With summer lurking around the corner, you may be solidifying your summer vacation plans. For many parents with young kids, traveling may seem like a daunting prospect, and not quite worth it yet, especially if you have kids too young to remember just how crystal clear the ocean is or how majestic the Taj Mahal is. But perhaps with newborns aside, travel has tremendous benefits for even young kids, especially young kids. Your kids may not appreciate the star rating of a lavish hotel, or that they encountered an endangered species but travel forms perspectives, habits and dispositions. Here are at least eight exquisite benefits of travel for kids. 

1. Travel inspires curious. There is nothing quite like being in a different city, country or continent to heighten all five senses and expand the mind. Everything from hearing different languages and accents to tasting new foods to observing cultural idiosyncrasies will have your child asking questions and connecting dots to his life back home. You can’t be curious about something unless you’ve been exposed to it. And when you travel, you are constantly exposed to new sights, smells and tastes. 

2. Travel makes kids adaptable. Travel is synonymous with trying something new. There is no familiar route when you travel. Travel forces you to eat different, sleep different and even use the potty differently in some cases. You’ll be required to push boundaries and in doing so, it will make your child more adaptable to change. And the more you encounter change, the less you’ll be afraid of it. 

3. Travel promotes tolerance.  If your goal is to raise a close-minded child, travel can pose a real thought to a narrow point of view. Even when tolerance isn’t explicitly taught, the act of trying a new cuisine, observing cultural mores, and simply just being there says your destination of choice is worth your time to discover.