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10 Lessons from 10 Years of Adventure with Kids

10-years-adventuring
Written by Stuart Wickes

10 Lessons from 10 Years of Adventure with Kids

Have you had an adventure with kids today? This week? This month? This year? No? Well it’s easier to put the TV on isn’t it? It’s less hassle to go shopping. The kids are busy and the adults need some down-time. What’s so great about doing things together anyway?

But just pause for just a minute and remember all those promises you made back when the house was a giant play pen and sleep was something other people had. Didn’t you resolve to spend time with your precious family? Didn’t you vow to work less and play more? What was that about exploring the world together? Didn’t you want to adventure with kids?

Ten years ago we started The Family Adventure Project after relocating from London to Cumbria with a six week old baby. With the arrival of first Matthew, then Cameron, and lastly Hannah, we made those same resolutions to put our family first. But we’re both easily distracted and knew that life was likely to put all manner of spanners in the works. So we wrote some ideas down and promised each other we’d act on them. These ideas ranged from getting out on our bikes more, to taking a gap year with the toddlers. Over the years, those hand written notes became a website and now a blog, recording all the things we’ve done together, providing lasting memories of our little and big adventures and reminding us not to settle for a life less lived.

Below are some of the things we’ve learnt along the way. And in some cases are still learning. Matthew is now in double figures and nappies are a thing of the past, but the family adventure continues… I wonder what the next ten years will bring?

Life Lessons Learned from Growing Adventurers

Juvenis Exploratis Seeds of Young Adventurers

10 Life Lessons from 10 Years of Adventure with Kids

Lesson 1: Newborns can travel too

Babies don’t explode if you put them on an aeroplane. They don’t melt if you take them out in the rain. They don’t drown if you put them inside a boat or canoe. And they don’t break if you hike them up a mountain. Sure, those early months and years are a precious and demanding time, but you don’t have stay at home to enjoy them. If you’ve both got some leave and are starting to argue over who does the next nappy change, then why not change your location instead. It’s a great time to explore the world together. You can breast feed up a mountain just as easily as on the sofa and if you aren’t brave enough to rough it, perhaps do a short tour of hostels or affordable hotels. Or just start by getting away for the weekend. You might as well have no sleep in a place you’ll remember.

Adventures with Young Children

With the right gear, skills and confidence you can get out adventuring even with a newborn
Photo: Early outings, Morecambe Prom, England

Lesson 2: Toddlers are easier in the outdoors

It’s a myth that being trapped in the house with the little cookie monster for days on end is a healthy situation for you both. Toddlers were made for stamping in puddles, for gathering up leaves in the woods, and for stuffing twigs into pockets. The outdoors is a great big playground. It’s also free. Why visit expensive fun factories or waste money on play barns when you can explore the world together at no cost? Take a wagon of snacks and go see what’s out there.

Canoeing with Toddlers in Sweden

Toddlers love being out and about. All that stimulus and quality time with parents is great for development.
Photo: Carrot fishing with baby, Western Sweden, Dra at Skogen Tour 2006

Lesson 3: Tweens and teens bring challenges wherever they are

Everyone knows children can be challenging, tweens and teens especially, so why not let them sulk in a pleasant environment? Let them hate you while the sun beats onto your back and a light wind fans your face. Let them text their friends from a forest instead of phoning them from their bedroom. Help them widen their horizons, take on responsibility and give them to the chance to say what’s on their mind without the distractions of everyday life. Spend time with them now, keep those communications channels open and you can build relationships that will survive almost anything.

Cycling towards the High Tatras in Slovakia

Interests and attitudes may change, but accomodate these on your travels together and you’ll build relationships that can survive anything.
Photo: Approaching the High Tatras, Slovakia, Blue Danube Tour 2011

Lesson 4: The world is a natural learning environment

You don’t need to teach them a language if they’re immersed in it already. You won’t need to teach them emergency navigation skills if you give them a map and let them figure out the way on a regular basis. School is a great thing, but the world is the most effective teacher there is. Just think of all the subjects that crop up when you’re out exploring the real world. History, geography, science, maths, art and languages never feel like a chore when they’re studied as part of a journey.

