I had the pleasant surprise of watching Brad Pitt on 60 minutes the other Sunday night.
If you know me at all then you will understand just how much this made the day one of the best Sundays ever.
Craig always likes to mention how when we first got together he walked into my bathroom and saw a life size poster of the Legends of the Fall star and then another one in my room.
Embarrassing?
Hell no, it’s Brad Pitt.
Anyway, I digress and for your sake I better get back on topic or we will be here for a mighty long time and I’m afraid I could be speaking to myself.
There was much flirting going on between the reporter, Tara Brown, and Brad, and I was blushing myself at this veteran reporter fluttering the eyelids of her seducing eyes.
Totally get it Tara.
Although, I must say Brad was not his usual charming self, in fact, quite the opposite.
I found him talking about many things, and I realized just how in tune we were. One of them being about whether we are confusing happiness and inner peace, which I wrote about on Mojito Mother. I think he must have read my post because he basically said exactly what I did. Maybe he is infatuated with me!!
Tara asked him about the effect of fame upon his children.
He spoke about their understanding of life “beyond the gate.”
They know that when they walk beyond the gates that separate them from us, their will be a row of paparazzi waiting to capture every moment of their Adonis like qualities.
Of course, I don’t like it, and it is a sacrifice, he says. Totally different to my upbringing.
But I always bring it back to how lucky I think they are.
They get to experience the world. It enriches their life so much.
There is a trade off, of course, but they get to have what most people never have, whether you are an adult or child.
I smiled.
Not because of the glint in his eyes, but because he was speaking my language.
He understood me. He understood travel and how many positive ways it can improve your life.
Love family travel
I go through the motions almost daily.
We’re planning a big trip. We’re taking our daughters away from the comfort and safety of a house and family nearby. We don’t have paparazzi waiting outside our gate, but we are making big sacrifices in doing so. As Brad said, “there is a trade off,” there always will be with whatever you do.
You have to understand the implications of the trade off.
Is it going to hinder or enrich?
I think of Kalyra and the joy that emanates from her when we arrive in a new place or even hotel.
She runs and beams and says things like, “This is the best thing ever!”
She talks daily of Disneyland, America, Thailand, New Zealand and all the places she wants to go with Mum and Dad.
She comes home from school and tells us that Bula means helllo in Fiji.
She knows so much already about the world around her and she wants to know so much more.
The trade off for her is enrichment.
I know the comments and arguments that come with parents who decide to travel with their children and the disservice they are giving them with their irresponsible and selfish choices.
When I think about it, my answer is this.
When you go to your work all day, five days a week, how much time are you spending with your child?
When we travel, we are with them 24/7. Not only are we with them, we are not thinking about the world we left behind or what is due tomorrow, we live totally in the moment with them.
We laugh, we talk, we share, we discover together.
How is this doing them a disservice?
They have their Mummy and Daddy with them every day. Their Mummy and Daddy happy and healthy, living together as a unified whole with their two babies.
I think Brad Pitt was right.
There is a trade off, but their lives are so enriched by it.
I’ll take the trade off any day.
What are your thoughts on travel with children?
Read Brett’s thoughts on why travel with children is the best experience you can ever gift them
As a child who has travelled all over the world with her parents Im all for it. It’s not just about being with each other 24/7, there’s also a notion of safety. When you’re young and travelling with your parents you don’t worry about what could happen – you live in the moment.
I’m travelling around Europe for 2 months sans parents and as much as I’m loving it, i don’t have my parents there as a safety blanket but it’s all that travelling I did growing up that’s prepared me for this.
I’m grateful that my parents travelled with me and opened me up to the wonders of the world. It’s one of the best things they could’ve done.
Great comment Beth!! Thanks so much for sharing your personal experience, it is great to hear from someone who experienced it as a child and how they feel it positively impacted their life. I think your parents prepared you well, not just for solo travel, but for life
I think travel is wonderful for kids. Like the children of many expats, I grew up bouncing between Australia & the UK, with little holidays in other places inbetween.. Traveling so much as a child has made me so much more tolerant than I think I would be otherwise. It also guided me to what I love and have made a career out of, anthropology.
