This is an All Ears English podcast episode 2062.
International travel with your kids in tow?
Tell us what you think.
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In today's episode, Michelle tells us what it was like taking her young kids to Paris.
Have you ever traveled abroad with your kids?
Today find out why they might forget the logistics of the trip, but we'll learn something even more important.
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Hello, Michelle.
How's everything?
Hey, Lindsay.
Everything is good.
How are you great today?
You know we are actually recording today on a friday, and who doesn't love friday?
Who doesn't?
Yeah, i feel like we normally don't record on fridays.
Like this is kind of like if yeah, it's a novel thing yeah, that's interesting.
So we both have that friday feeling, the friday feeling, the tgif.
Yay, that's right, that's right so.
But lindsay, i have a question for you.
Okay, i'm ready.
Did you take a lot of trips as a kid?
Like was where your, did your family travel a lot?
Say so.
I mean, I wouldn't say a lot, but I think once a year we took a summer family vacation.
You know always chaotic and crazy, but yeah, we did that.
We did that.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Same here.
Like actually one of the, I would say one of the highlights, and I'm sure my brother would agree that you know, one of the highlights of my childhood was going on vacations.
Like sometimes it was the beach.
Sometimes like we did a cruise once and like, And then my, my mom always had a dream that our first time in Europe would be on a family vacation.
So like when my brother was in high school, we went.
And so, whether it was the beach somewhere, just you know, a smaller vacation or a bigger vacation, my travel was always very important and such a highlight.
So, well, that's kind of cool.
And that makes sense why you just took your kids to Paris and London.
Right.
So often we repeat what we experienced as kids, which is pretty cool.
So you're carrying that on and giving your kids that incredible experience of being in Paris hearing other languages from a very young age.
So lucky.
I mean, I didn't start traveling internationally until I was 18.
And so I never traveled internationally with my family other than going to Canada.
But I don't know if that counts.
In Mexico, I guess we went to Tijuana once.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
So it's a really international travel, like really really, you know, Europe or Asia or even South America, not just jumping over the border to say you've been in another country, you know.
Yeah, we try, you know, we're trying to get some big trips done.
And yeah, but I notice when we talk about our trips, people are always surprised that we take our kids.
Like, so I always joke, oh, the Paris trip was very romantic.
We always say we ruined a lot of people dates, like we'd go to like a restaurant, and then there's just screaming and like yeah oh, my gosh especially.
Yeah well, that's a good question.
You know parenting styles in different countries which we could get into another day.
I would want our listeners to chime in on that one.
Right yeah, actually we felt very like welcome and good, but yeah, we always just felt like we were ruining people's dates.
But yeah, people are surprised to hear like their kids are.
You know.
Sometimes people say oh, like why?
I don't?
I'm sure you've heard people say this with kids and travel.
Like oh, why would you bother taking them?
You know, they can't remember it.
So just take them when they can remember it.
Oh, I think they I think it's more of a visceral learning.
I think they remember everything, but maybe not like mentally remember everything.
But I think kids are like sponges.
They learn things experientially.
Right.
So it becomes a part of who they are.
Right.
Right.
Yeah, I totally agree.
So that's what we're talking about today.
So, before we get into it, we want to remind you guys, if you haven't already please please please, hit follow wherever you are listening to the All Ears English podcast.
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You got it, Michelle.
I mean, now we're in the fall.
This is go time.
Go, go, go time, right?
This is the time to build those good habits, to get hooked on All Ears English.
Again, we publish four days a week for you guys and we have a unique focus on connection, not perfection.
Love it.
That's right.
I love it too.
Yeah.
So guys, my mom actually sent me this article and I was so touched by it because it is so meaningful for me to introduce my kids to travel and love it from an early age and so, and because i have gotten some pushback, you know, like i mean nobody's like mean about it or anything, but like oh really, with like a lot of people questioning, um.
So it kind of validated my, my feelings about it and i wanted to share it today because it also reminded me of our show and our listeners and our overall philosophy.
So yes Um, so yeah, so this article is from Washington postcom.
Uh, and it's, you know, my parents live in the DC area.
It's a very regional newspaper, right?
So I remember when I went to college in Virginia, I would always read the Washington post.
That's so funny, but it's also a fantastic newspaper with a great movie about it.
The post which we recommend to our listeners.
Side point Michelle, we're getting a little bit of a DC influence today from my mom.
Anyway, But the article is called, Is a Big Trip with Your Toddler Worth It?
What Memory Experts Say.
It says, your kid may not remember every detail, but it will leave a lasting impression.
So that was advice by, I'm going to try and pronounce this, Chris, what do you think?
Maybe Shalx, something like that.
I would probably say Shalx probably, right?
July 10th, 2023.
July 10th.
Yeah, that's right.
So this article was talking to people about what kids might remember.
So we're going to just talk a little bit about the article and give our opinion and give you some tips as well.
But basically what the article talks about is that neuroscientists and they talk about child development experts and psychologists that it's you're four years old when you start, like keeping memories um, and your ability to like actually remember things is, you know there um, and they said that so it could be four, but it could be more.
