For many parents, the idea of touring the world with their children in tow sounds like Hell. But those who have tried it report that their experience was far closer to Heaven. The notion of being stuck together as a family 24 hours a day, seven days a week, is certainly a daunting prospect.
Mark Twain even managed a quip for this: “Familiarity breeds contempt – and children.” But he also said: “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness.” Travel – if planned correctly, with time together and apart – has a mysterious way of resolving family problems and of getting everyone rested and in the mood to start having fun again. Think therapy without the shrink.
Parents will have plenty to consider before they pack and go. They need to prepare for exhaustion and for new responsibilities, as well as recalibrating their lives on all levels – including career, self-image and curtailed freedoms and relationships. Compare these challenges with those faced by freewheeling kids on gap years and there’s simply no contest.
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