My own kid is twelve years old now, and thanks to the pandemic had spent more than two years without a trip outside his home state of Western Australia. I wish it could have been otherwise, but what excited me no end on our recent trip to New South Wales was that all this time without travel hadn't blunted his enthusiasm for it - quite the opposite, perhaps, he was more excited than ever to step on a plane and explore someplace new to him. On this trip I saw so many ways that our past travels had shaped him, so I was keen to put together this episode of other voices saying the same about their own kids.

First up, I chat with Carmen and David Allan-Petale who spent a year and a half travelling around Australia in a caravan with their young daughter. The stories they share of her experiences and how they believe it shaped her personality are truly heartwarming.

Next, I speak to Erika Kritikides from Intrepid Travel. Her son's experiences of China as a six-year-old - what was important to him, and how he dealt with such a unique trip - confirm that travel really shapes kids.

Finally, I talk to Eliza Raymond who is literally doing a PhD on what kids learn from travel - truly a woman after my own heart! I can't wait to see the results of her studies (and hope she confirms what this episode anecdotally proves to be true!).

Links:

• Carmen and David Allan-Petale of Red Platypus Creative - https://redplatypuscreative.com
• Also, hosts of the Committed Creative Podcast  https://podcast.redplatypuscreative.com 
• Erika Kritikides from Intrepid Travel Small Group Adventures www.intrepidtravel.com
• Eliza Raymond from Good Travel - https://www.good-travel.org/
• Eliza's research profile - https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/som/research/phd/tour/eliza-raymond
• Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers
• Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin
• Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/275