You’ve heard it: “I guess you won’t be traveling anymore!” My husband and I heard it when people found out we were pregnant. People were completely shocked to learn that I was still planning to travel after he died so tragically on a flight home from a trip. The truth of the matter is, however, that travel is therapeutic. It’s so good for our brains and our souls. Vacations have been shown to improve travelers’ mental and physical health. Why wouldn’t you do something that’s good for you, especially when people keep telling you to “take time for your own well-being” since becoming a single parent? Here are seven excellent reasons to keep traveling–for yourself and your kids–even as a single parent.
You’ll Gain Confidence
Being a single parent really takes you down a few pegs. One minute, you’re part of a team, figuring things out together. The next, you’re trying to do it all on your own, only more so, because there are new things to navigate, too. If you’re like me, you’re not sure if you can do it.
But I’m here to tell you that you can. You don’t have to jump into anything drastic. Just know that you will be able to try new things again, even with a baby or children in tow. Travel is the ultimate confidence builder. It will restore your faith in humanity, and yourself. Don’t wait until you have the confidence to travel. Travel to grow the confidence that’s already in you. You’ve already navigated something much harder than this, and you’re coming through it.
Read also: Why Travel is More Important than You Think
Your Kids will Gain Confidence
That confidence you’re creating? Your kids will see it, and they’ll become more confident in themselves because of it. Even the most anxious child will be able to see and feel their accomplishments when they travel. Every time they successfully use a map, find their airplane seat, and experience something they’ve only seen in movies or read about in books, they’ll feel accomplished and confident in themselves.
Get ready: 10 Ways Travel Prepares You for Life
Kids Who Travel Become Adaptable Grownups
Everyone is happier when they’re able to adapt. Travel builds creativity and critical thinking skills. When something doesn’t go quite as planned, adaptable people find a way; they don’t give up or give in to disappointment. Kids who travel learn these skills early, before they get too used to predictability and everything going the way it’s “supposed to.” Adaptability, in my opinion, is a perilously underrated skill. Your kids are at an advantage here, though: They’ve already had to adapt to growing up with one parent instead of two. Let them lean into adaptability.
More here: The Most Important Lessons Travel has Taught Me
You’ll Bond in Ways You Otherwise Wouldn’t
When any group of people takes a trip, they create a unique bond. The shared experiences and quality time combine with the (worthwhile) stress and struggle of travel. Your kids might just open up to you in ways you don’t expect. And maybe you’ll open up to them in new ways, too. Travel has a way of building or breaking trust between the people involved. Let travel be an opportunity to build trust and break down walls, if any exist. It’s hard being a single parent, no doubt about it, but it’s also hard being the child of a single parent. Travel will give everyone involved an opportunity bond in a way that the usual rhythms of life can’t.
Keep reading: The Top 7 Skills All Travelers Need
Experiences Can Never be Taken Away from You or Your Kids
Whether you’re a widow or a divorcee, a lot has been taken from you and your kids. But the experiences you have together can never belong to or be stolen by anyone else. Experience is valuable, and when you and your kids seek out experiences together, those are the things that belong only to yourselves. Those are the memories that will come back to your kids when they think about how much you love them. And those are the memories that will keep you going when your kids are having a bad moment.
Related: How to Savor Your Travels
Thoughts and Feelings are Challenged in New Places
When you show your kids the world and take them outside of their “reality,” you show them (and yourself) that they don’t have to stay in a cycle of sadness, anger, resentment, or victimhood. All feelings are valid, but if it seems like you or your children are dwelling in those harsh, negative feelings, some outside element needs to shake that up. Being in a new place, having new experiences, will challenge those difficult thoughts and feelings. Travel gives you the element of distraction, which in turn creates a shift in the brain. It challenges how you think and how you feel about “real life,” usually in a very positive way. It doesn’t have to be a faraway destination to get the benefit, either. A day trip to a new city or weekender to a new state could do the trick.
Try this: The Beauty of a Weekender
You’re Capable, and So are Your Kids
You’ve already been through the hardest experience of your lives, and you’ve survived. You may be nervous, or anxious, or even a bit overwhelmed thinking of traveling on your own with your kids. But I’m here to tell you: You can. You’re smart enough. You’re capable. Don’t listen to what anyone else says about your own abilities. If they haven’t been through what you’ve been through, their opinion doesn’t apply. If they have also been a single parent? Sure, give their thoughts some consideration. Just remember that their life, while it may have similarities, is not yours. It’s wise to listen to others who have been through similar lived experiences, but you’re not required to handle your life in the exact same way. You can do this, so don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t.
Read next: The Top 10 Things Travelers Should Never Do
Have you traveled solo with your child or children? Please comment below to tell us your experience.
Want more? Check out my dedicated Single Parent Travel Tips Page!
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