So that was from the article.
Uh lindsey, what do you think?
Do you have any memory like, do what's your first memory?
This is a hard question right, it's hard, it's?
I guess it's around that time.
I guess I remember visiting, like we call it, the Friendly Farm a little kid's petting zoo when I was probably five around that age.
So four, maybe five.
But it's a hard question because how do you remember?
What is the first memory?
I don't know.
It's a hard one.
Yeah, it's true.
And some people have like really early memories.
I think my mom remembers being in her crib.
Wow.
Yeah.
And then do you ever do you have any memories like where you're not sure if it's your memory or just because you saw a video?
Oh yeah, pictures all the time.
That's what I'm saying.
How do I know the difference between do I remember that, or do I remember the photo I've seen over the years of that, or the story I've heard?
Right.
Well, my first memory, I actually I mean this, I don't know why, but I remember being in preschool and And I remember.
But yeah, then I wonder, did this actually happen?
Like, I remember sitting in a circle in preschool.
And I remember I was wearing.
I only have the view when I have the memory.
I have the view of like the circle and then my foot.
And I remember seeing a bug and I had like a white sandal on.
And I remember the view of my foot stepping on the bug.
Okay, that's Like that's like one of my earliest memories.
It's a really great one.
But who knows?
Like it may not have actually happened.
Yeah.
It just might not have, we don't know.
Yes, so but yeah, and then i mean so as far as travel goes, they spoke to a psychoanalyst analyst named claudia louise and she was talking about um, you know, explicit memories versus implicit memories.
Yes, and you might not have these explicit memories, but you'll have, like more, you know, memories that she talks about, memories that are formed subconsciously.
I love that.
And what her quote is, she said, implicit memories get registered in the brain differently.
Instead of going into a memory bank, they set neuronal pathways that determine our future experiences.
Super interesting.
So your kids may forget the logistics of what cities you went to, where you stayed, what district you stayed.
They don't even care about that anyways, right?
It's more about their brains have been open.
Well, I mean, certainly this is true in like raising bilingual children, right?
So their brains have already been open to how to learn or just hearing another language.
But also, I think, an openness to culture and openness to different ways of life is so important, right.
Right?
Yes.
Yes.
And they do that.
I believe the article talked about that as well.
Like you know I.
So one of the things we did with my son was we took him.
They had.
He loves Paw Patrol.
Right.
And we saw that there was a kid's puppet show with Paw Patrol.
And we went to this puppet show.
It was in a small tent and there were a ton of kids there.
And the whole thing was in French.
Yeah.
Cool.
The fun, the like.
The most interesting thing was, you know, we were watching him and at first he was looking at it like what?
Like he didn't know what was going on.
And then he was laughing when the other kids would laugh.
Oh, that's adorable.
And he was like trying to like get into it and enjoy it in other ways, even though he couldn't understand the language.
He was understanding you know the puppets, seeing the puppets of the other kids what they were reacting to.
So like...
That's pretty cool to have those experiences.
Yeah, that's super cool.
I love that.
And for our listeners, you know, a lot of our listeners do have kids, young kids.
And you know, if you are, let's say, moving abroad with them, you're going to see them.
Start to just the mind, start to open.
What a gift, right?
What a gift.
Yeah.
Okay Michelle, do we have any?
You know, keeping this idea in mind, this experiential learning, if we bring our kids abroad, what do we need to know?
Are there any tips or anything else we should know here for our listeners?
Yes.
Well, speaking of tips, before we get into that, we just did an episode All Ears English.
2056 was Don't Have Cash.
How to Tip at a Coffee Shop.
So go and listen to that as well.
Oh, I like the connection.
I like the connection.
Yes.
Now on to different kinds of tips.
All right.
Oh man.
So there's always these jokes about, like you know, when parents vacation with young kids, they come back and you need a vacation from it, because there's, like you know, these jokes that basically you go on vacation and you're just doing all the same things that you normally have to do with your kids, but in a different place.
And it's so true.
But, but it's still so great.
So one of the tips I have is get your kid ready for the trip.
So yeah books uh, things to get them familiar um, maybe even like some yeah yeah, maybe what came to mind was maybe playing, like if you know you're going to Paris playing some kids songs in French on the radio in the weeks leading up, and sing along together, even if you know, I mean, you speak some French right, just singing along, just letting your child like hear the sounds of this language right, how great.
Yeah, that's something that we always do.
We always try and find it wasn't a kid's song, but we always try and like get into the music, like we search for, like some of the popular music and then we get into a couple songs yeah so um, and then also have them help choose what to do on the trip, and i think the article may have mentioned something about this as well.
Like you know, i mean, if it was up to my son, we would have just been eating macarons for the the entire trip.
I'm like, Michelle, there's nothing wrong.
I mean, we would have just been sitting in a room just eating macarons.
Like, that would have been the trip.
I can think of worse things.
I mean, that's true.
But yeah, like to give some options.
I mean, my daughter is too little to help decide.
