10 Reasons My Daughter Loves Travel

It goes without saying that my husband and I adore travelling. We are currently planning one of our next trips and I am getting incredibly excited about it! Thankfully, my daughter shares our passion too. Well, she didn’t really have much option, did she? But starting her early has helped her to view travel as being a normal part of our lives and to enjoy and embrace the experience.

As discussed in my recent post (Should parents face holiday fines?), I am a huge advocate for travel and believe children learn so much from experiencing new sights, smells and cultures. Mrs T gets excited about going in a supermarket trolley so you can imagine what she thinks about travelling on an aeroplane and going to a completely new place!

Here are ten things she particularly loves about travel.

1. The Aeroplane

Mrs T has flown since she was just 9 weeks old and loves everything to do with the airport and flying. She finds it fascinating to watch the aeroplanes taking off and landing and spotting them on the tarmac. She embraces the whole flying experience: getting attention from the cabin staff, finding her seat, eating the food and snacks and being able to watch the iPad and TV. Going on an aeroplane is just another extension of our big, holiday adventure.

2. Beach

We have come a long way since she refused to walk on the sand back in Langkawi when she was 18 months old. She has cracked the fear and it is a pleasure to see her enjoying some beach time. She now attempts to make sandcastles (with help), does lots of digging and generally gets sand absolutely everywhere. Oh, and puts buckets on her head, of course.

She also likes to find shells, stones and unfortunately uncovers the odd fag end too!  With the warm seas of Dubai, it was perfect for her to have a splash and ‘swim’ in the sea.

3. Swimming pool

The pool is a big hit. This year, at two years old, it has really come into its own and all she wants to do is go in (which can get a bit exhausting). Paul and I duly take it in turns to play in the pool with her and attempt to teach her to swim.

4. Culture

Perhaps this is a teensy bit of wishful thinking. She is only two, after all. But I do believe she loves a bit of culture. She finds excitement in exploring different buildings and places, whether it be visiting a mosque in Oman or ancient Roman ruins in Spain. As she gets older, this will only sink in more and it is good to get her used to such excursions. We don’t usually stay too long at a place and we can’t perhaps explore as much as WE would like but we get a balance. In my opinion, there is no better way to introduce children to different cultures, help them get an understanding of the world and its beauty and to also help teach tolerance and understanding about different people, language and places.

I get incredibly excited when I arrive at our new holiday accommodation, let alone my daughter! She runs through the room, picks everything up which isn’t nailed down and gives it an excited once-over whether we are staying in a villa or hotel.  She makes herself at home very quickly. It always amazes me how adaptable young children are. When we were in Chicago for a prolonged time she treated the hotel as if it was her home – just much bigger and with a lot more people. She would wave and chat to the staff, loved pressing the lift buttons and seemed to have a ball.

There is so much selection and different tastes to try when you go abroad! She especially likes hotel buffet breakfasts – so much food to chose from! Sure, sometimes it can be hard to find something she might love but she’s is pretty good at trying new things. In Asia, she loved the char siu buns, noodles and she always seems more than willing to try different dishes when we are abroad. Daddy’s crab soup was a hit in Dubai – posh tastes, ay, just a shame she isn’t so posh when it comes to eating it!

7. Getting lots of attention from us

You can’t beat family time and holidays encapsulate this; the chance to spend quality time together: laugh together, go swimming together, play in the sand together and go on ‘adventures’ together. She gets a lot of attention from us and she just loves it. It’s great for us to all be together doing exciting things and relaxing. We obviously adore hanging out with her, seeing her excitement at the smallest things and wondering what is going to come out of her mouth next.

8. Getting lots of attention from others

She gets a teensy bit spoiled by us when on holiday – that is standard – but she also gets a lot of fuss from complete strangers too! Aside from her being exceptionally cute, a lot of this boils down to the curly mop on her head.

There is something about Mrs T’s hair that people are fascinated with, even in the UK, so you can imagine the interest she gets when we go to Asia where most people have dark, straight hair and blonde is a bit of a novelty. She gets so many compliments with lots of people just wanting to touch it. For the most part she really likes it unless we are in a really busy place and she gets a bit freaked out. It has got to them point where she has started complimenting herself saying “I’ve got lovely hair”. Got to love her.

It is standard holiday fare and getting the chance to eat some sugary treats is a big holiday pull. We recently discovered Chupa Chups which went down very well in Spain – until she kept dropping them in the sand! Yuck. I was secretly pleased, glad that at least her teeth would be spared. Ice cream is always a hit too!

10. Other kids

Our recent holiday consisted of plenty of children. Mrs T LOVED being around them and with 11 children, of varying ages, it really helped bring the youngest ones on. They learn so much. The children amused each other and it was great to have her (almost) constantly entertained. When it is just the three of us, Mrs T often finds a holiday friend! It’s so cute.

What do you children love about travel and going to new places? I would love to get your thoughts and experiences…just comment below.

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