I am a statistician with some graduate work and academic publications in the fields of both demography and sociology and I agree with the comments from someone that your observations and conclusions are not valid. A lot of people confuse correlation with cause and effect if they are not trained in research methods. The children you think are superior in terms of behavior and knowledge could very well be that way regardless of their travels abroad IMO -- these attributes would come from their education, other opportunities, and most importantly parental education and environment.

I can understand parents wanting to take their kids on vacations with them, especially if they have a lot of money and can travel to Europe, but I find your proposition that parents "should" take kids abroad from a young age an elitest attitude, as well as your conclusions that these kids are better than others.

My parents were rather poor and never could have afforded a vacation abroad themselves, let alone take all us kids with them. I did not travel abroad until I was about 30 after I had enough money to take a vacation myself, since I had to pay off school loans and pay my own way through all higher education (which is another reason I don't find the posts about parents who let teenagers take expensive vacations to Europe and claim it's their own money very sympathetic as a lot of kids have to use their money for buying necessities, clothes, or tuition).

I traveled a lot as a child (military family) - abroad and in U.S. - and I think it helped create in me a deep sense of tolerance and openness to other people and cultures. But it wasn't just the fact of travel and exposure to different people and places, it was being raised in a family (and by parents) who imparted and supported those values. So, from my perspective, the chain is this: My parents loved to travel and meet new people; they carted me around almost everywhere they went (or tried to include me in other ways); my parents shared their curiosity and openness with me; I developed these values too, based on my parents as role models and my experiences traveling.

When I take my very young children with me to foreign places, I do not expect that they will have fond memories of running around in that little piazza in Tuscany, or of the rich taste of foie gras in the South of France. But by sharing these types of experiences with my kids, I am hoping to encourage in them the same tolerance, respect and curiosity that my parents fostered in me and my siblings.

And while such travel with young kids inevitably involves some "stress" on them and on me, I also think it valuable for my kids to see how their parents respond to these stresses. I think children and their parents can learn a lot about themselves and others by stepping outside their respective comfort zones. You're never too young (or old) to grow.

Degas--my motivation for writing this is, in part, to get a variety of opinions. I appreciate yours. My husband (32) and I (30) ARE putting off the baby plans because everyone keeps telling us to travel, travel, travel or else we'll never go anywhere else abroad until after retirement! It has spooked us. Neither one of us were fortunate enough to travel until college (on our own dimes). We want to be able to raise a child with a broadened world view. Experiences within other cultures do, as I've witnessed from my students, seem to enrich what kids learn in books.

For what its worth - we've taken our two children on vacations with us since they were born - some driving but mostly flying. Since my husband travels a lot, we use frequent flyer miles for the tickets when we can and plan a full year in advance to get the best deals. As a result, they've seen a lot of the US, Canada and Mexico. We took them to Europe for the first time last summer as teens and it was great - and I must say, it helped both of them in school this past year with ancient and european history as we were in Germany and Italy. We're taking them back next week for a 2 week trip to France - when asked for a second place to visit outside of Paris, both wanted to see Normandy - no hesitation at all. We've always treated them as young adults and expected good behavior regardless of where we've travelled. The wider their experience base, the better in our opinion; why have children if you just "leave them on the shelf" when you travel? Some of my best memories are seeing the wide eyes and most recently, my son asking if he could 'touch the colosseum' when we arrived!

RE: teachersue

Don't be spooked and don't hold off just to travel. You can do both. Its foolish to think you can't travel until you "retire"!

I'd be silly to tell you not to travel with kids. We lived on and off in Europe and Asia for 13 years and raised three healthy, well adjusted kids along the way. We took them on some trips and left then with trusted sitters or close friends (we watched thiers in return) on some trips. Did this while living in the states and when living in Europe. Felt that was the best of both worlds.

If I had to do it again, I'd not do a transatlanitc trip with a one, two or three year old, period. Too much stress and distraction. Many other people will condemn that approach.

I know first hand that being exposed to various cultures enhances what kids learn from books. However, a two week trip once a year is a plus, but not the make or break factor for advancing a kids overall education and maturity.

I'm 17 and am lucky to have travelled with my parents ever since I was only a few months old. Over the years I have travelled throughout Europe, have been to the USA/Canada several times, and last year I spent 2 months with an Australian family in North Queensland, as well as 2 weeks in New Zealand at a friend's place (without my parents). This particular last experience was perhaps the most significant and greatly helped me learn what it is like to live somewhere else, and do everyday things differently. I am very thankful to my parents, just going to places far away helps getting a general 'sense' of the world.
I do admit though that only since I was 14-15 or so I started to REALLY appreciate and savour everything I saw, but all these trips make for lots of nice memories, from walking down a narrow passageway in Cheop's pyramid to standing on top of the late Twin Towers in NYC.

I really appreciate the fact that they took me with them every time.
And what's more, I learned my English mostly by travelling, certainly not at school!;)

Federico
Venice,IT

Well, if you are a teacher then you have probably also seen kids who are very intelligent, well spoken, and socially mature who have never been out of the state and also brats that have been all over the world. Travel is not a causal factor, but an indicator of the family priorities. Eveything else is up to the parents and the child. Personally, I wouldn't take a child on a European vacation destined for art museums and such until and unless he can read and write. I still cringed thinking of the couple from California with a screaming three year-old`touring the Vatican Museums.

I kind of feel like I'm txtree's mother!

Kids learn in most any environment, and I think traveling with kids anywhere is good. You're in close quarters with one another, and learn more about how members of your family deal with various situations and interact with one another. You also learn to compromise. You learn to adapt and to understand that not everyone is exactly like you or lives like you do. It unshelters a child, if that's a word.

We usually take 3 mini trips a year within California; and a longer trip in summer, mixing Europe, the U.S., or Canada. It's a time when we can be together, and not blocked off from each other by work, school, t.v., video games, and the like.

I'll tell you a few things traveling to Europe has taught my son (he's 13 now): he's not afraid to try new foods, learn words in another language, and he knows his geography and monuments better than any kid in his class. He knows different currency and how to calculate in his head the conversion rate from foreign currency into dollars. He was able to tell me last year whether a Lego toy he wanted to buy in Copenhagen cost more or less than it did at his local toy store, including factoring in our local tax.

Also, I think seeing places and things is much more interesting to a kid than just reading about it.

I suspect that the kind of parents who take their children traveling are the kind who very much want to expose them to new ideas and develop in them a curiosity about and appreciation of new ideas and different ways of looking at things. There's probably a correlation between this approach and income/education, but I'm sure it's not perfect--the doctor who lives across the street from me takes his family to the same place for vacation every year.

My parents took my brother and me to Europe for a month when I was about 7 and he was about 5. We both have vivid memories of many parts of that trip. I think the key is not to drag the kids exclusively to things the parents want to see/do and include things the children will enjoy too. That may diminish the parents' experience (on our recent trip, we ate one lunch in Venice at a McDonald's instead of a really nice authentic place that I would have enjoyed more), but if you enjoy parenting it's all worthwhile.

For anyone hesitant about taking children along, there are plenty of books and resources on how to make the trips the best possible experience.