Travel Family Spotlight: Flights From Home

One of my favorite things about social media is meeting other families that love to travel and adventure. I like to dig in and find out what works for them and what draws their family to want to be "on the go" so we started a little series here on the blog where we spotlight other families who love to travel. We hope you will enjoy the next installment of the "Travel Family Spotlight" series.

Emily Holt is the face behind the Instagram account @flightsfromhome.slc. She is a mom of a darling one-year-old and she started "Flights from Home" as a way to post travel deals she found from Salt Lake City to destinations around the world for family and friends. Her account became so popular that she has now expanded into Southern California, Las Vegas, Denver, San Francisco, and Portland and has separate Instagram accounts for each city as well as a community page at @flightsfromhome. The deals she finds are amazing and the work she does makes it so more families can travel inexpensively, so of course we are big fans! Of course, Emily and her family love to travel themselves and they are now learning how life changes when you travel with a young child. We hope you'll enjoy our interview with Emily from Flights From Home!

1. Tell us about your family.
Our family currently consists of me, my husband, Cam, and our little girl, Jade (1.5 years old). We call Salt Lake City home. My husband manages software development and I'm an attorney. We also are huge Utah fans.

2. Where do you live? Has your family moved around at all?
Cam was born and raised in Salt Lake. He went to Alta High School. I was born in California but have been here since Junior High School (Orem and Salt Lake), so I definitely claim Utah as home.

3. How often do you travel with your family? Is it local travel or international? Where has been your favorite place your family has traveled?
We try to travel internationally twice a year. Last year was Italy and Cambodia. This year was Croatia/Bosnia and TBD. Aside from that, we take a couple domestic trips. Usually these are small and often involve visiting family around the country. It would be great if we could figure out a way to get unlimited time off work :)

So far, our favorite vacation destinations have been Cambodia, Ireland, and Brazil. 

4. Tell us a little bit about your website/Instagram account and what gave you the idea to start "Flights from Home"? How has what you do evolved as you have expanded to different markets? What other cities do you think you will expand into?
I started Flights From Home as a way to share travel deals with friends and family. Call it a weird hobby or whatever, but I like Flights. And I figured an Instagram account was better than the weekly mass texts people were getting. Over time the account has just grown, and I figure, the more the merrier. I have heard from so many people that they have been able to take trips they never dreamed of because of my account, so that has really been a lot of the driving force for why I have kept it going.

The posts have changed a little as the account has grown. Mostly so they are more readable. We did open up a few new cities, which has been fun, but also definitely more work than I anticipated. As of now, we don't plan to open any more markets until the other accounts are a little more established. Then, I guess we will just go from there.

5. Why do you like to travel with your daughter? How has travel changed for you since having your daughter? How has it changed as she has grown into a toddler?
Traveling with Jade has definitely changed things. The pace of travel is much slower, and we overall have to be more flexible to account for things that might come up. But really, this has actually been a welcomed changed. It's nice to be forced to spend a little less time go go going on vacation. Plus, it's truly nice to just unwind as a family for a week or two and just enjoy each other's company. 

6. What's a memorable travel experience you've had with your family?
Candidly, that's the great thing about travel--there are so many to choose from. One of my favorite memories though is when we took Jade to Cambodia when she was eight months old. We were in a market and there was this lady that was selling all of these cute handmade, patchwork animals. I picked out one I liked and was showing it to Jade, and immediately her eyes went to the strangest looking monkey and she just started laughing. I don't think I had ever heard her laugh that hard. Needless to say, we bought the money and still have it. We always joke how Jade has this tendency to pick out scary souvenirs, which has been true on a few vacations since then.  

7. What are the easiest and hardest parts about traveling with a baby/toddler for you?
The best part about traveling with kids is that I find places tend to be a lot more accommodating. For instance, we have been taken to the front of the line in security in airports or customs because we have a small kid. Also, in Asia, we got upgraded everywhere--mostly because people loved Jade!

One of the harder things is dealing with sleep issues in new time zones. To combat this, we try to maintain some normalcy wherever we go. For instance, we try to get up at a reasonable time, so hopefully we are tired by the end of the day. We also bring Jade's portable white noise machine and her blanket, so that she has something familiar even though we are in a new place. Even trying our very hardest though, a lot of times we just roll with the punches. There have been many times where I have been up at 2 a.m. watching a movie with Jade in a foreign country because she woke up and can't fall back asleep. And you know what? I really don't mind because I don't get 2 a.m. cuddles that often at home.