Awesome Vanessa! I love how you say it helped you to make a career out of doing what you love. I think travel, especially so young allows you to see just what is possible for your life and makes you less fearful to try
Hi Caz,
Its so worth every minute of it
My joy is showing our family new experiences – they cant get that from a class room, or school, or text book! They need to live life – that is the best way to learn 
I love teaching my boys experiences, ones that will help them to become the best person they can – so yes travelling with children sure does enrich their lives!
Cheers
Lisa
PS – I would love the paparazzi trade off it if meant we could travel where ever when ever we wanted!!
really when you compare the classroom to what your children experience on the road, it really is a no brainer. You just cannot compare it. The more I think about it the more home schooling makes sense. You can’t beat travel. What an education you are giving your boys- a real one
I traveled around Europe as a single mother of a 5 year old (at the time) and I have to say those were some of the BEST days of my life. I have also taken my son to Japan and Northern Africa and I have NO regrets about it. My son enjoys traveling too. It is as you said….we got to spend 24/7 together and enjoy each others company. I am blessed in that my son was never impatient going through a museum, or a train ride or a bus sightseeing trip. I think we are both better people because of our travels and his exposure to other cultures. I will miss the day when he gets old enough (he is now 15) and doesn’t want to travel with his mom anymore! Those were some of the best days of my life
oh, that will be so hard when they grow up and don’t want to travel with you anymore. Hopefully that won’t happen. You have so many amazing memories that you have shared together- you cannot beat that and you must be so close
I completely agree with you (and Brad). I do not have any children of my own, but I know that even the small, short trips my family took me on as a child made a huge difference in my life. I see families traveling with their children now in much more “exotic” places, and it makes me smile.
By the way, I think we had the same poster.
You know I saw him first Stephanie!! We have just come up to the Gold Coast for three days, and once again Kalyra is beside herself with excitement. She just glows every time we travel and I swear she loves it more than us. We have such great family times together why wouldn’t we want to do it all the time. I’m not sure why society wants to tell you its bad if you do
I don’t have children of my own but I can’t see how travelling with your children and exposing to them to the world can possibly be a bad thing. It broadens people’s horizons in so many ways and starting young is the best way to go in my opinion.
i think some people are so used to things being the way they were when they were growing up that they just expect this to be the only way. And there is nothing wrong with either way of living, its just for us the travel with our kids side of thing is how we want to do it, and it benefits us all so much
I think travel is probably the best experience a child can have. In French, we have a saying that says “travels helps the youth grow”, or something like that. And it’s so true! I admire what you guys are doing and I am sure that your lovely kids will have such a rich knowledge and most importantly, an ever curious spirit.
Wow Love that saying. Thank you for sharing, makes me feel even more encouraged and to know we are doing the right thing.
Impressive. I love Brad Pitt too btw
I agree that traveling enhances kids’ knowledge about other people and their culture. The kids may not appreciate it now but they will realize how lucky they are to have discovered different things growing up.
I agree. As a kid I grew up as a showkid (amusement rides, etc.), and I wouldn’t trade it for the world, I got to see so much of Australia because of it, the only problem I have is not being able to sit still, I love to travel, pity we don’t have the money to do it all the time… My husband and I went to Viet Nam and Cambodia baack in 2008 (belated honeymoon, 8yrs of marriage and 3 kids later), without the kids and all we did all the time was miss them and wish they were with us, we vowed to never go on holidays again without them. We went back to Viet Nam with them in 2010 and they had a ball. We are heading back to Viet Nam once again with the kids later this year, we all can’t wait to go back.
We love our 4 girls so much and love to spend time with them. As the old Polish proverb goes “You have a lifetime to work, but children are only young once.”.
What a wise proverb. I was thinking about that today as I left my girls to go work. How sucky life can be when you so often have to make decisions that go against what your heart really wants you to do.
It’s so great to hear your perspective as a child who travelled so much and who now takes her children away on holidays. Vietnam is not an easy country to travel and I am sure your children’s eyes were opened quite a lot, which is fantastic