What are some great destinations to take your child during the summer? There are certain places your child really should experience to broaden their horizons—especially these three places. If you don’t take your child there during the holidays, no amount of other worldliness will make up for it.
Over the weekend, Xuanxuan’s school organized a trip. While chatting with other parents during the journey, I realized I was way behind when it comes to traveling with kids: the most well-traveled kid in Xuanxuan’s class has already been to seven countries.
Nowadays, many parents enjoy taking their children out to see the world and gain new experiences. Those who can afford it often choose international destinations, allowing their kids to experience foreign cultures; others might opt for large amusement parks to let the kids unwind...
Some say that parent-child travel is all about spending quality time together, and the destination isn’t that important. But actually, that’s not the case—the choice of destination matters too. If your child hasn’t been to these three kinds of places, seeing the rest of the world won’t be as meaningful.
Remote mountainous areas
Hunan Satellite TV has a show called “Transformation,” which has recently returned to the air. Though it’s quite controversial, I think there are still some worthwhile aspects to it.
The impoverished mountain villages featured on the show are definitely one of the must-visit places for kids.
The urban protagonists in “Transformation,” who grew up in privilege with everything they could ever want materially, all ended up rebellious, wasteful, and unable to appreciate their parents’ hard work.
Why is this? Because they’ve never seen how hard their parents work to earn money, nor do they know that there are people in this world who can’t even afford a full meal.
There are no bright lights or luxury brands—just kids walking dozens of miles up and down mountains to get to school, then coming home to feed pigs and sheep, take care of grandparents, and manage households. Their families can’t even afford a few dozen yuan for daily expenses. With parents working away from home, the heavy burden of supporting the entire family falls on these children’s young shoulders.
Some of them, not even tall enough to reach a table, have to stand on bricks to cook meals for the whole family; though they’re just kids themselves, they’re already tasked with taking care of younger siblings.
People often say today’s children are spoiled, but it’s also because they truly lack opportunities to endure hardship or witness poverty. If we can create such experiences for them to understand and witness firsthand, they’ll likely better appreciate and cherish a happy life.
How can you learn to value what you have if you’ve never experienced hardship?
Children’s welfare homes
Everyone says, “Mom is the best in the world; a child with a mom is as precious as treasure.” Unfortunately, not every child has a mom and dad. There are some children who, for various reasons, have been abandoned and rely on social assistance to survive.
They are the children in children’s welfare homes. And their home—the welfare home—is also worth a visit with your child.
In many single-child families, the child is the center of everyone’s universe. The whole family revolves around that one child. The child becomes the little emperor or empress of the household, waited on hand and foot.
Grandma takes them to school, grandpa picks them up—even their schoolbags are carried for them. Even so, they often throw tantrums at the slightest dissatisfaction.
The love and care from family are taken for granted by the child. Not only do they become accustomed to it without gratitude, but they also forget basic respect and affection.
On the weekend, why not take your child to visit a children’s welfare home? The kids there, despite their young age, not only have to take care of themselves but also help the aunties look after the younger children. They have no one to act spoiled with, no one to ask for things from—they can only try their best to live carefully.
Your child will surely be moved: compared to them, you have the love of mom and dad, the affection of grandparents—what more is there to be dissatisfied about?
They will come to understand and cherish the love of family, treat their grandparents with greater respect and affection, and be grateful to their parents for all that they do.
Large libraries
In this world, besides time, there is also an endless wealth of knowledge. The difference is, you can’t stop time, but you can actively seek knowledge. Knowledge and learning enlighten the mind and bring peace.
A library is the best choice for a one-day trip with your child. The larger the collection, the greater the impact on your child.
A big reason children don’t like studying is that they find reading uninteresting and learning pointless. For anything, interest is the best teacher.
Spending a day at the library with your child is also a great option. Surrounded by an ocean of books, when a child sees everyone else reading, they’ll naturally want to join in.
All we need to do is “let them be”—don’t rush to correct them, don’t assign tasks, and follow their interests. Once they discover something they like, they’ll come to appreciate the joy of reading.
Thousands of books in themselves are a form of education—they teach children that knowledge is boundless and that even small achievements are no reason to be arrogant. A sense of reverence for knowledge will be their lifelong treasure!
In the comfort of peaceful times, letting children know about hardship will help them learn to appreciate what they have and be grateful. Moreover, if you don’t let your child face some challenges, the world surely will.