I've been asked to write on the topic of Five Summer Getaways that Every Child Should Experience, and because of that, I've headed back into my own childhood to find my top five getaways...
For me, it wasn't the actual place that was most important - it was the feeling and the learning and the growth as a person that made the biggest impression on me...
In my opinion, every child should experience a night under the stars... whether it's just in a tent or a hammock in the backyard or a full fledged camping trip into the wilderness, the magic of sleeping under the stars, hearing the sounds of night time animals and watching the moon rise and set and then the sunrise is an important childhood milestone.
Every child should get a glimpse at history - again, this could be a trip to a museum, a historical battlefield, an entire city filled with history, maybe attending a re-enactment or a medieval faire, it could even be a trip to someplace like the baseball hall of fame in Cooperstown, but every child should see where the world was... and as a part of that, every child should get a glimpse at their own family's history ...
Every child should travel in a new way... on a plane, in a boat, in a motorhome, on a train... they say that getting there is half the adventure and when you take a new method of travel that adventure takes on a whole new layer!
Every child should experience a trip on their own - even if it's just an overnight at grandma's house or a week at sleep away camp, traveling without parents is a learning and growth experience... and absence can make the heart grow fonder :-)
Every child should experience wonder - the majesty of Niagara Falls or the Grand Canyon, seeing the world from the top of the CN Tower or the Golden Gate Bridge... just being able to get a new perspective on the world - knowing just how small we are... lets us know what the possibilities are...
Getaways for me don't necessarily mean place, they mean adventure, fun and learning... so when I plan our family getaways that is what I keep in mind...
What kinds of summer getaways do you think children should experience? Where would your adventure take you?
Disclaimer; “I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Alamo blogging program, for a gift card worth $25. For more information on how you can participate, click here.”