8. What are your favorite travel resources?
For flights I'm a huge fan of Google Flights and Kayak. For places to stay, we try to use @Airbnb when possible (especially in Europe). Having a full apartment, rather than just a hotel room, with a little girl is invaluable. And fortunately, @Airbnb rentals are usually cheaper than hotel rooms. 

9. What are three items you never leave home without?
Aside from the required passports, when we travel, three items we never leave without are snacks, a linen ring sling I use to carry Jade, and Jade's white noise machine (see above regarding attempting to adjust to sleep). 

Our staple snacks are goldfish, trail mix, and Swedish Fish. We always pack half in our carry-ons and half in our packed bag for when we come home--plus, snacks are always good to have when you need something at 2:00 a.m. in a foreign country.

As far as the sling goes, we actually don't take a stroller and just use the sling. Jade is still light enough that I can carry her when she's tired. Plus, she naps right in the sling, so Cam and I will keep doing things wherever we are while she is napping.

10. What's your next travel adventure?
Other than a few domestic trips to California, we actually don't have anything in the works right now, which is kinda strange for us. Usually though, we go wherever a cheap flight takes us, so it doesn't bother me that nothing is planned. I'm sure a deal will come along and the conversation will go something like this: "Cam, how about this for our Fall trip?" "Sounds good." Haha. 
 

You can follow Emily's flight deals on Instagram at @flightsfromhome.slc (or the community page @flightsfromhome) or on Facebook or on the Flights From Home website.

Travel Family Spotlight: Wanderlust Crew

One of my favorite things about social media is meeting other families that love to travel and adventure. I like to dig in and find out what works for them and what draws their family to want to be "on the go" so we started a little series here on the blog where we spotlight other families who love to travel. We hope you will enjoy the next installment of the "Travel Family Spotlight" series.

Vanessa Hunt is the face behind @wanderlust.crew. She is a mom of four, a travel junkie, a lover of food, an awesome photographer, and an expert at finding travel deals. She is currently based in California (although that won't last long) and you can follow her and her crew on Instagram at @wanderlust.crew and on her website www.wanderlustcrew.com. She posts about travel, worldschooling, worldwide families, photography, and finding the best travel deals (check out her Wanderlust Wednesday posts for the latest travel deals!). She is also a founder of @TravelMums, an Instagram account for like-minded mothers who see the importance of travel. Vanessa and her family inspire us with their travels and their perspective on the world. We hope you'll enjoy our interview with the Wanderlust Crew!

Tell us about your family.
Hi there, we are a family of 6. Me (mom) Vanessa, Paul (dad), Abbi (10), Jackson (8), Amelie (6), and Ethan (4) and we absolutely LOVE traveling! I think Paul and I have always had the travel bug, but it wasn't until our youngest was born that we decided that this crazy life was for us! When he was just 2 weeks old we packed up or gave away all our belongings and moved to Hawaii for a year and a half. After that we went to Washington, D.C. for a year, and then took off for a cross country road trip, then all over Europe for a year! We can't seem to stay in one place for long, even though we've tried. We love books, history, music, art and being together as a family.

Where do you live when you aren't traveling?
We really consider wherever we are at the moment to be where we live. We get a little confused when people ask "Where are you from?" But I grew up in California and Paul grew up in Canada, so those are our "original"homes. Right now we are in California for a little while.

Did you have any reservations about traveling full-time as a family?
Honestly, we've had really positive vibes about traveling full-time as a family most of the time. I'm not sure we had reservations about it, more like a few obstacles that we had to overcome to make it happen for us. But in the end we knew it was exactly what we wanted. I guess maybe the only reservation that I had was pulling the kids away from a sense of community and from family, but we have been able to find a sense of community on the road in the places that we go and especially at church. And we've had more visits from family when we are in Europe than we probably would have being in the U.S.

