Only on DCUM would you find this type of question.

First time I drove through Arkansas, I realized how their poverty is so different from poverty of someone in NYC. First time I drove through Montana, I realized how beautiful our country is.

If you live in SF or DC, would you really understand Mississippi, Alabama or Minnesota without being there? I doubt it. If you live in New York or LA and didn't venture out much, would you believe all the ignorant myths about Texas or Tennessee? Very likely.

To be honest, while I consider the kids we also factor in heavily what husband and I want to do. I didn't get to travel growing up, so if I didn't travel to those places now, when will I go.

Part of the "go now" is that my in laws had this bucket list of trips and then both of them suddenly unexpectedly died shortly after retiring (one of a heart issue, the other a rare and aggressive cancer).

We do a mix, I've taken my kids to see the Redwoods and Acadia but also taken my kid all over the UK, Netherlands, and Germany (I also have some family that lives in the EU). I fully acknowledge I have a lot of privilege to be able to afford our trips, I personally didn't go abroad until I was in my 20s.

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone feel like you should travel with your kids in the US before the world? There are so many beautiful and distinct places in this country that I wonder if I should show my children our country first. But I find the appeal of international travel more exciting to me. E.g. I would rather spend a week in Paris than in San Diego. But do I give my kids the impression that other countries are better than the US if I make international travel what we do with our time off?

Do a mix of both to give them a wider perspective. US is a beautiful country and we are so blessed. I would really want to show them different parts so they can understand the diversity of people, geography and cultures which collectively make US such a unique place.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes! We do massive National Park trips in middle school, then European trips in high school.

We went to South America every year in when we had toddlers and small kids because we couldn't get over how kind and friendly they were. Europeans and Americans really hate children, even well behaved children.

I am confused how you agree that kids should see the US before going abroad, and also think that kids should go to South American as toddlers, and to see our National Parks in Middle School.

I'm also an American who doesn't hate children though, so perhaps we are living in different realities.

Do you live in DC? DC is really bad with kids. Most of the restaurants don't even have high chairs. Adults will openly stare at crying children anywhere. My kids are really well behaved too and like to eat in restaurants.

We focused on US before Europe because we felt like kids would better appreciate the big museums (like Hermitage) when they were in high school, same with historic homes. US National Parks were very exciting to them when they were elementary and middle school and liked being outdoors more.

Both. I love the culture shock aspect on travelling to other countries, that you just can't get here. And sometimes it is cheaper to go overseas, so that helps.

My 11 year old has probably been on more "big" trips (like 1 week or more) to other countries, but has also been to TX, HI, NY, CA, and of course VA, MD. But if we have the choice of a vacation in CA or Portugal, Portugal wins because lodging is cheaper, its easier to skip the rental car, food is cheaper, etc.

Have young adults now, but we have only done Europe (family there so had to visit often and took side trips all over) and US/Canada. I personally much preferred US nature trips especially out west. I don't think anything really beats camping in the desert and the landscapes in AZ, NM and Utah. Also loved Colorado, Wyoming and Montana.

At the time kids preferred Europe/CA/NYC and city trips because they seemed faster-paced and "cooler", but they now look back on the camping and nature trips and really appreciate them and the memories.

For me, it's an easy/cheaper way to show the kids how to travel. If you can't spend 2 hours at the National Gallery of Art is there any point is going to the Louve?

We did a lot of the US National Parks (including Denali in Alaska) when the kids were in elementary and middle school. We've been doing Europe, South East Asia, Mexico, Canada, Costa Rica now that the kids are older. We haven't done the Pacific NW, and will try to do that this summer.

We try to do one big trip and one long weekend trip every year. The long weekends are to US cities. We have done San Diego, New Orleans, New York, San Antonio, etc. We try to mix it up. This year we will head to Chicago for Memorial Day. Our big trips have been Europe for a couple of years, but before that it was Disney/Universal, Pacific Northwest/Canada, etc. This year we are planning a National Park trip around Arizona, Utah, and Nevada. The big trips are sort of planned- we have an idea of different places we want to go, either because we have never been or because we want to show the kids. The reality is that we will not get to all the places we want to go, and certainly not while the kids are young. We hope we are exposing them to a variety of places and instilling in them a love of travel/appreciation for new places/cultures/experiences.

Anonymous wrote:Yes! We do massive National Park trips in middle school, then European trips in high school.

We went to South America every year in when we had toddlers and small kids because we couldn't get over how kind and friendly they were. Europeans and Americans really hate children, even well behaved children.

I am confused how you agree that kids should see the US before going abroad, and also think that kids should go to South American as toddlers, and to see our National Parks in Middle School.

I'm also an American who doesn't hate children though, so perhaps we are living in different realities.

Go where you want to go. Bring kid. Our travel philosophy in a nutshell. We're not bring our 4 year old to Michelin prix fix meals, but we also don't shy away from going to real restaurants, either.

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in Africa and move here 20 years ago. I have visited every single state and national Park.

The US is an incredibly beautiful country. I don't think Americans realize how big and diverse their country is.

How could you manage that? Is traveling to parks your full time job? If so, I'm jealous.