Natasha OrmeIt’s a sentiment I hear a lot, and I totally get it. When your little one can barely remember what snack they had five minutes ago, it can feel pointless to take him halfway across the world.
But for me, there’s so much more to it. Seeing the world through his eyes has been one of the most wholesome experiences I could have asked for. So let me explain why travelling with a kid is the best damn thing in the world.
(Fair warning: it’s also bloody hard work and super stressful 🙃 but so totally worth it. A bit like parenting as a whole, really 😅)
We have family abroad
For us, international travel isn’t a luxury. It’s how he gets to know his family. Some of the people he loves most don’t live down the road, so getting on a plane is part of how he builds those relationships.
My dad has lived in Germany my whole life, so it’s only natural that we visit at least once a year – plus, I have to factor in stocking up on all the good German treats
Sharing new and exciting places
Of course, it doesn’t stop there. Once we’re somewhere new, I love sharing it with him. A rooftop view over a city he’s never seen, a volcano on the horizon, streets that look nothing like home.
He doesn’t need to understand where he is to take it all in, and I love being the one to show him.
Seeing his face light up at the little things
I thought the big landmarks would be the highlights…spoiler, they aren’t.
There’s no denying we have a vehicle-obsessed little one and seeing him press his hands against the airport window to watch the planes or be completely mesmerised by the vehicles zooming around the runway is priceless.
It’s often the little things, like stopping by a busy junction in Luxembourg to watch the bendy buses, or the cranes loading cargo onto the cruise ship in Malta. All things I’d never have noticed but keep him interested for ages.
Some experiences just don’t pan out like we expect. And they’re better because of it.
The number of times we’ve done something thinking he’d love it, only for it to go in a completely different direction.
Like the time we stopped for a photo with Jafar at Disneyland Paris. SJ was only 10 months old and he was far more interested in the lamp statue in front of us than the 7ft villain next to us. Jafar took great offence and the photos are just hilarious.
The pricelessness of new experiences, like wading through snow and not understanding why it’s so cold
Then there’s the first time he got to wade through snow. He was all bundled up and the snow was about two foot deep. Not only was he struggling to wade through it, he couldn’t work out why it was so cold, or why we were laughing so much.
Learning words from real life
When he was very little, I loved how he’d learn new words from actually experiences.
Like the time he learned the word “jungle” because we’re in Bali and had stayed at a wellness retreat in the middle of the jungle. The view from the balcony was amazing. No flashcard can compete with seeing, hearing and feeling something yourself.
The kindness of strangers
Some of our best moments have come from people we’ve never met. Being introduced to wildly new experiences we couldn’t possibly have done back home, all thanks to strangers being kind to a curious toddler (and his slightly overwhelmed mum).
Like the driver in Bali who got him out of his car seat and kept him entertained while sorted out sunscreen and snacks. Or the waiter at our restaurant in Hoi An who taught him how to say hello in Vietnamese. My absolute favourite has got to be the bird man in Dubai who was using a hawk to chase away the pigeons – he saw SJ being interested in the bird and stopped to offer him the opportunity to hold the hawk himself. No one was more surprised than me when he readily agreed!
All of these experiences have been incredible and I hope it’s teaching him that the world is full of good people.
Watching him discover new opportunities and build his confidence
Travel has shown me sides of his personality I wouldn’t have seen otherwise.
Like the time he spotted a piano in an airport and decided to give it a go. Or the way he’s started to feel more confident about the world around him, like the time he learned how to use the Japanese underground. There’s so much opportunity for him to find his feet and be independent in ways he wouldn’t often experience at home.
He might not remember everything…
I know he might not remember every trip. But these are my memories too, and sharing them with him is a gift that’s just priceless.
And we’ve now reached the point where he loves looking back through old photos and talking about our adventures, whether he remembers them or not. He points, he laughs, he tells me what happened (sometimes pretty accurately).
So, is it worth it? For us, absolutely.
