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Spice of Life | Travelling, a gift that will be with children for life
Children are never too young to start learning from the environment around them. Even on simple camping trips close to home, when kids are removed from technology and outside influence, their minds seem to open up, writes Supriya Bhardwaj
Most of the time families hesitate to travel if they have young children along with them. It’s less widely known that travelling can also advance brain development in children. A child develops brain connections through everyday experiences, interactions with people, and senses to interact with the world. A young child’s daily experiences determine which brain connection develops and which will last a lifetime. The amount and quality of stimulation and interaction a child receives in the early years make all the difference. Between birth and age of five years, the brain undergoes the most rapid changes, leading to cognitive and neurological development.
Hence, the early years of a child’s life are very important for later health and development. Although the brain continues to develop into adulthood but the first eight years in a person’s life can build the foundation for future health, learning, and life success. How well the brain develops depends upon many factors in addition to genes. One of the factors is the child’s exposure to the outer world. Science has already proved it as Dr Margot Sunderland explains, this is because you are exercising the play system and the seeking system deep inside the brain that cannot be done at home.
As intrepid explorers, we have always travelled with our daughter, Karen, since she was eight months old. She experienced mountain drives, road trips, and many weekend getaways. Also, she got familiar with different terrains through trekking on snow-clad mountains, desert safaris, making sand castles on beaches, and strolling on seashores. She has travelled in various modes of transport, such as airplane, train, bus, car, ship, and boat. She had all these experiences by the tender age of five. At a young age, she embraced every experience and it became the norm.
Her stamina got a big boost by continuously stretching beyond the limits. Recently, we took her (at the age of 7) to Kareri Lake trek in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh. She did a 10km hike by herself. We were amazed by her stamina. At the top of the peak, she was surrounded by a few admirers. They were curious and keen to take photographs with her. At that point, nobody had seen a little girl or any child of her age conquer that peak.
Karen enjoys every trip and eagerly waits for the next one. We observed a tremendous increase in her confidence levels. She is much more confident in unfamiliar surroundings and makes friends with other kids whenever she can.
Children are never too young to start learning from the environment around them. Even on simple camping trips close to home, when kids are removed from technology and outside influence, their minds seem to open up. It has been our experience that regular travel with our daughter has helped her build a high level of adaptability, patience, and resilience that will serve her well as she grows up.
Travelling inspires curiosity in kids. They learn about places and cultures, which is a gift that will be with them for life. This develops skills of understanding, empathy and reasoning after having experience of different cultures, different socio-economic groups and different circumstances beyond what they read, see on screens or learn in a classroom.
Next time, if you are thinking of buying your child a fancy toy or tablet, think of a family holiday. There is no match between buying things and travelling with your child if you consider the profound effects on bonding and brain development. supriyabhardwajnov12@gmail.com
The writer is a travel blogger
