if you’re considering between buying your child a tablet, a toy, or taking him on a family vacation, consider the profound effects on bonding and brain development, there is no competition.