There is nothing compared to traveling with your family. It’s always exciting to experience the riches of travel and share treasured moments with your family. Traveling can be the best gift or the most important learning you can impart with them especially your children. You will realize you are raising children who will have a wider perspective on life and a broader understanding of the world, especially when you add a volunteering component.
The places that you went to or the adventures and activities you participated in, the people that you met and most of all the connections that you made with your loved ones, the experiences that you shared, and the conversations that you had- these experiences will be a significant part in shaping your children’s future.
Experiencing a diverse culture together is always insightful and fun – discovering new things, eating local foods, listening to unfamiliar languages, immersing in ethnic and cultural traditions… the joy of learning new things with your family. These shared experiences can help us find shared meaning and it’s a good way to build stronger connection with your loved ones.
Perhaps, the greatest take away is the opportunity for family bonding and creating memories. Traveling provides great shared family experiences that cement relationships. And when you give-back together through volunteering, this is greatly enhanced.
A lot of research has been done showing that material possessions do not necessarily equal happiness and that shared experiences and memories are much more satisfying than material things. People tend to get less happier with material purchases over time, and more happy with real hands on experiences. This is because we get used to physical things over time, so the newest iPhone becomes just ordinary after a few months of acquiring, while memories tend to get more gratifying as time goes by.
Shared experiences are important not just for adults but also for children and for their healthy well being.
Other benefits of shared family experiences include:
• Contribute to family bonding (especially when you volunteer together)
• Better health
• Reduced stress levels
• A sense of security for family members
• Higher rates of academic success
• Encourages good behavior on children
The Bottom Line: shared family experiences result to experiencing long lasting joy and in the long run, greater development for each family member. By incorporating a volunteer element within your luxury family vacation, these shared experiences are deepened and enhanced so your lives change as well as those you help.
