Nurture Dreams with Travel
Travel can Nurture Your Child’s Dreams.
Dreams are a key ingredient of childhood. Thoughts of what our future holds. Exciting possibilities for what we want to be when we grow up, who we will marry, our wedding day, our future children, where we’d like to travel, adventures we’d like to experience, and so much more.
Disclosure: Special thank you to Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA) for bringing you this post. The author’s family is receiving entrance into the aquarium in exchange for sharing some information with you, however, all opinions expressed and plans to nurture a child’s dreams are 100% the author’s and are not influenced in any way by CMA.
Children are expert dreamers. Free from the weighty responsibilities of adulthood, their imaginations run wild.
My son has a number of dreams about what he wants to do when he grows up. He doesn’t yet understand that he most likely will be narrowing down those options to just one career choice. One day he wants to be a monster truck driver, the next day it might be a police officer and a week later a missionary.
The Role Parents Play in Childhood Dreams
As parents, we have some role in how our children’s dreams develop and play out. We can either….
- Dismiss the dream and ignore it;
- Stifle the dream and potentially kill it; or
- Nurture the dream and see what happens with it.
It may or may not ever develop into full blown reality. We change so much as we mature and grow. But then there are adults who are living out their childhood dreams. So we know it is a possibility.
How Do Children’s Dreams Impact Career Success or Satisfaction in Adulthood?
As I have pondered the large numbers of people who end up in jobs that have nothing to do with their college majors and the percentage of people who are dissatisfied in their careers, I have wondered if we as parents could be doing more to help guide our children’s career choices more effectively.
While there are many factors that can play into these statistics and some parents go to the other extreme in trying to push their children into a certain career, as a parent, I definitely want to do all I can to try keep my children from either of these realities.
Our Daughter’s Dream Was Inspired during Family Movie Time
Now, my daughter, being only 4 years old, started dreaming recently of becoming a dolphin trainer. This dream was conceived during a family movie time, and the funny part of this story is that she wanted nothing to do with the movie we ended up watching when I first suggested it.
Nonetheless, it was Mama’s turn to pick out the movie, and so Dolphin Tale 2 it was. Needless to say, both kids ended up loving it, and soon after we also watched the first one, Dolphin Tale. (Yeah … We have a tendency for doing things backwards at times. What can I say?)
Ever since, my daughter talks often about dolphins. She absolutely loves them.
Our Travel Plans to Nurture Our Daughter’s Dream
So we have begun planning a trip to nurture this dream of hers.
[Image Credit: CMA, Used with permission]
Having gotten to pet a dolphin myself several years ago, as soon as I saw at the end of Dolphin Tale that you can actually visit Winter, the star of the movie, in Clearwater, Florida, I knew that this would be something both kids would love to do. So we are heading to see Winter this November!
[Images used with permission by CMA]
Check out all the exhibits that Clearwater Marine Aquarium has and plan a visit for your family, too! There is even more that CMA offers besides these exhibits, including Kid’s Camps, Animal Encounters and more. Visit their website for all the details.
So for us, travel is nurturing our child’s dream to one day become a dolphin trainer.
We know full well that at any point in her lifetime, she could change her mind and take a different path. If another dream develops, we will consider then how to nurture that dream.
And the same goes for our son. We have already attended several monster truck events with him. We will do whatever we can to help guide our children in figuring out what the best path for each of them is.
What kind of dreams has your child expressed? How can you nurture their dreams with travel?
You can go HERE to get a FREE companion curriculum to accompany Dolphin Tale 2 written by Jen’s amazing friend and marine biologist, Sherri Seligson!
Related posts:
- Things for Kids to Do on Road Trips
- Top 15 Kids’ Dream Jobs and Ways to Help Your Child Explore Them
Anne Newsome and her husband of 16+ years, “Chef John”, a summa cum laude graduate of the prestigious culinary arts program of Johnson and Wales University, have had recipes from their food blog, The Saturday Evening Pot, featured in Yahoo Shine!, Gooseberry Patch cookbooks and The Daily Meal. They enjoy raising their son and daughter in South Carolina and you will find inspiration for healthy living and parenting, beautiful Southern Snapshots and more from Anne at Healthy Southern Mama.
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Comments
26 responses to “Travel is Nurturing Your Child’s Dream”
We travel a lot and hopefully that has an impact on my children. I have no idea what they will do when they grow up, but I will be proud no matter what.
I am sure it is having an impact, Robin! They are like little sponges, soaking it all in … as you as a mama know. 🙂
I think we should always encourage our children’s dreams and desires. We have been traveling with our daughter since she was 18 months old, and she has been to quite a few places. She loves to travel.
Wow, you are developing your traveler young, Carmen …. that’s awesome! It’s fun being able to give your children amazing memories. What a gift.
We have always traveled with our kids, and I don’t think there’s any better gift you can give. Our daughter, who is now 23, is walking the 500+ mile Camino de Santiago in Spain as I write this!
Wow, Lois! That is so exciting … good for her. I know you are one proud mama!!
I love that quote. A Dream is a wish your heart makes. I need to remember that.
We travel a lot in our RV so my girls get to see nature. I am hoping this helps to inspire them somehow.
As if this trip wasn’t cool enough, you get to see Winter too?!? What an amazing time you all are going to have!
I was never encouraged as a child to follow my dreams or have any really. I make sure my kids know they can do whatever they want to and try to be as encouraging as I can be. I think it’s so important.
I’m all for dreams, if you really have something you want to do then go for it! As long as you work hard every day to achieve it.
That is so sweet! My daughter and I have loved traveling together since she was little.
Never squish your child’s dreams. My parents did that to me actaully and it’s the reason I didn’t go for art/photography school. They made it seem like it would be impossible and not worth it, and I regret not doing it. Regret actaully letting someone else take away my passion for awhile. I encourage my kids every chance I have, no matter what it is, if they are interested or if it’s a wonderful dream they have I try to push them forwards it. Never, put their dreams down.
I love how you went to see winter! That is pretty awesome !
I hope there are still ways you get to live your dreams of art and photography, through your blog and through your children!
We are always on the go experiencing new things. I hope my kids go for the gold.
Kids can definitely learn so much and they are definitely like sponges! We are trying to do a mini vacation every year.
Parents definitely play a tremendous role in helping their kids reach for the stars. It’s important that all parents take this role seriously.
My son is a big dreamer. Sometimes I think a bit too much. But he has such great ideas
I’m trying my best to help my son realize his dreams and nurture them. I hope I’m not too hard on him when I work with him to talk it out and explain a little deeper. Travel is definitely part of the plan, although he only has a couple of places he wants to go. 🙂
Traveling has had a huge effect on my daughter. She has decided on a great career with the idea of moving away after she is all done school to become a lawyer.
My youngest changes his dream daily. My oldest has finally tuned in on his dream. I love that whatever each of them has brought to myself and my husband, we have both told them they can do it – even if it seemed impossible we made sure they knew we believed in them. A dolphin trainer would be so much fun and an amazing job!
What great information! Definitely be encouraging is a big factor!
We love to travel with our children as well. My children love to interact and have hands on education. The overall gift of traveling is something you can’t get in school or through a book.
Dreaming is part of a good health and good sleep. We always nurtured their dreams and they get inspired by everyday life
We travel as much as we can. Its always a fun adventure!
Great Post.
I fully agree, I realize with my 2 daughters that this really happens, with each new vacation trip, when we return, we notice clearly the degree of advancement and knowledge that, however small it may be, it ends up being acquired, on the place we visit and know.
Congratulations on the Post.