But like we would let my son, you know, have some input, have him have some say, because I think that's building, you know, his brain as well.
Yeah, for sure.
And he can become the trip planner with your, with your husband now.
I have to remember, I have to remember.
I, these are.
These are.
I agree with these tips, but now I remember that they were mostly from the article.
I have to give credit to the article on this.
Maybe we have our own tip.
Like, is there anything else that you guys did that spontaneously or Let me ask you a question.
So in the moment when you were in the street and you saw your son witness something different, I don't know what would be someone purchasing a baguette and walking out of a coffee shop or a bakery, which is not something typical in the States.
Maybe did you stop and ask him, what do you think about that?
This is a different culture.
This is a different tradition.
Mm hmm.
Yeah, sure.
Things like that.
I'm trying to think of a specific story.
But, like I would say, the one of the biggest thing was that show was, you know, like showing that?
And also um, like I mean I told you we did the cooking class.
But also just teaching him like a little bit of the language.
We would see things and be like Oh, how do you say this in French?
Oh, and one other thing we did was, we got very early on in the trip, we got this book.
And it was so great.
It showed the different sorry for my terrible accent around these months.
Yeah.
You know, they showed all of the them and like every day if we would visit something, then he would say oh, we went here, we were here today, or like we stayed near, do you know, the Pompidou Center.
We stayed near there oh, that's where we are like, so we kind of would review things.
And so he really like, got to learn a lot about it.
And then, you know, even when we got back, his teachers told me oh, he told he was telling us about, you know, the Eiffel Tower.
Yes,
Yeah, I love it.
I love it.
It's good.
So it's important.
You know, I want to, we want to encourage our listeners, you know.
Think about this like how?
Where could you take your kids?
If you've moved to the US with your child, just enjoy kind of enjoy that experience, right?
The immersion and seeing this new culture through your kids eyes.
Right, Michelle?
Yeah.
Yes, exactly.
So and I want to just share one quote.
What I always think about with kids and travel is I'm not sure who said this quote, but I've.
I've heard it many times.
So I apologize.
But it's deciding not to travel with kids because they won't remember is like not reading them books because they won't remember the stories you read to them.
And you would never not say, oh, I'm not reading to them.
Like what, you're just going to sit them in a room?
You know, we want to grow our kids' minds.
So this really touches me.
And I just feel like any experience, whether or not, listen, like travel is expensive.
It's hard to, you know, we don't all...
You know, like just like pick up and go to, you know, this country and that country.
And but whatever new experience you can provide your child, a new way to learn a different culture.
Maybe you show them on YouTube a cartoon in a different language, you know, just for.
Yes.
Just to give.
Yes.
I love that idea.
Yeah.
Yes.
Michelle, are you there?
Hello?
Yeah.
Oh, sorry.
You cut out for a second there.
Oh, no.
You cut out for a second.
Yeah.
So get inspired by today's episode.
You know, it might not be the easiest thing to do.
Right.
But it like usually in life, the harder things are the better things.
Right.
Like most things that are easy are not really they don't move things forward in any substantial way.
Wouldn't you say so, Michelle?
Broadly?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
So, you know, go for it if you're questioning.
I mean, I have friends that they don't.
You know that they even just to do a day trip somewhere, just to go to you know a city outside of where they live, an hour drive away.
Feels like too much.
Yeah.
Feels like too much.
And that's fine.
But so, again, it doesn't need to be a giant big trip all the time.
But just these new experiences, I think, are so important.
Yeah.
Michelle, do we have a very important question? poll today that we want to hear.
We want to interact guys with you.
We want to hear from our audience.
Tell our listeners about our poll and what they should do right now.
Okay, guys, so if you're listening on Spotify, you can get this poll.
So we wanna hear from you and we will share the results.
Yes, we'll update the results, yeah.
Yeah, so please vote in this poll because we wanna know and this is a great cool new way that we've been interacting with you over Spotify.
And so go on over there and listen.
So the poll for today is, Lindsay, do you wanna read it?
Yeah, so here's the question.
Do you think it's good to travel with kids?
Should we say internationally to travel internationally with kids?
Or do we want to just keep that to travel with kids?
I would say... How about let's make it... Do you think it's good to take big trips?
Take big trips with kids.
I love it.
So tell us, right?
What do you think?
I mean, is it... Yeah, because we might have... Probably we'll have differing opinions.
Some people may have tried it, didn't work out.
And so they're going to say, no, maybe not.
And then other people... are doing it.
They're loving it.
They're taking their kids abroad.
Let us know.
I want to know what our audience's mentality is here, Michelle.
Yeah, absolutely.
So go on and vote in that poll.
And we're excited to see.
Yeah.
So takeaway today, travel is we know travel is good for us as adults.
So give your kids a little more credit, right?
They can do it like they can handle it.
I love it.
Yeah.
Immerse them in the world.
So inspiring.
I love it.
So good.
Definitely.
All right, Lindsay.
Well, this was fun and I will talk to you soon.
All right.
I'll talk to you soon, Michelle.
Take care.
Bye.
Bye.
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