Pontoon party, Västra Silen, Sweden

There are so many amazing places to explore in the world. And they all have something to teach us.
Photo: Exploring the lakes of Western Sweden, 2006

Lesson 5: Family life is more fun when you’re together

On a family adventure you chat, you joke, you laugh. You share things. You have fun. You have tantrums. But let’s face it, if there’s going to be tantrums at least there will be others there to share the anger. So much of daily life is spent in separate rooms, or even separate buildings. Come together once in a while and get to know each other. Build up a bank of shared experiences that you can draw on. It’ll help to ground you for when more difficult times set in.

Family celebrating on beach

Adventures together create special moments, shared experiences you’ll never forget.
Photo: Celebrating at Finisterre, Pedalling Pilgrims Tour, Spain 2008

Lesson 6: You don’t need all that stuff. Really, you don’t

Always thought a stone was a boring everyday object? Think again. Our family adventures always remind us that the plastic toys, the Nintendo DS’s and the GHD hair straighteners are not what life is all about. Life is about people. Ditch the stuff and try playing with each other for a change. If you’re worried about your children being stripped of their favourite possessions then don’t be. Even the littlest member of the family can make a doll out of a stick and we’re constantly surprised by how many games they can all create from a pocket full of stones.

Playing with stones by the roadside

Kids don’t need TV, toys and computers to play or be happy. And we don’t need half the things we think we do either.
Photo: Dam building, South Island, New Zealand, Big Trip, 2004/5

Lesson 7: Taking on new challenges boosts confidence

Who doesn’t want confident children? Every time you go on a journey together, go somewhere new or try something different you create an opportunity to learn new skills for yourself and the rest of the family. Even on the most basic package holiday you can stretch yourself in terms of social interaction, by trying to get around a different environment or make yourself understood in a different language. And with an independent adventure the sky’s the limit; exploring, not knowing, testing your limits, dealing with setbacks and challenges   become everyday experiences. And learning to deal with this builds character and develops personal resilience. You’ll discover that you and your family can deal with way more than you think and that’s great for everyone’s confidence.

Boy learning to sail with instructor

Trying new things is a great way to develop and test skills, confidence and character. Photo: Learning to sail, Scotland, 2010

Lesson 8: Adventures create strong reminders of their childhood

Children grow up in the blink of an eye and, let’s face it, a lot of regular life isn’t really that memorable. But adventure ramps up the number of new situations, people and places we encounter. It stirs up emotions of all kinds, and deepens and tests relationships, which simply put creates lots of strong, shared memories. We won’t forget the time we slept out under the stars, the sense of achievement when we cycled across the UK in the summer holidays, the drama of a sinking boat when we were supposed to be learning to sail.  And these memories of our adventures together anchor us to moments in their childhood.  Add to that the photos, videos, diaries and blogs we have of adventures at every age and it’s sure going to be hard to forget what happened when the kids were growing up. And it should make it much easier to embarrass them on their wedding day.

Adventure with kids creates stories you'll remember for ever, even when they forget.

Adventure with kids creates stories you’ll remember for ever, even when they forget.
Photo: Storytime, South Island, New Zealand, Big Trip 2004/5

Lesson 9: Adventure with the kids keeps you fit not fat 

Middle aged spread setting in? Get on your bikes. Or up a mountain. The children will be fitter than you, and closer to their peak. Let that be a challenge not a problem. We reckon we lose an average of four pounds in weight every time we go on a cycling holiday, while eating loads more. How good is that? And if the kids are eating too many trans fats then make them burn them off. They’ll thank you when their own middle age sets in.

Cycling a tandem down to Funningur in Faroe Islands

Riding downhill is a buzz, but active adventure with kids usually burn more calories than you consume.
Photo: Cycling a tandem down to Funningur in Faroe Islands

Lesson 10: Parenthood is short

You think it will last forever. It doesn’t. Make the most of it while you can.

How long have you got left

Life is short. How many years have you got left with your kids before you die? Photo: A little reminder from one of the kids, 2011

What important lessons have you learnt from adventure with your kids? 

About the author

Stuart Wickes

Stuart's the adventure addict half of the team, always trying to persuade the family to get out, do more, go further. As co-founder and co-director he handles the business, creative, design, technical and publishing aspects of the project. He is our chief photographer and videographer. With training as a professional learning and development consultant. an engineer and musician, his contribution is eclectic and unpredictable!

