4 Reasons Why Travelling Abroad is Good for Kids
There’s really no Aussie family that hasn’t done the traditional family holiday up and down the coast, to sunny Queensland, and maybe even across the country to Perth or Tassie. But how many of us consider taking our kids abroad? New Zealand doesn’t count here!
The truth is, a lot of parents might fear the idea of taking their kids abroad, particularly younger children. That said, there are a number of ways that travelling abroad can actually benefit kids, no matter their age. Sure, the family holiday might take a little extra planning than usual. You won’t be in your comfy safety net of vacationing on Aussie soil. You may not necessarily understand the language. But there are so many reasons why travelling abroad is good for kids, that I trust it’ll be worth it.
1. It inspires new ways of thinking
Think of it this way, when many adults travel abroad for the first time, they tend to return with an eye-opening experience and new way of looking at the world. And it’s just the same with kids, only even better as their brains are still developing. Neurobiologist Erin Clabough Ph.D. says that travelling abroad, and particularly allowing children to experience a culture different to their own, helps to foster creativity and inspire new ways of thinking in children.
Their own ideas and developing belief systems about the world are challenged and expanded upon by travelling abroad, and according to Dr. Clabough, "Fostering creativity in the minds of your children... can be an equally important reason to finally take that trip you've been planning." Sounds like a good excuse for a holiday to us!
2. It encourages family bonding more than local holidays
Holidaying in Australia is great, and there’s no doubt we live in a beautiful country. But how many new conversations can you have while travelling in Australia? While there may be small notable differences here and there between our cities and towns, there’s not much to remark on.
Travelling abroad, however, provides a wealth of conversation points for the whole family. From the food to the culture, the dress, the nature, the architecture, or the customs, there’s so much to comment on and talk about while abroad. According to the Telegraph, ? of conversations between parents and children are about daily routine. Go on a trip abroad, and you’ll be having entirely new and different conversations with your kids.
Discussing more than just a boring old daily routine will bring your entire family together as you bond over your shared experiences abroad. Your children will enjoy the opportunity to converse with their parents about something other than school or study, and you’ll come back from the trip better for it.
3. It can help improve concentration & attention
OK, so this point won’t entirely count if your kids are allowed to be looking at their iPhones all day while travelling. But in most cases kids won’t be able to tap into the 3G while abroad, so it still holds strong. Travelling abroad to a non-English speaking country means that the TV is less enticing, a time difference could mean that there won’t be disruptive messages and phone calls from friends back home, and kids are left to finally be out in nature and away from the digital world.
Allowing your children to be fully immersed in natural surroundings, without a dinging phone, has been shown to improve a child’s concentration and attention span after only 20 minutes. On a family holiday abroad, where kids are able to less focus on surrounding conversations, TVs, ads, and phone distractions, these 20 minutes will easily add up to make a significant difference in your children’s ability to concentrate and hold their attention.
4. They become aware of human connection
Children are incredibly visual, particularly at a young age. It’s not strange for a child to see someone who looks different and automatically set themselves apart. Travelling abroad allows children to realise that, no matter what physical differences, language differences, or cultural differences people may have, they are all the same.
It will open their eyes to the fact that cities and countries operate the same everywhere, that all humans have the same basic needs, no matter how different they may appear to be. This will allow your child to grow and learn to respect people of all backgrounds, cultures, and religions, and focus less on differences between people. Seeing how different countries operate may also allow them to appreciate being back home a little more!
Photo by Sherry Zhu