The
Benefits of Family Travel
by
Dale Bartlett
 A dream my wife and I had
always had was to traverse the waterways of Venice on a Gondola with real
Italian slowly navigate our way, serenading us as we sit back into each
others arms taking in the beauty of the architecture, sites and sounds of
Italy. A few years back we fulfilled this dream. Sitting for a brief moment
in time, with the breathless reality that we were free from the cares of the
world until the silence was broken from directly behind us… “Are we there
yet?” Yes our third son was
getting a bit impatient with the lack of speed of our wonderful ride, the
others seemed to be somewhat content in the pace, but Devon’s tempo is a bit
more well, that of a speedboat which would kind of take the romance out of
the whole experience.
Yes we
took our four children, plus one extra on our perfect romantic vacation to
Italy, and it wasn’t the first time nor would it be the last. See, my wife
and I have a passion for travel and though a second honeymoon would be nice,
the most important thing we can do for our children is to share our passion
for exploration with our children.
Our
family began traveling overseas when our youngest daughter was three.
Actually she had her fourth birthday on that trip. You might well wonder how
much of a trip like this would sink in or if she would even understand much
of what we were trying to do. Our hope however, was that in some small way
she would begin to see her world as something just a bit bigger than the
sandbox she typically enjoyed during the summer months. Our other children
were nine, eleven and thirteen respectively.
 Traveling with children
isn’t always easy, but if done with a purpose it is extremely rewarding. Our
little four year old exceeded our wildest dreams and even now at fourteen
she still remembers vividly her first trip to France and England. Just ask
her about her birthday cake at the hotel in the shadow of the chateau where
Leonardo Di Vinci lived and is now buried or when we finally got to England
and she could finally, somewhat, understand everyone. There is so much she
can still recall and so many incredible memories made, that we hope will
last a lifetime.
So why
travel with your children? You may have a different answer than we do. For
some it might be to just get away to just say, “been there, done that”. To
others it might be for the adventure itself or to explore new cultures and
ideas. To us, it has been a vital part of our children’s education. Now
after ten years, it has become a way of life, but more importantly it has
become an education. The Greek, “exegesis” means to “draw out of”. When we
travel, especially with our children we try to use this principle as our
main purpose to our adventure. Often or trips have taken a year to plan and
prepare for. They first start off by studying the area, the cultures both
past and present. Understanding some of the language and the historical
notes that have made a difference in how we do things today. It is kind of
like the sling it against the wall to see what sticks approach at first.
Seeing what interests each child and when you find it, start digging deeper
and then together study it out. It is then that the fun begins, the trip is
set.
 One of our more recent
trips was, as mentioned above, was Italy.
Others have included France, Germany, Switzerland, Honduras, Belize
and Mexico, all multiple times, England, Canada, Spain, the Caribbean and
nearly every state in the US. We have done all this with our children in tow
and with the express purpose to educate and immerse them into the world
around them. Our trip to Italy was probably by far my personal favorite
because it was then that we really started to discover how best to travel
with purpose and direction. Now before I go on, I want those who are
thinking, “well that’s nice but an average family could never afford to do
vacations like this”, to get those notions out of their heads. We once
thought this too until we discovered reality is what you make it. Most of
these trips to Europe were with seven of us and were for a duration of three
weeks and cost less than $3000.00, for everyone and everything including
air. Most of our trips in the US were kept around $200.00 per person total
including places like Hawaii. No, we didn’t sleep in the parks or even
hostels. In fact we have slept in Marriott’s, Castles and in Italy we made a
600-year-old restored farmhouse, just outside of Florence in the Tuscan
hills our base camp. The best part is that any family, any size on any
income can travel the world this way, you just have to know the secrets and
take the time and effort to plan… with your family!
The
benefits however are worth any cost, the fact that we have been able to do
this at minimal expense is just icing on the cake. As our children have
grown they have developed a greater understanding of the world, the problems
facing their generation and have been able to, for the most part they kept
“unplugged” from the distractions facing most kids their age. Travel brings
a greater sense of self with a better understanding and compassion for
others less fortunate. It provides a greater gratitude for even the small
things they have and opens their world to opportunities and erases perceived
barriers others wish to portray.
 I believe it is a direct
correlation to the travels they have experienced that has been responsible
for their being accepted at the ages of 15 and 16 to their University
studies with full academic scholarships, for their love of the arts and
their acceptance of cultures and differences in others. For these reasons
and a host of others, travel in our opinion is essential in these difficult
times for this next generation.
So the
next time you think about a wonderful getaway as a couple with children turn
that thought into traveling with your children and immerse your family into
this incredible, wonderful world.
The
Bartlett's make their home in the northern mountains of Utah. From there
they continue to raise their children and use this beautiful oasis as their
base camp to discover the many possibilities of this incredible world. To
find out more about the Bartletts or to purchase their book
Have Kids – Will Travel, you can
visit their website at
www.havekids-willtravel.com or
www.savefamilyvacations.com
Photos by Dale Bartlett
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