38 Comments

  • WOW – you have really said everything I true believe about having a family and getting out there. Part of the reason we were so happy to move to St.Maarten – simplify life – get out there and explore and DO – everything we possibly can. It is also why I am not looking forward to returning to the U.S. – the habits of society just suck you back in. SO, we plan on coming to your side of the pond. Thank you so much for putting this out there in all the right words. I so wish more people understood this…….time flies with kids and you really have to do it now or the time will be gone. The best to you and your family!!!!!! CONGRATS on ten years.

  • Thanks Cheyenne and Kate. It’s so easy amidst the day to day demands of life and parenting to ‘forget’ how quickly the years pass. I am forever having to remind myself to make the time to put family first! As for feeling guilty, I feel that too, it’s not a totally unproductive feeling.

  • Well said. I’m laughing at the majority of your kid pictures are with them buddled up to the nines! Oh, and the joy of taking a tween to the forest? They CAN’T text or tweet – no cell reception- or download the latest song. Nope they actually have to play with their brothers or stare at a tree. Either way, a win-win in my book!

  • Thanks @tourcrafters, I agree. We’re very lucky to have the opportunities we do and the energy and inclination to take advantage of them.

    @Jennifer Duncan As they say, no such thing as wrong weather, only wrong clothing. That little investment in those yellow waterproof jackets and buoyancy aids has been repaid over and over.

    Thanks for your comments.

  • Thanks for this post, I saw it via Traveling Two. We toured around the world for a year as newlyweds and now we have a two year old. I want to start back with the touring but am a little intimidated!

    • We felt intimidated too after having kids, but started small, dreamed big, took a step at a time and learnt a new way of touring. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.. at least that’s what my mum always said! She also said mind over matter, but that’s not so easy when you’re pulling a toddler uphill in a trailer!

  • I couldn’t agree more and big congrats! We’ve been adventuring with our daughter since she was born in 2000 & on an open ended world tour for the last 6 years ( 44 countries on 5 continents so far on $23/day pp).

    Keep inspiring people ..it’s truly much easier and more rewarding than most families realize!

  • So nice to come across some like minded parents. We just returned from a trip to Nepal with a tween and a teen – no wi fi, texting or tv. We had to talk! We played cards and made up games from rocks. Love this post. Thank you!

    • Hi Sue. Sounds wonderful. The connected world is a wonderful thing. But it’s good to disconnect too sometimes. We were talking about the lure of TV while travelling on one of our talking points recently “The Goggle Box” Thanks for commenting.

  • I love this post. My friends don’t understand how we can always be on the go. For the most part our kids nap better if they have been stimulated sufficiently. And to us not only is the two or three hours of silence worth it but the smiles and laughter and excitement are life affirming.

  • This is such an inspiring post! I think for anybody thinking that starting a family means your days of travel are over should read this.

  • Love it! Especially no 2 – toddlers are easier outdoors. It’s so true. I’ve also found my girls have a lot less to argue about when they’re in the great outdoors having fun together than scrapping over a toy.

  • […] Why adventure? We did it, and still do it, because we have fun together. When the kids were younger it was all about the excitement of finding a playground in the wilderness, riding a board down sand dunes or over a wave, or stumbling across a brussel sprout farm. Now they are older, it’s the fun of negotiating border crossings in unfamiliar countries with unfamiliar languages, taking on bigger physical challenges, and learning new skills together. And yes, we’d still have fun in a sprout farm! […]

  • As a solo parent on a year-long adventure with my kiddo in Central America, I can totally relate to the “tweens are difficult” no matter where they are! Having a few key items for diversion and of course failsafes like travel insurance have certainly helped though!

    Great site family!

  • […] Over the last week I’ve been taking part in the BootsnAll 30 days of Indie Travel Project over on our Facebook page.  Each day brings a new travel related theme to explore and it’s been fun taking time out each day to think back on our family travels in different ways. So far we’ve looked at travel and goals, change, music, mistakes, kindness, fear and celebration, and it’s been interesting how easy it’s been to find connections to each theme. It reminds me what a rich tapestry of family travel experiences we’ve woven in our 10 years of adventures together. […]

  • Kirsty, I love this post. I have been traveling for the last 10 years and since by babies were born, we have been traveling all over the world. visited at least 10 countries and 30 states. My kids are just turning 4 and 3. They have traveled so many miles and lived in so many places that I never get to experience. All those tips are very interesting for anyone who wants to start traveling and We have experienced those well. I keep planing on traveling for ever and I love traveling if we stay more than 3 months at one place we get bored.

