Stay Tuned…

More blog posts are coming! :)

For those of you who have followed my travels while I was running my blog (2015-2019), I am going to gradually be posting all of those into this blog.

I am also going to be writing a ton of new stuff specific to family and multigenerational travel, so be on the lookout for some future, high-value content!

Why You Should Be Traveling With Your Family

You are traveling (or not traveling) for the wrong reasons.

I said what I said.

Do you take a family trip every year out of obligation or expectation?

Maybe you don’t travel at all because it’s inconvenient, expensive, and always ends up being more trouble than it’s worth.

Or perhaps, you plan your family vacations with enthusiasm and anticipation because you love to travel and can’t wait to show your family something new. (Unsurprisingly, I fall into this category).

Whatever the case may be, I intend to convince you:
a) you should be traveling with your family, and are doing a disservice to them if you aren’t, and
b) travel is one of the best gifts you can give yourself, your partner, and your children (and/or grandchildren).

Here’s why…

Studies show travel has innumerable, valuable benefits to individuals’ core needs and desires, as well as that of the family unit.

The more I’ve researched this topic, the more passionate I’ve become about it. I don’t think I’ve written anything with this many citations since my 30-page final paper in my writing-enhanced Immunology class junior year of college. That just goes to show you, 1) that class was ridiculous, and 2) there is a lot of research out there that is proving the benefits of travel for adults and children is further reaching than we’ve imagined.

Andiamo! (Let’s go)!

Wellness

Research shows traveling together as a family increases the sense of well-being in both adults and children (Durko & Petrick, 2013). The positive impact on mental health is undeniable with improvements in depression and anxiety being reported across multiple peer-reviewed articles. Interestingly, in an Expedia Vacation Deprivation Study, 1500 women reported vacationing twice a year decreased tension, depression, and fatigue in comparison to women who traveled less frequently (Kelleher, 2019). I could report study after study to convince you of the countless benefits to mental health, but that would get wordy, and I’m gonna lose you, so please refer to the below bullet points for research-proven findings supporting some additional wellness benefits of travel.

• Experiences in travel can form new neural pathways in your brain, a phenomenon known as neuroplasticity, and can improve your creativity (Maddux & Galinsky, 2009).

• When traveling, you are existing outside your comfort zone and encountering new challenges. This has been shown to contribute toward a decrease in cognitive decline and aids overall brain health (Guo et. al, 2023).

• Neurologist Dr. Dean Sherzai specializes in neurodegeneration and reports travel specifically improves auditory and logical processing, spatial awareness and orientation, attention span, problem-solving and decision-making skills, memory retention, and how efficiently we process information (Sherzai, 2024). This is astonishing, and I intend to use this research to encourage my parents to fly out to DC to visit me more!

• Nutritional benefits have been reported in children who travel because of their exposure to new foods and flavors, and the ability to explore and learn about the food (“Benefits of an Unplugged”, 2019)

• Tzuhui, et al, 2023 found that travel alleviates negative emotions, stress, and anxiety related to work and academics.

• The Marriott Bonvoy Bold from Chase Survey of 2020 found grandparents report improved well-being and a more active lifestyle by spending time with their grandkids. Multigenerational travel is on the rise, and for good reason!

Happiness

Yeah, I know this can also be tied in with wellness, but there is enough research out there that speaks specifically to happiness as a benefit of travel, so I felt like it needed it’s own subheading. We’ve all seen the photos and videos on social media supporting this concept, and speaking from personal experience, I’ve lived it. (I’ve never been sad eating gelato in Italy).
So briefly:

• With regard to happiness, travel experiences > material purchases (Kelleher, 2021).

• The anticipation of a trip, in and of itself, is responsible for making people happier, with trip-related happiness generally extending to a month after return (Kelleher, 2021). In my Opt Out of Overwhelm package, I do a reintegration session to facilitate extending this indefinitely!

• According to Dr. Mary Beth DeWitt at Dayton Children’s Hospital, relational experiences (facilitated by travel in childhood) have been shown to foster the development of relationships in adulthood, which directly impacts happiness in adulthood.

• While vacationing is correlated to an increase in happiness, one study found that serial vacationing does not continually improve happiness. The authors suggest this is because tourism experiences aren’t considered “special” anymore (Nawijn, 2011). I think he nailed it on the head in 2011, and I think it’s even worse now as the tourism industry has shifted dramatically since then. This is exactly why travel coaching is a worthy investment!