How did you come up with the idea to travel full-time as a family and how's it going now that you've been doing it for a while?
Well, our first thought was that we would move to France for a year and just come back to the U.S. when our year was up, but after looking into visa requirements for 6 of us, we were feeling a little daunted. Then we thought, why not just move around Europe and not have to worry about visas?? So the idea of full-time travel was born. So far (nearly 2 years) it's going really well! There are definitely some days that I want to bag it all and just settle down for good, but I know that lifestyle would never suit us in the end.

What are some unexpected things that you've encountered as you have been traveling full-time with your family?
Definitely a few things. I was really surprised that so many people in Europe speak English. I thought we'd really be practicing our language skills more, but so many people speak English that it's difficult, because they want to practice their English! It's great though! We also made so many unexpected friendships. We are still in touch with many of the people that we've connected with, especially our Airbnb hosts. We have been the recipients of so much kindness and I'm forever grateful for that! Humans are just so amazing!

What's the most memorable travel experience you've had with your family?
Oh, so many, that's a tough one! We have some spiritual memories, scary ones, special ones, funny ones! Our host in France had us over for a real French dinner at her old French Revolution era house, we had 6 courses and the kids had to sit through the whole thing. We had to attempt the whole conversation in French and it was a little scary but so fun and special!

When we arrived in Lake Como, Italy we were taking a train to Venice.  I was waiting on the platform with the kids and luggage when the train came and Paul was dropping off a rental car. I loaded everyone and everything on the train, having faith he would make it in time! We watched him running after the train from the window as the train pulled away from the station! The kids were BAWLING! He was able to catch the next train and meet us there. No big deal and it was a really good lesson for the kids that everything works out in the end and we always have a good laugh about that!

While we were in Paris, we had this awful feeling that we should leave. It was the strangest thing! We left and several hours later were bombarded with calls and texts from family members! The Paris attacks were that night! I had chills all over!

While staying in Switzerland, we ended up being there for a huge festival called Herbstmesse where the entire city turns into something resembling a State Fair. It was awesome and so unexpected!

What advice would you give to other families who want to make a change to full-time travel or plan a long term trip?
To families looking to traveling full-time, I would recommend reading my article 5 Steps to Afford Full-Time Travel, which will walk you through how to live a life of full-time travel.

What are you favorite travel resources?
For first hand advice I love Instagram!! I have made so many incredible friends there including Elise! I just don't even know what I'd do without my insta-fam. When you travel full-time you don't really have a lot of friends, so it's nice to have a sense of community on the internet.

The Facebook Group Worldschoolers is also an amazing resource and community full of full-time traveling families.

For flights, I love Kayak.com/explore or Skyscanner.

For housing, hands down Airbnb has been our best friend! We have stayed almost exclusively in Airbnbs around the U.S. and Europe and we've paid less than our rent before we started traveling full-time and met so many incredible people this way!

What are three items you never leave home without?
1. Good Vitamins: Staying healthy on the road is so important! We are exposed to new germs every day, so having a good vitamin for us and the kids has been crucial. I think the whole year we were in Europe we only got one cold and never had to visit a doctor.
2. WiFi! We are both digital nomads so having good WiFi is crucial and sometimes the places we stayed did not have great internet, so we always travel with some type of portable internet like a MiFi. We got ours from Cell Hire in the U.S. for about $100/month.
3. Gum! The gum in Europe is awful, pack your own! haha!

Where are you headed next?!
Oh good question! We are heading to Puerto Rico for a month in April, Canada in the summer to learn how to camp and next year we are headed back to Europe and can't wait!

 

20 "Must Pack" Essentials When Traveling with Kids

Traveling with kids can be a wild ride. Sometimes everything goes smoothly, and other times you spend an entire weekend or week (or longer) dealing with ear infections, stomach bugs, allergic reactions, etc. On our latest trip to California we ran to Urgent Care a few hours before our flight because one of our kids woke up with a bad ear infection. We got medication and went on our way. Once we were on our trip another daughter had an allergic reaction to something unknown and our third daughter came down with the flu. Three kids, three different problems. Luckily, we were prepared.

We've put together a list of 20 items we always bring with us when we travel. Of course, we've probably missed something you use. We'd love to know what your essentials are too.