  • […] The Family Adventure Project said it better than we ever could, ‘[I]t’s easier to put the TV on isn’t it? It’s less hassle to go shopping. The kids are busy and the adults need some downtime. What’s so great about doing things together anyway?’ But toss aside the safety net of handheld consoles and morning cartoons for a second. We take our kids’ desire to go outside for granted. There’s nothing more magical, or more character-building than a jumped-in puddle, or a climbed-up tree. All those necessities that you used to think were home-bound – feeding the kids, keeping them entertained, stimulated and happy, and staying on top of your own downtime – you can do it better in the great outdoors. Maybe there’ll be some teething issues when a toddler misses their favourite toy or game. Maybe you’ll witness the same issues when you can’t check your cell. But give them just a couple of hours in the forest, or on a nature trail, and you won’t believe how far their imaginations can take them (and the same thing goes for you by the way). The whole world is a play-thing if you give it enough energy; rocks, streams, twigs, dirt, and sand. Sure they’ll get a bit gross, and you will too, most likely, but so what? That’s how it was meant to be. Learn by exploring; grow by learning, and become an awesome adult using everything you’ve learned. You don’t have to go far. Just walk the path less travelled with those you’d most like to walk it with. And one day, when they’re having kids of their own, they’ll know where the benchmark’s at. Tell us all about your family adventures over on twitter, or right here on the site. Talk soon, Allett P.S. If you’re stuck for ideas, here are a few things you could try:   […]

  • […] The Family Adventure Project said it better than we ever could, ‘[I]t’s easier to put the TV on isn’t it? It’s less hassle to go shopping. The kids are busy and the adults need some downtime. What’s so great about doing things together anyway?’ […]

  • I love this philosophy. My son has been so enriched from travel, and this past summer I embarked on an adventure with a 12 year old, 4 yr old and 89 year old grandma to Scotland and England. Grandparent time is brief too, and my kids will never forget when Nana showed them where she was from

  • […] “I was always comfortable with travelling with a baby and toddlers. I firmly believe adventure and adversity builds strong family bonds between parent and child and you can cope with anything together. But you do need to ask for help sometimes, and you need to avoid making judgments about who you call on based on appearances. On a budget flight back from a wedding in Slovakia a few years ago I had my one year old on my lap on the plane. I was seated next to a rugby team from the Midlands. Expecting them to be the rowdy ones in the row, I was mortified when my daughter projectile vomited all over me. There was no way the small toilet could comfortably accommodate both of us without a tantrum (from me not her) so I cautiously asked one of the rugby boys to take her. When I arrived back to my seat, the whole row of lads had charmed her and she had charmed them back. For the rest of the flight I enjoyed a rest while they were fully employed catching her toys as she span them into the air like she had just joined the squad.” ~ Kirstie from Family Adventure Project […]

  • […] “I was always comfortable with travelling with a baby and toddlers. I firmly believe adventure and adversity builds strong family bonds between parent and child and you can cope with anything together. But you do need to ask for help sometimes, and you need to avoid making judgments about who you call on based on appearances. On a budget flight back from a wedding in Slovakia a few years ago I had my one year old on my lap on the plane. I was seated next to a rugby team from the Midlands. Expecting them to be the rowdy ones in the row, I was mortified when my daughter projectile vomited all over me. There was no way the small toilet could comfortably accommodate both of us without a tantrum (from me not her) so I cautiously asked one of the rugby boys to take her. When I arrived back to my seat, the whole row of lads had charmed her and she had charmed them back. For the rest of the flight I enjoyed a rest while they were fully employed catching her toys as she span them into the air like she had just joined the squad.” ~ Kirstie from Family Adventure Project […]

  • […] playhouse is thrilling and adventurous for children and encourages them to be imaginative in their pretend-play. A playhouse can also act […]

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