Travel influencers share 11 things kids learn from traveling, beyond the fun memories

Travel can be a joyful, enriching experience, appearing even more so through carefully edited photos on Instagram. Traveling with children, especially small ones, can also be challenging and full of opportunities to grow.

Families who travel frequently say there's much more to vacationing beyond the happy memories.

At home, children and parents are usually experiencing different challenges, like studying for a test or pushing through a deadline at work. But on vacation, where adventures are simultaneously new for everyone, families get to be "excited, awed, afraid, or confused all at the same time," said Maryann Jones Thompson, a mother of two from San Francisco and the editor of the travel magazine Roam.

"Building shared memories is tough to do at home," she added.

Micki Kosman, a mother of two from British Columbia and founder of The Barefoot Nomad, said that her children had learned to appreciate their lives more because of the places they'd visited and that travel had put their problems in perspective.

"Today, our children understand that many of the problems they and their friends deal with pale in comparison to the plight of many children around the world," she said.

"My children can't whine that their feet hurt when we're running to catch that connecting flight or boarding the train at the last minute," said Colleen Lanin, a mother of two from Scottsdale, Arizona, and the founder of the website Travel Mamas.

Lanin added that they'd learned that if they don't keep up or if they misplace something en route, they could be responsible for the whole family missing a flight or an excursion.

"I find that the more responsibility I give my kids, the more they will follow through and the more mature they behave," she said.

Flights are grounded. Itineraries change. And inclement weather cancels opportunities.

Catherine Parker, a mother of three from Austin, Texas, and the founder of Carful of Kids, told Insider that the adaptability her children had learned through travel made them better prepared for the twists and turns of life — something she said had proved especially useful during the pandemic.

"Every time something changed, we were able to roll with it and talk it out," she said.

Kim Orlando, a mother of three from Greenwich, Connecticut, and the founder of the website TravelingMom, said her children had learned the value of service on many vacations together.

Once, they participated in a volunteer program in a state park in Hawaii. "My kids were not happy," she said — they'd told her, "What kind of vacation is it where we have to work?"

But after four hours of "thorns, heat, and bugs," they were not ready to leave, because they had befriended the locals and learned how much their contributions meant to them, she said.

"Getting out of our comfort zones is one of the best parts of travel for my family," said Jessica Gee, a mother of three from Hawaii and the cofounder of the website The Bucket List Family.

She told Insider that travel forces people to confront situations and opportunities that they may not face as often in their day-to-day lives.

She said that she gets excited every time she sees her children expand their comfort zone by trying something new and that she'd grown a lot herself through travel.

"I'm cautious and a bit introverted by nature, so I feel proud of myself every time I say yes to a new opportunity or adventure," she said.

"When a family travels together, bonds are strong," Kosman said. "You need a solid bond to survive long delays and the occasional overnight stay in somewhat tight quarters. The result of all our efforts on the road is that we spend a lot of time together after we're back home."

Traveling doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg, but it often isn't cheap. Involving children in the planning, including discussing the affordability of vacations and certain activities, helps them appreciate the sacrifices made to make travel happen and teaches them how to prioritize activities.

"Before a trip, we always sit down with our kids and talk about places we want to go as a family and our rough travel budget along the way," Kosman said.

Gee said that on many of her family's journeys, they put away phones and tablets. "Sometimes you just have to get rid of the technology and stop using it as a crutch," she said. "Even if you're sitting in the car for six to eight hours a day with nothing better to do, children have to learn how not to need it."

She said that on a recent adventure, her 3-year-old sat on his dad's surfboard in the ocean for 2 1/2 hours without getting bored while surf instructors worked with the other children. "The instructors couldn't believe how well behaved he was," she said. "The world existed pre-technology for centuries, and kids did just fine without it."

Kathy Chin Leong, a mother of two from Sunnyvale, California, and the editor of Bay Area Family Travel, said her children appreciated the unique challenges and adventures each vacation provides. Travel "helps them in their confidence and courage in meeting new people and trying new things," she said.

"My kids are more open-minded about other cultures, traditions, religions, languages, and people because they've met so many diverse people in our travels," Lanin said, before quoting Mark Twain: "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness."