Are children missing out if they’ve been abroad?

[Shopperami]

Are children missing out if they’ve never been abroad?

Shocker, But if those parents didn't take their kids to Spain that doesn't mean that they would do outside educational pursuits with their kids does it? It's not the holiday in Spain singing karaoke that's stopping that. So why is it sad they go on holiday to Spain! Your argument does not make sense.

Exploring the outdoors and environment is more beneficial (as an educator and observer of child development) than watching your parents get half cut every evening and sing karaoke

Ooh some one wears judgey knickers.. hope your not like that with your kids you teach..

Why do you assume parents get half cut at resorts? That’s a huge sweeping statement and untrue. How do you know if you’ve never been to one?

My own opinion is that they do not if ‘abroad’ is just a resort on a hot place. You can get that in a water park HOWEVER if abroad is actually seeing history and culture then yes. Travel expands education. My son has see original prehistoric cave paintings, the bayeux tapestry, the ww2 Normandy beaches, cave houses, and lots of other important bits of history. When we go we try to use the languages as well. He’s of an age now where it’s starting to reap rewards in school. Doing Ann franks diary and he was the only kid who had been. So I do think travel is important myself

Sounds like someone thinks that the TV show Benidorm is a documentary not exaggerated for comic effect light entertainment.

You don’t think children who don’t know their own environment and spend all weekends and holidays (except one) cooped up is sad, Downthecanal?

Maybe their parents work weekends, maybe their parents would rather save up for one amazing holiday than a few shite weather ones in the uk? How do you know their lives are sad? It’s actually really expensive to Holliday in the uk and offer cheaper to go abroad. Do you really go to work looking down your nose at children and feeling sad that get taken away to resorts on holiday?

Lack of experience in what? What are you talking about?

For me - travelling is about stretching children (and myself when i started to do this) beyond my own world view. To be aware that Enlgish is not the only langague spoken, that differnet cultures may do things differnetly and to respect these differences and talk about them. To move beyond stereotypes of people, which generally happens nautrally when you travel and you realise not all X people are this way. To show that life is not just "one way".

And then for the sheer adventure of it - because the world and people are fabulous - i love the diversity within architecture, food, ideas, places - and also exploring nature, mountains, seas, forests, volcanoes, and views.

I hope that by taking my children on holiday abroad that they move beyond thinking in an insular way (my little place / way is the only way) - to realising that the world is a big, diverse place. That we all belong on it - it has also opened up my children to realising that not everyone in the world has access to schools, hospitals, food - and to think about this.
I am in no way saying that you can only do this by travel, reading (which for me was my option as i did not travel as a child) is another way to broaden the mind!

However i do agree that with climate change we might need to re-think some of our travelling, although the train and boats remain optoins of getting around.

Not a resort snob at al. My post was to illustrate that despite having travelled and experienced lots of different things abroad with my children, I don’t think kids who have only ever holidayed in the UK are missing out.

There are a lot of defensive people on this thread who are missing the point of the original question.

I said I feel sorry for kids who only experience time away from home in an all inclusive resort. I stand by the fact that I believe holidays exploring mountains, beaches, rivers and such, with engaged family in the UK is more beneficial. If it was just one AI holiday a year in the UK, I’d feel the same as I would about just one AI holiday abroad. The question was about kids who’ve never been abroad missing out; I don’t think they do.

Yep barbara .... strange as they are an educator..

I was a child who only had holidays abroad as I said further back I knew nothing about the uk at all. As far as I knew wales would of been aboard and needing a passport. Ireland was one huge place that again you would go to aboard but was cold so we didn’t.

I’ve swam with dolphins, rode horses though forests, snorkelled and boarded, visited churches in Malta etc and sure it was fun (apart from the churches) but it didn’t actually open my eyes to other cultures it was just fun in the sun or something I could of done back home anyway. As children it was all about going back to school win a sun tan some foreign coins and bragging about the all you could eat ice cream and building the biggest sand castle ever and maybe dad fell in the pool fully clothes haha type stuff. I didn’t say well yes the ladies making lace thingys outside the church where very hard working low paid lovely people nope. I may of bragged that our hotel was so whatever we had armed guards with real life guns to keep the locals out too.

I said I feel sorry for kids who only experience time away from home in an all inclusive resort

maybe you should stop feeling sorry for other people and start feeling sorry for your own kids that that have not experienced a resort. Kids love fun and other kids rather than being treated like mini adults.

Goldenbear true. I’m hoping technological development will help us to make flying more eco friendly or at least make it quicker to get around the world on trains and ships. I think travel is important.
The sense of adventure and exploration can come from travelling in the uk too. It doesn’t have to be abroad.

Downthecanal, no I don’t. I spend my time planning activities for the children I work with and working with their families on improving their children’s self worth.

You really have no idea that other people’s lives might be different to yours, do you? These are children who can’t manage life in school because often their experiences have been far from ideal. I feel desperately sorry for many of the children I work with, but I don’t look down on their families; I try to assist them to improve the chances of happiness and success for them and their children.

I’m bowing out of this thread now because I don’t feel the need to justify my answer any further.

Travelling and reading widely are two of the things that broaden your horizons......if you can afford it then I think there are huge benefits in taking children abroad.

Just to add- my kids have had brilliant holidays on campsites in Britain and abroad, as well as in hostels and Airbnb’s; we don’t stay in hotels. We often holiday in groups with other families too. Why do you assume you know me more than I know families I work closely with?

That’s me done.

Foreign family holidays are lovely memories but so are many other things. Even if you only start foreign travel from age 20, you can still see and experience a massive amount so I don’t think it’s essential for children. As long as it’s replaced with something, like picnics in the park, bbq’s in the garden, family trips (locally is fine), meals together, movie nights as a family etc.

It depends on what you view is about what exactly they are missing out on. Going on a plane? Different money? Different culture?
Anything a child (or adult) doesn't experience they technically are missing out on but no one can physically do every single experience in the world. For every child I know who has been on fancy holidays/travels abroad I could find the same amount who have never been on a bus or train. Never been to Mcdonalds. Never been on a uk beach. Never been to a field and seen cows. Never walked along a canal path. Never been on a steam train journey, never been to a village fete, never been to a tourist city, never stared at a castle or church in the rain. Never played Crazy Golf. Never read a copy of the Beano. Never played Monopoly.
I could go on and on....
Every family is different. You do what you enjoy and afford and don't even think about what other families are doing.

Such snobbery around package and AI holidays!

When travelling with DS we always choose AI because it's easier but we pick somewhere which is in easy access to local towns/villages and always go out to explore.

Me and DH also travel together without DH and sometimes travel with work. DS has a huge map which he marks when we have travelled somewhere... Even if he wasn't with us. We talk about culture, food etc.

We also travel in the UK. DS benefits hugely from both.

But you are looking down your nose at these kids and families. Read your own posts. Just because they don’t holiday like you - you feel sorry for them. Which is judgey and patronising. It’s nothing to do with you how they holiday. They are bloody lucky to get away at all!

I didn't go abroad until I was 17, we always had family holidays to Devon which I will always treasure. My best friend always went abroad and as a child I did envy her but only because I wanted to go on a plane. I now have family who live in Devon and love visiting, I actually feel a sense of loss when a friend tells me they've never been.

The entire world is a beautiful place, it doesn't matter if you're holidaying in Devon, Wales, Spain, Maldives, it's the people who you take with you that matters!

If they are aged 0-4 then it’s totally irrelevant being abroad IMO

I grew up somewhere where London was a day trip. As teenagers we used to save on train fare by getting a lift with someone's dad who was commuting. I've since moved further North where daily commuting to London isn't feasible. I've met quite a few adults who are nervous about travelling there, no idea how to negotiate buses or the underground. My partner had to go to London with an adult colleague. The colleague said he would go so long as my partner saw him between the hotel and the work place every day! So my priority is that my kids can negotiate there way around the UK! I think if you want to give your kids culture, going abroad is a great way to do that, but not the only way. My kids are way broader minded than I was at their ages, due to CBBC, the internet, my cousins marrying people from different cultures, their own cousins having duel nationality. Oh and different religious festivals being celebrated at school, which their friends also celebrate at home. Travel abroad is good but not the be all and end all.

Their way.
Not there way. Oops.

Nope! I’ve been abroad twice (I’m in my mid 20s) both times were school trips in my teens and definitely not life changing, I can barely remember them.

Thankyou for all your replies.