Bonding and Connection

Relationships benefit significantly from family travel. Partners are drawn closer to one another. Children are more connected with their parents and/or grandparents. I’ve even found that I have deeper connection with acquaintances with whom I’ve traveled as compared to acquaintances with whom I haven’t. Shared experiences drive that connection.

We live in a world where devices take priority over face-to-face interaction; conversation circulates around the latest events on our newsfeeds; our careers and drive to succeed keep us in the office more than in our homes. It has become increasingly evident to me that we need to STOP and reconnect with one another. In my About Me section, I cite some unnerving statistics regarding marriage in the US. (Spoiler: half of them fail). As someone who truly values my husband and the life we are building as a family, I’m all the more passionate about doing the things we can to prevent disconnect. We love traveling anyway, but since educating myself on the research linking travel and bonding, I am even more ready to jump on the next plane with him! This is what I’m talking about:

• Traveling improves communication within the relationship; reduces prevalence of divorce; and strengthens lifetime family bonds (Durko & Patrick, 2013).

• Travel can improve your personality and overall emotional stability. It increases openness and makes us more agreeable (Kelleher, 2021). I’m not too proud to say my husband would appreciate a more emotionally stable and agreeable wife!

• Partners who travel together report increased emotional and physical intimacy, more intentional quality time, and greater overall satisfaction in their relationships (Storck, 2023).

Where are my parents of littles who are ready to travel alone with their partners again? 🙋🏻‍♀️

But wait…

Certainly, reconnecting with our partners is important. However, bringing the littles has unmatched benefits for your family, and for their well-being, development, and even their transition into well-adjusted adults. Here’s where the research gets even more encouraging. If you’re a parent, like me, you want what’s best for your kiddo(s). Following my extensive literature review, combined with personal experiences traveling with my family, I am here to tell you: family travel is what’s best for your kiddos. It’s a bold statement, and I’m not one to tell other parents what to do, but I hope the information I’m about to share will help you look at family travel from a new perspective.

Let’s talk about the positive effects of traveling on the family as a whole…

• Slowing down and enjoying uninterrupted quality time with the family allows for deeper emotional connections and bonding, aided also by the creation of shared memories (Kelly 2020). If you missed my post on the benefits of making childhood memories, go check it out.

• Recreational activities associated with family travel improves functioning of the family as a unit, and facilitates better communication (Pomfret 2019).

• Improves communication and harmony between family members, overall family energy (not woo woo energy - but general liveliness), and strengthens family bonds for a lifetime (Tzuhui, 2023).

• Travel, as a ritual, is important for developing stronger family relationships (“Did you know”, 2022)

Research-Proven Benefits of Travel for Children and Adolescents

I’ve discussed the advantages of travel between partners and the family as a whole. Multiple studies cite these benefits, so the positive impacts are very well documented. However, what I find especially satisfying is the mounting evidence for improved growth and development of children who have been exposed to travel.

I am referencing two recent studies in particular that were solely focused on travel-related benefits in children (B. Sharda, 2023, and Tzuhui A. and Hsiu-Wen, C., 2023). I hope you’re prepared for a pretty extraordinary bullet list.

• Play-based learning, enhanced by exposure to new things when traveling, has been shown to boost creativity and imagination, and helps with linguistic development, literacy and social skills

• The “Travel Effect” project showed childhood travel improves academic performance, results in higher educational attainment, and 12% higher incomes as adults.

• Exposure to different cultures helps children to expand their thoughts and ideas

• Traveling helps critical thinking evolve through exposure to situations that require more complex thought patterns. This aides problem-solving and spurs analytical thinking. (This is true for adults as well)!

• Exposure to unfamiliarity has been shown to build character, encourage bravery, self awareness and independence

• Children who travel have enhanced social and interpersonal skills, which directly and positively affect their academic success, empathy, compassion, and understanding and awareness of others

• Travel presents opportunities for autonomy, fostering decision-making skills

• Children’s life views are broadened, laying the groundwork for harmoniously sharing this world

• Strengthened parent-child relationships and attachment

• Children learn how to share and interact with others

• Greater adaptability

• Increased satisfaction of family life (calling all parents of tweens and teens)!

• Amplified motivation

• Satisfies kids’ developmental needs: belonging, love, self-esteem, self-actualization, physiological needs

• Ability to apply classroom skills in the “real world,” which broadens global perspective

• …Oh, and the general enjoyment of entertainment and creating happy memories

Whew! That’s a lot!

Traveling with our children has it’s obstacles, and isn’t always smooth sailing, but if the occasional trip can have this much of a positive impact on your child’s growth and development… how can you stay home?

