We at Kidz Activities believe in travel with kids as a means to create wonderful family memories. But also, it is a fun and exciting way to broaden the hearts and minds of kids, as they experience new things and learn about different cultures. We often immerse ourselves in the logistics – where to go, where to stay, where to eat and what to do there with the kids. Immersing ourselves in the travel logistics and a list of kids activities is definitely a must. But one overlooked aspect when we travel with kids is preparing them – and we don’t mean preparing their inflight entertainment and food. But rather, preparing them mentally. How? Simply by involving them. Ask them whether they can identify the country or place of destination on a map. Talk about how long the flight will take. Expose them to typical food in that place and all other interesting facts and differences they can expect. And even better, ask them what they think they would want to see and do in that place. Preparing them mentally is essential in travel with kids. It will not only make them feel more confident about travel, but they will also be able to absorb and appreciate the cultural differences even more – all part of learning through travel.
Here we share the simple travel information kit for our upcoming trip to Malaysia and the Philippines. We had so much fun putting this together for the children. But best of all, we loved the squeals of excitement as our 3 and 8-year old leafed through the pages, eagerly wanting to know more.
Some of the information we included are:
* Map of where we are going
* Flight times (how long they will take)
* Time differences
* Currency differences
* Simple phrases in Bahasa Malaysia and Filipino (Tagalog)
* Typical food from both countries
* Few Places of Interest (that we know they will see as it is part of the travel itinerary)
You will find that there are more information on food and language in the Philippines. That’s because our family will be spending Christmas there. And in line with the holiday season, we thought of instilling an even greater lesson on the kids: the gift of giving. To do this, we made arrangements to visit the Cribs Foundation, a non-government organization that provides foster care for abandoned, surrendered and neglected infants, and sexually exploited and prostituted girls on the streets. With a group of other families, we will be throwing them a Christmas party – a simple way of giving during the Christmas season, but an extraordinary way of inculcating the value of giving and sharing with those in need; a value we want ingrained in our kids in this world of all ‘me, myself and mine’. The extra Filipino phrases is then for our kids to somehow be equipped with a bit of vocabulary for them to connect and interact with the children at Cribs Foundation.
We hope this simple travel kit has provided you with a bit of inspiration to travel with kids, and involve them in your travel plans. Do you have ideas on what else to do to prepare your travel with kids? We would love to know.
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