7 ways to arouse cultural curiosity in children before taking off

One thing that I learned after 20 years of family travel is that if the children do not have fun on a trip, no one has fun. This is why family trips have more planning and preparation than you may have done for your BK vacation (before the children.) Make sure everything is going well is half the battle. The other half excites them by the things you do and you see.

Prepare your children for the trip helps them get the most out of the experience. If you are traveling internationally, it requires even more efforts. After all, when you may want to make a trip to Europe, your children will want to go where their friends left (unless they are old enough to be influenced by social media and television.) For some, the battle between the appeal of Mickey Mouse against museums and monuments visiting is at best.

You must trigger their cultural curiosity and excite them for the trip before leaving the house. Our first trip to Europe with our daughter was in Spain, when she was eight years old. All the preparation we had made before our trip really resonated with my daughter. We did not walk around an art museum, she knew in which museum we were and we were thrilled To see a painting of his art book in person (it was almost as exciting as to spot a celebrity). Climbing a statue of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza in Plaza de Espana in Madrid was much more significant after reading Don Quixote and being caught in the eccentricities of these two characters.

She was delighted to try tapas, Jamon, tomato and so many other Spanish specialties because she was initiated into these foods at home, but also by looking at the special PBS of special On the road again With Mario Batali. And order by itself in Spanish was worth the hours of listening Break Break Spanish Podcasts in the car.

Advice to prepare children for international trips

Maybe you watch your next trip as a way to complete your child’s studies or just want to see something new. Anyway, if you are preparing for vacation with children and you want them to get away more, appreciate better what they see, and I hope you remember any longer, so here are some tips for you.

Involve children in planning

Children of all ages can play a role in family vacation planning. I saw everything, pre -adolescents and adolescents prepare presentations to “present” the family on their favorite destination to give young children the possibility of choosing between activity A and activity B. The more you buy your children before leaving, the more they will feel positive about the experience. After all, it is difficult to complain about something you have helped to choose.

Look at the photos

Before or after having decided where to go, it is good to present your children your destination. After all, as an adults, we may have seen a thousand photos of Venetian canals or Big Ben, but our children did not do it. Depending on the age of your child, you can use coffee table books, atlas, globes and Instagram to present your destinations (or your vacation options.)

If you have adolescents already on social networks, you can even configure shared files on Instagram or Pinterest to share places that you each find.

Watch videos / movies / shows

If they say that a photo is worth a thousand words, then a video is even more worth. When you start talking about your vacation around the dinner table, take the time to watch videos on YouTube on the place or the emissions or the films defined in the destination. They will help your children become familiar with the landscape, monuments and overall culture. And, when they see some of these places in real life, it will stay with them as they establish image connections to lives.

There are many films, television programs and documentaries adapted to children taking place in all kinds of locations. If a simple search does not give you good ideas, just ask your children’s librarian. Of course, for those who are old enough for social media, there are also tiktok and Instagram coils (don’t forget to sign / save the ones you like when you deepen your planning.)

Read on your destination

Of Magic Tree House Series has MYSTERS OF THE GEOGRAPHIC National ParkThere are many children’s books across the country and around the world. There are so many big books of fiction, historical fiction and non-fiction that can present your child the geography, history and culture of your destination. Again, check with your local library if you need to help find it. In addition, many of my articles on visiting places with children include a list of books defined in this destination.

Listen to podcasts

By driving back and forth to school or activities, you can also listen to podcasts on the destination to find out more, get advice and excite you for your trip. Start with my podcast, Holiday mavensBut you can search for the episodes of App Store for other travel podcasts.

Learn the language

Before going to Spain, we listen to the Spanish podcast of the Café break on the way to school and he taught our daughter the Spanish more practical than the little she had learned in school so far. As we get older, she went to the use of Duolingo before each international trip. In recent years, I have also started using Duolingo (more than 650 days of Italian so far!)

Develop your tastes

Food can be one of the most exciting parts of visiting a new destination, or one of the largest stumbling blocks (especially with difficult children.) This really helps to present your children local foods before leaving. You can start by showing children food – before you just eat it. You can watch videos, cooking shows and travel and food shows like Stanley Tucci: looking for Italy, someone feeds Phil and tastes the nation with Padma Lakshmi.

Once they have foods that make them curious, it’s time to dive by going out in a restaurant or cooking at home.

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