{"id":235,"date":"2022-04-28T04:31:53","date_gmt":"2022-04-28T04:31:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modtour.travelerwp.com\/?p=235"},"modified":"2022-06-02T03:19:24","modified_gmt":"2022-06-02T03:19:24","slug":"how-to-explain-travel-to-a-five-year-old","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/periwintravel.com\/ar\/how-to-explain-travel-to-a-five-year-old\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Explain Travel to a Five-Year-Old"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I\u2019ve been a traveler my whole life \u2014 and was lucky enough to have a family that prioritized experiencing new destinations throughout my childhood. Now, it\u2019s my nephew\u2019s turn. At two years old, with seven countries down, he\u2019s on his way to becoming a citizen of the world.<\/p>\r\n

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While traveling with a child at any age may seem like a daunting prospect, experts claim that it can significantly boost development. They say travel can expand a kid\u2019s world, making them more empathetic toward cultural differences and helping them adapt to changing situations. It can even shape their linguistic development as babies.<\/p>\r\n

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\u201cThey\u2019re going to start learning the tools for developing meaningful relationships, especially across differences, from an early age,\u201d Dr. Robin Hancock, a global education specialist with Bank Street College, told\u00a0Travel + Leisure<\/em>. \u201cTravel has the potential to create a new narrative that teaches children about the similarities with others [and] lays a strong foundation, especially in the early years\u2026We have the potential to raise a generation that knows how to live and coexist with each other.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

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\"Family<\/figure>\r\n

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I\u2019ve watched my nephew try beans for the first time at La Guarida in Havana, picking up and considering each individual one, almost as if testing it. I\u2019ve seen him stick his feet in the Dead Sea (and then quickly pull them back out again), as well as try gelato under the shadow of the Duomo in Florence.<\/p>\r\n

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He may not remember these adventures, but they will impact his development, according to Hancock. The most rapid brain development occurs in the first five years of a child\u2019s life, and especially in the first three, she said. Surrounding kids from birth to about three years old with people who are different than them \u201cnormalizes\u201d that experience.<\/p>\r\n

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\u201cTravel and educating children about their roles as citizens of the world when they\u2019re young ensures they will retain that message into their adult years,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen somebody begins a habit or a tradition\u2026 early in life, that becomes the foundation through which they view the world for the rest of their life.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

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Traveling with young children \u2013 even as young as six months old \u2014 can also help them with linguistic development, said Erika Levy, an associate professor in communication sciences and disorders at Teachers College at Columbia University.<\/p>\r\n

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\u201cWe know that in terms of language, babies perceive sounds differently from adults. As they get older\u2026 they lose the ability to distinguish many of the other speech sounds,\u201d said Levy. \u201cIf we surround them with speech sounds from all around the world\u2026 then we are keeping those categories going, which helps later on in life with their language.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

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And when they return home from a trip, their experiences can actually help them in school, according to Hancock.<\/p>\r\n

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\u201cIt makes them more open to try new things [and] less cautious of people and scenarios that are not familiar to them,\u201d she said. \u201cIt will inevitably make children more open and remove bias.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

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Here are a few tips on how to maximize your child\u2019s experience while traveling.<\/p>\r\n

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Take a stroll in a local neighborhood.<\/h2>\r\n

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While it\u2019s great to see the major attractions in a destination, walking around a local neighborhood can be one of the most impactful moments for children, said Hancock. A child\u2019s brain tends to make connections based on what is familiar to them. \u201cIf you\u2019re in Venice, spend time on the Grand Canal, and if you\u2019re in Paris, spend time by the Eiffel Tower, but the pieces that really resonate with children are the experiences they can relate to,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be meaningful for your child if you just find a quiet neighborhood and go forwalk\u2026Inevitably, you\u2019re going to see people sweeping out their front yard and local vendors. And that\u2019s much more meaningful \u2014 you\u2019re going to get a better slice of what everyday life is like and your child will, too.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

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Create a tradition while on vacation.<\/h2>\r\n

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Traditions can help kids connect to a trip. For example, as children, my sister and I collected soda bottles in every country we visited. \u201cTraditions are meaningful for kids,\u201d said Hancock. \u201cAnything that you can relate back to the child\u2019s world is going to be a meaningful experience to them.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

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Have your kids play with other children.<\/h2>\r\n

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Grouping kids with other children around their age will help their development, even if they don\u2019t speak the same language, according to Levy. \u201cHave them meet other children \u2014 they will play, learn, and find ways to communicate,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd they\u2019ll learn that not everybody speaks English.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

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Turn your trip into a game.<\/h2>\r\n

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Asking children to point out things that are new to them, Levy recommended \u201cHave them show you three things they\u2019ve never seen before at home.\u201d She said, \u201cYou can do a treasure hunt for them.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

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Prepare your children in advance.<\/h2>\r\n

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Preparing children for what they\u2019re about to experience can go a long way, according to Levy. For example, tell them in advance about jet lag, or if they\u2019re nervous traveling, bring a special toy on the plane. But ultimately, you shouldn\u2019t be too worried: Levy said that children tend to be \u201cmore adaptable than we are in new situations.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

<\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve been a traveler my whole life \u2014 and was lucky enough to have a family that prioritized experiencing new destinations throughout my childhood. Now, it\u2019s my nephew\u2019s turn. At two years old, with seven countries down, he\u2019s on his way to becoming a citizen of the world.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":216,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,32],"tags":[34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41],"class_list":["post-235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-booking","category-travel","tag-content","tag-offers","tag-promotion","tag-seo","tag-social-media","tag-tools","tag-traffic","tag-website"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/periwintravel.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/periwintravel.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/periwintravel.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/periwintravel.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/periwintravel.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=235"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/periwintravel.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":293,"href":"https:\/\/periwintravel.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235\/revisions\/293"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/periwintravel.com\/ar\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/periwintravel.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/periwintravel.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/periwintravel.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}