Remember that episode of the anime “Chibi Maruko-chan” where, after the holidays, everyone shared where they’d been? Lots of classmates had gone to famous tourist spots, or at the very least, visited hot springs or enjoyed good food with their parents. Even Maruko’s friend Wataru went abroad and took tons of photos. Meanwhile, Maruko didn’t go anywhere and just played near her house, feeling pretty embarrassed. As a parent, do you also envy Wataru, who went to the Maldives, while you feel low-key about going to Beidaihe? Should you save up and go abroad too? If, before your trip, all you can think about is where other people are taking their kids, what gifts to bring back to impress colleagues or teachers, or which scenic spots will sound more impressive in an essay… such trips taken for showing off or competing? Better skip them!
Actually, from a child’s perspective, a trip isn’t about luxury or prestige. Even a nearby suburb or a local park can bring them joy. Especially for preschool-aged children, no matter where they go, they usually just want to hit the amusement park, the aquarium, or explore nature. Historical sites or high-end venues don’t appeal to them much. High expenses don’t necessarily lead to proportional growth in knowledge—and parents shouldn’t indulge their own vanity by dragging their kids on exhausting trips and skewing the purpose of family travel.
Parents often want to handle everything for their kids and especially don’t want them involved in the complicated task of trip planning. From researching routes and booking hotels and flights to packing luggage and assembling backpacks—parents take care of it all. For the child, it really becomes an “impromptu” trip. During the trip, parents also take the lead: buying tickets, ordering meals, even fetching water—parents handle it all, while the child just sits back and enjoys the ride, eating, staying, and playing every day. Trips that are only about pleasure? Better skip them!
For children, travel is more about life experience—the joy of broadening horizons, the thrill of pushing personal boundaries, and the delight of the journey itself. Each trip is an opportunity to grow. When parents do everything for them, they rob their kids of those rewarding experiences. Let your children try things within their ability—like packing their own clothes or buying a bottle of water themselves. Let them experience different ways of life during the trip and share in the joy of growing together.
Flying to a new city, staying in standardized hotels, visiting tourist spots advertised everywhere, eating at chain fast-food restaurants, and ending each day with a pile of so-called local specialties… But when it’s time to leave, that new city still feels unfamiliar—only a stack of ticket stubs proves we were there. Trips focused solely on accumulating airline miles or collecting trinkets? Better skip them!
Standardized travel feels to a child a lot like a short-term training class or extracurricular lesson—there’s even homework afterward—writing an essay. Such travel experiences often result in an 80-point generic essay, docked points for lacking emotion or insight. Family trips aren’t about how far you go. A famous photographer once said, the most beautiful scenery can often be found within a hundred-meter radius of where you are. The key to family travel is to discover something different, beauty you might not have noticed before—wandering the streets and alleys of a city together, or quietly watching the clouds change throughout the day… This means more than rushing through tourist spots and can help your child truly appreciate travel and fall in love with it.
The point of family travel is to let your child know what lies beyond our home—fifty li, five hundred li, five thousand li away. What are the mountains like there? What’s the water like? What are the people like? Most importantly, what’s their way of life? Let your child understand that life holds endless possibilities and diverse lifestyles. When someone learns that there are many different ways to live, they won’t assume there’s only one best way, won’t blindly follow a single voice, and won’t just do what others tell them to…
The journey of travel is also an experience. There may be meals you’re not used to, hotels that aren’t comfortable, buses you miss, all sorts of bumps and mishaps, or even getting sick… But isn’t this the most real part of life? Nearly all parents find that, after traveling with their children, the kids change a lot in a short time—most commonly becoming braver and more resilient, no longer hesitant or afraid to try when facing difficulties. That’s the true charm and magic of travel.