Sponsored post in association with American Express ®

I believe that travel should be as much a part of our lives when we have a family as it was before we had children, and so I’m delighted to announce my latest partnership with American Express, who agree with me. During this exciting collaboration, I will be looking at how you can share your love of travel with your children and explore how they see a holiday through their own eyes.

When I think about what I want for my children, it is to be passionate about exploring the world and immersing themselves in other cultures. I believe this will help them grow into happy, open minded and tolerant human beings with a life they can look back on with great fulfilment. This is why I’m excited that on our next family trip away to Amsterdam in the New Year my daughter will be at the heart of the travel itinerary, deciding where we go and what we do, alongside documenting the trip in her own way.

There are many families out there who love to travel like we do, however, some of them are traveling all year round due to work commitments or family connections which, in the long run, can be an issue if you have small children. We love traveling when we can so the kids can still attend school during the term but others will have to put their children in a boarding school so they do not miss out on their education. If this does sound like you and you are stuck in a bit of a quandary, then you may want to look at helpful information like boarding school scholarships australia, or America/England, for example, to keep your kids safe and educated as you travel. Every situation is different, but for now, I’m going to delve into the travel most of us know about!

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In preparation for our trip, we will be using the American Express Family Travel Hub, which is great for inspiration about how to make the most out of a family holiday. It also includes a handy Whipper Snapper Guide, which is a photography activity book that encourages kids to take photos whilst on holiday. My daughter will be using this when she captures her own photos and video of our trip, making her very own holiday memories. You can download a copy of the guide here.

My own love of travelling has really grown over the years, and this is something that I really want to pass onto my children. In fact, research from American Express shows that 68%* of parents say that their own love of travel is the thing they most want to pass onto their children as part of their ‘travel-egacy’. When I was a child, holidays looked quite different to how they do now, so it will be interesting to see what my daughter will pick out when we go away. When I was younger, we were all about spending the summer at the UK seaside, splashing in the sea and making sandcastles. We may not have been getting on a plane, but the excitement I felt the night before going on our road trip was just the same.

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I couldn’t wait to be in a new place, wondering what we would see or do next. Without the usual regime of day to day life to tie us down, anything seemed possible. We would prepare for going on holiday with a shopping trip, which really helped build the excitement. I would pick a new outfit to wear for the evening disco in the hope of winning the all important entertainment competition. I’m not sure that I ever did win, but it was a lot of fun all the same.

The fun and excitement of being on holiday is really what drove me to want to see more of the world, and what makes me want to share it with my family. I wanted to have those experiences, but in a different country, with a different culture and a new language to learn. I wanted to walk different streets, see new buildings and meet new people. I wanted to see what the world had to offer. When I had a family, it became clear that I wanted to show it to them too. I really can’t wait to see what my daughter chooses to do when we are away and to see how she has experienced the holiday through her own eyes.

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When my eldest son was born, I was determined we were going to take a European holiday, and it was going to be the first of many. When he was 3 years old, we stepped on a plane for the first time together and headed to Spain. I’m not sure who was the most excited about our first flight, but it’s definitely a trip I will never forget. It was there that we first visited the Caves of Nerja, which literally took our breath away.

As one of the natural wonders of the world, seeing this immense cave made me realise that exploring the world was even more important. Understanding the earth, as well as the people on it, gives us a new connection and understanding about where we live. For my children to have a real connection to the planet they live on, they need to see as much of it as possible.

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We all want our family holidays to be a success, and we are giving our kids more of a say in what goes into them. If they get the chance to say what they would like to do and see, they are able to get so much more out of travel and can truly develop a passion for exploring the world.

So watch this space, as we will be reporting back to you about how our holiday went, what activities she picked and her very own best bits. She will be capturing her own photos and video of our trip using the ‘Whipper Snapper’ activity book, making her very own holiday memories, and we will be sharing that valuable insight right here on the blog.

*Research by American Express from 7thDecember to 9th December 2016 of a survey size of 1,000 adults and 1,000 children, aged between 6 -10 years old, who have been on holiday.

Promoter: American Express Services Europe Limited has its registered office at Belgrave House, 76 Buckingham Palace Road, London, SW1W 9AX, United Kingdom. It is registered in England and Wales with Company Number 1833139 and authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority

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24 COMMENTS

  1. I want my kids to be passionate about exploring the world and learning about other cultures too. Such lovely pics, BTW.

  2. I totally agree, I’ve seen the impact that travel has on my kids and the exposure to different cultures and other parts of the world is really important. We always get the kids very involved when we can (although our last trip was a surprise) and I think sometimes following their path rather than ours can broaden everyone’s experience.

    Love your photos! Hope you all enjoy your trip next year x

  3. It’s so wonderful to be able to travel as a family if you can, it’s so great for children get to see so much of the world in their early years. I travelled a lot as a child and I’m very grateful that I did. x

  4. I am not much of a traveller, but I’d love my kids to be. Hard when I am not myself. I really enjoyed reading this and must encourage them more.

  5. It’s so important for kids to travel and see the world. I hope your Daughter makes some good choices for Amsterdam. Jo x

  6. I think that’s a great thing to give your children. Your shared love of travelling, it must be so amazing for a child to experience so much.
    Happy Christmas! xx

  7. I wholeheartedly agree with your views – it’s SO important to continue travelling and exploring as adults and to show our kids that there’s a whole world out there waiting to be discovered. We took our kids on an unconventional summer holiday to South Africa this year – I wanted them to see things that they’d never seen before and to witness how other people actually live. It was an amazing trip – and they both loved helping others as well as experiencing things like shark cage diving and a dawn game drive. Like you, we’re a family that sees travel as a necessity rather than a luxury. I just want to inspire my kids and instil a sense of adventure – wherever they decide to go when they reach adulthood.

  8. I do wish I had traveled more when I was younger as I’m beginning to find that it becomes more of a chore as you get older!

  9. We have traveled with the boys since they were tiny, long haul flights were never an issue to them as they were just used to them. We have collected American Express air miles for years and been all over with them and as a result the boys share our passion for travel thank goodness, as lets face it the lessons and knowledge you learn traveling are so incredible and inspiring, I agree with everything you say here Zena travel is such an amazing gift to give a child x

  10. I have to agree with you! I LOVE to travel. It’s obviously more difficult with kids and made doubly difficult by my mobility issues now, but nevertheless, an incredibly important part of our existence as human beings (sorry to sound dramatic!) My son has just turned 3 and to date, we have not been abroad, as it is so difficult for us to take all the extras that come along with babies or toddlers when I can’t carry luggage or him! It is, however, one of my new year’s resolutions to ensure that we do it this year. We have done as much as we can in the UK for the first 3 years, which has been a struggle, but I wouldn’t trade the memories or photos for the world! Thanks for the optimistic write up, I feel like a lot of people (both with and without children) feel that people shouldn’t travel with young kids. I find this incredibly small minded and very sad for the kids who miss out.

  11. Great article, I enjoyed reading it. Although I don’t travel too much, I want my three daughters to explore the world as much as they can. That’s good for building their characters and they always will have unforgettable experiences and adventures.

    I really like these travel posts. Keep up with the great work!

  12. I really think exposing children to travelling and different cultures will be hugely beneficial to them in the long run. It must make them very confident and inquisitive.

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