If you’re still with me, you may be wondering how you can pull it off.

Why You Need a Travel Coach

My goal is to strengthen family relationships by fostering connection over distraction, mental wellness over anguish, and lighting a new fire where the burnout lies - all through the restorative power of family and multi-generational travel.

I am not a travel agent, and I do not do bookings. My job is even better. I get to dig in and learn the needs of my clients and help them purposefully design a trip that will not just check boxes…

✅ Ride in an airplane
✅ Run around crazy seeing points of interest
✅ Snap a family picture at the super Instagrammable spot
✅ Swim in the hotel pool (always a highlight in my childhood)!

A trip co-designed with my travel coaching services will look more like this:

✅ Fly everyone for free using credit card rewards and put the extra money toward an activity that fosters connection and bonding within your family. (This will look different for every family).
✅ Savor the experiences, and reduce stress by narrowing down the points of interest to a top 2 or 3 for each family member
✅ Hire a photographer to follow your family around for an hour to capture your family in action - way more memorable than that #samephotoeveryoneelsehas
✅ Swim in the hotel pool. Because every time your kids smell chlorine, for the rest of their lives, they may just remember that roadside hotel where you ate McDonalds and came back to swim with your dad and sister and met a kid you swore you’d be penpals with and that lasted one letter….

Make your trips meaningful.

Let me help.

Just take the trip… and bring the kids.

References

CHOC. (2022, November 9). The benefits of an unplugged family vacation. CHOC - Children’s Health Hub. https://health.choc.org/the-

benefits-of-an-unplugged-family-vacation/

Did You Know Traveling Encourages Family Bonding? (2022, December 26). Dayton Children’s Hospital.

https://www.childrensdayton.org/the-hub/did-you-know-traveling-encourages-family-bonding

Durko, A. M., & Petrick, J. F. (2013). Family and Relationship Benefits of Travel Experiences: A Literature Review. Journal of Travel

Research, 52(6), 720-730. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287513496478

Expedia. (2023). Vacation Deprivation report. https://www.expedia.com/stories/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Expedia-Vacation-

Deprivation-Global-Report-2023_Final-US-Small-compressed-1.pdf

Kelleher, S. R. (2021, June 29). This is your brain on travel. Forbes.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher/2019/07/28/this-is-your-brain-on-travel/

Kelly, C. (2020). Beyond ‘a trip to the seaside’: exploring emotions and family tourism experiences. Tourism Geographies, 24(2–3), 284–

305. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616688.2020.1795711

Maddux, W. W., & Galinsky, A. D. (2009). Cultural borders and mental barriers: The relationship between living abroad and creativity.

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 96(5), 1047–1061. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0014861

Li, Q., Guo, Z., Hu, F., Xiao, M., Zhang, Q., Wen, J., Ying, T., Zheng, D., Wang, Y., Yang, S., & Hou, H. (2023). Tourism experiences reduce

the risk of cognitive impairment in the Chinese older adult: a prospective cohort study. Frontiers in Public Health, 11.

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1271319

Marriott Bonvoy Bold Credit Card from Chase, Global Intelligence, T., & FleishmanHillard. (2020). Marriott Bonvoy Bold from Chase

Survey. https://familytravel.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/2020-Family-Travel-Planning-Survey-Chase-Marriott-Bonvoy-

Bold.pdf

Nawijn, J. (2011). Happiness through vacationing: Just a temporary boost or long-term benefits?. Journal of Happiness Studies, 12, 651-

665.

Pomfret, G. (2019). Conceptualising family adventure tourist motives, experiences and benefits. Journal of Outdoor Recreation and

Tourism, 28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jort.2018.10.004

Sharda, B. (2023, June 20). Benefits of Travel for Children. Boundless Life. https://www.boundless.life/blog/benefits-of-travel-for-

children#:~:text=It%20introduces%20courage%2C%20self%20awareness,a%20strong%20sense%20of%20self.

Sherzai, D. (2024, April 23). The transformative power of travel on the brain. The Brain Docs. https://thebraindocs.com/travel-and-the-

brain/

Storck, E. N. (2023, February 8). Why travel is good for your marriage, according to a relationship expert. Brides.

https://www.brides.com/why-travel-benefits-marriage-7106882

(Tzuhui A., Hsiu-Wen, C., and Ching-Cheng, S. (2023) Exploring family travel motivation, preference, and decision-making with children

of different ages. Tourism & Management Studies. 19(4), 2023, 35-45 DOI: 10.18089/tms.2023.190403