4 reasons to travel with your kids—even if you think they won’t remember it

Raising my son over the past seven years has been a series of daily routines—nap time, bedtime, school, extracurriculars. At some point, these everyday occurrences begin to blend into one vast reservoir of memories that have little to no distinction between each other. 

When I recently asked my son what his favorite memory was from last month, he stared at me blankly until his brain had completed its retrieval mission of poignant memories. “Oh, our trip to Telluride!” he reminisced. Mission complete.  

Related: Pick your own adventure with these top 10 places to go with kids in the U.S.

In all honesty, we didn’t really do anything that exciting in Telluride. We hiked to some decent waterfalls, ate a dinner or two on the main drag and read books by the river. 

So why is it so often that our most fond memories are of our excursions to new places? Science shows it is how the brain files away events—a familiar experience tells the brain this experience is safe to ignore, whereas unique activities tell the brain this is important information and to focus and retain the moment. This is why you can often recall every excursion on that family road trip but can’t remember last month’s movie night. Even though traveling with kids requires a lot of planning and time commitment, I’ve found that the memories we come home with always make it worth it. From the top of the snow-capped Italian Dolomites to down in the lush Costa Rican jungles, my son lights up when sharing these memorable life experiences.

Here are 4 reasons to travel with kids

1. Travel is memorable

Survey polls have even shown that for very young children—three to five years old—that these unique experiences not only make a lasting impression but are typically the memories that stand out later in life. My son has no recollection of who his preschool teacher was (someone he spent countless hours with) but can recall our trip to the Dolomites that same year and feasted on apple strudel after a funicular ride.  

Related: I travel with my young kids to build their hearts, not memories

2. Travel makes us happier 

There’s a reason that our co-workers look blissed out after returning home from that two-week vacation—travel makes us happier. When the brain is exposed to novel experiences, a flood of dopamine—the feel-good neurotransmitter— typically follows. That rush not only makes the occurrence more memorable but also boosts our happiness. That boost of dopamine might be the initial reason for our bliss, but experiencing new places allows for happiness to flourish in other significant areas of our life as well. Each new experience allows for us to grow and foster rich memories. Even years after the event, you may still find delight in recounting and sharing that memorable adventure. How many times have you been at a gathering that went from awkward to delightful simply by someone bringing up their latest vacation? Experience allows us to connect to the world and to the people around us, which allows us to form a larger personal identity.

3. Travel can increase neuroplasticity and creativity

We all know that learning new skills stimulates new neural connections, but something as simple as being exposed to a new environment can reap the same benefits. Traveling to a new area forces the brain to create new internal mental maps, helping us to understand our place in space. The regions of the brain responsible for internal maps are closely linked with the formation of new memories and require the brain to create new neural pathways to store this valuable information. In fact, a study done by neuroscientist Eleanor Maguire showed that cab drivers in London have a larger than average hippocampus due to their need to rely on these rich mental maps. Children’s brains are primed for creating new neural connections, so this is an ideal time to expose them to new lands and help those connections grow. 

Related: 21 tried-and-true products that make travel with kids seamless (and even fun!)

Traveling abroad also brings the potential of making us more open-minded. When we experience new cultures and new people, we tend to see life in a broader framework, which kickstarts the creative process. Another reason we tend to become more creative from travel goes back to that boost of happiness—an increased state of positivity lays the groundwork for creative thoughts. Maybe this year’s family trip to Yellowstone might inspire your daughter to start journaling or help you see a problem at work more clearly. 

4. Any new place has potential

The best part is that adventuring doesn’t need to be extragenetic. Most studies point to the fact that any novel area can make a lasting impression. The region of the brain associated with the processing of unique experiences are activated with activities as simple as taking a trip to a new museum or walking a different route. Though a trip climbing to the top of Machu Picchu may seem most note-worthy, most of us would be just as fulfilled with a weekend trip to a local camping spot that we’ve had yet to explore. 

So, if you find yourself on the fence of whether or not to plan that great family vacation to that beach you’ve been wanting to check out this summer, remember your brain (and your kid’s brains) will thank you for it later. 

A version of this post was published February 28, 2023. It has been updated.