🚋 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗞𝗶𝗱𝘀 🚅
This week, I’m in Portugal with my daughter. She’s learning how to say obrigada, slurping her first razor clam, and enchanted by everything that feels…well…different.
Travel isn’t just a change of scene; it’s a crash course in culture, confidence and connection. Plus it forces parents to unplug in ways that no meditation app ever could.
When your 7-year-old is slurping ice cream balancing on the edge of a fountain, there’s zero bandwidth left for Slack.
𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗞𝗶𝗱𝘀
The “Travel Effect” project survey found that those who traveled regularly as children had above-average grades, higher educational attainment, and 12% higher than average incomes. 𝙒𝙝𝙮?
• 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: New sights, sounds, tastes, and textures—sand between toes, unfamiliar words on the tongue—help develop brain flexibility, and confidence in navigating the unfamiliar.
• 𝗔𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀: Travel makes children “more open to try new things and “more open and removing bias”
• 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲: Mixing with other children abroad (hello, playground diplomacy!) and meeting locals builds empathy.
𝗜𝘁 𝗗𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝗻𝗸
We’re lucky enough to stay with a dear friend in Lisbon (shoutout to friends who tolerate our chaos 🙌), but there are other economical routes too.
𝟭. 𝗛𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘀 & 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀: Some offer private rooms at a fraction of hotel prices.
𝟮. 𝗔𝗶𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘀 & 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀: Credit-card churning and airline sign-up bonuses are the wanderlusters way of couponing.
𝟯. 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗸𝗶𝗱-𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀: Think playgrounds, museums, and street festivals. Some of my daughter’s favorite memories cost exactly zero euros.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵: 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝘃𝘀. 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁
Plot twist: We encountered a protest in Lisbon. Signs reading “Tourists Go Home” were an unwelcome reality check.
“𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘺, 𝘔𝘰𝘮?”
“𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘴. 𝘐𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘭.”
“𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘚𝘖 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨”
Travel is a privilege—and with that comes responsibility. We must all respect local culture.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗲
Travel with kids is NOT easy. Right now we are arguing over how many pastel de natas she’s allowed to have each day. But traveling with kids isn’t about ease —it’s about curiosity, connection, and learning. Learning languages and marveling at the tiny street cobblestones will shape character more than any screen ever could.
Research shows travel can strengthen family bonds, improve cohesion, and enhance communication, with family leisure potentially being “the single most important force” for promoting healthy relationships. In our hyperconnected world, travel forces presence in ways that no amount of mindfulness apps can replicate.