**Make sure you talk to your doctor before you give your kids any medicines we've recommended and follow dosage recommendations.**

1. First Aid Kit - various sized band-aids, gauze, antiseptic wipes, etc.

2. Hand Sanitizer - to help keep germs to a minimum

3. Neosporin (or another antibiotic ointment) - for cuts and sores

4. Orajel - for teething babies, toothaches, and canker sores

5. Bug spray - we bring this depending on where we are traveling

6. Sunscreen - we bring a face stick and then children's and adult sunscreen

7. Diaper Rash Creme - we still bring this even though we don't have babies anymore because it
does wonders with rashes

8. Pepto-Bismol - we bring children's and adult versions for upset stomachs (bring something stronger if your kids get really nauseous)

9. Earache Drops - we prefer the prescription drops because they are stronger but you can also get drops over the counter that help with pain on the airplane

10. Pain Relievers - we usually bring Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen, both the adult and children's versions. We prefer to bring the tablets for kids instead of liquids

11. Hydrocortisone creme - just in case anyone gets a rash we like to keep some of this on hand

12. Benadryl - we bring both the adult and children's versions in case of an allergic reaction, we haven't used it for helping kids sleep

13. Melatonin - we bring adult and children's versions and this especially helps us with jet lag

14. Baby wipes - we always have baby wipes with us because they are versatile and clean up all sorts of messes

15. Munchkin Arm & Hammer Diaper Bags and Dispenser - we use these scented bags for diapers and also for trash on airplanes and in hotels rooms

16. Prescription Medications - we've learned the hard way that you can't always refill prescriptions outside your state or country, so it's important to make sure you have everything you need with you

17. Eye drops - we have prescription eye drops for pink eye that we bring with us on occasion or if we know we are going to do a lot of swimming we'll bring over the counter eye drops to help with too much chlorine

18. Vitamins - one of the best ways to avoid getting sick is to try and stay healthy along the way (we like to make sure our kids are taking a regular vitamin to keep their immune systems up)

19. Nasal Saline Drops - in case of colds or congestion

20. Thermometer - we don't always bring this but there are a lot of times I wish we had! Get a pocket size one to travel with!

What do you include? Or not include from this list? We'd love to hear your comments.

 

Travel Family Spotlight: Kim Christenson

One of my favorite things about social media is meeting other families that love to travel and adventure. I like to dig in and find out what works for them and what draws their family to want to be "on the go" so we started a little series here on the blog where we spotlight other families who love to travel. We hope you will enjoy the next installment of the "Travel Family Spotlight" series.

Kim Christenson is a mom of three, a journalist, novelist, and dreamer. She is based in Utah and you can find her on Instagram at @talkwordytome_ and on her website www.talkingwordy.com. She writes about travel, family, food, health & fitness, and books. She is also a co-founder of Brunchettes, a bi-monthy brunch to build up women and provide an atmosphere that avoids competing and comparing and instead focuses on sisterhood. Kim loves to travel with her family and is helping her kids learn how to put their focus on collecting experiences, not things. We hope you'll enjoy our interview with Kim!

1. Tell us about your family.
My husband, Clay, and I have been married for 10 years. We met through a mutual friend in our hometowns (Draper/Sandy) and kept dating when we moved to Provo. Clay played and coached soccer for BYU and I got my English degree there. We started having kids after three and a half years and we have three little ones now.

2. Where do you live? Has your family moved around at all?
We lived in Provo for eight years, and we just bought our first home in Lehi, Utah. We love it here. Clay lived in the same house his whole life aside from a two-year mission for our church in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and I moved with my family around Utah and then to Brisbane, Australia, where I went to high school.

3. How often do you travel with your family? Is it local travel or international? Where has been your favorite place your family has traveled?
Growing up, my family often went on little trips to St. George. But my real love for travel was born once we moved to Australia and I saw how big and amazing the world was. When CIay and I got married, we immediately opened a travel fund in our bank, so we could always keep travel as a priority.

When we were newlyweds, we mostly went on local getaways, but were lucky enough to travel with the BYU soccer team and I took my husband to Australia for the first time before we started having kids.

Now that we have kids, we plan a trip to somewhere warm every January to soothe the winter blues. Looking forward to that trip all year and remembering it afterwards really rallies us through those dreary winter months! Clay’s side of the family does a Lake Powell trip every summer, and we go to Park City every year just with our little family. I want my kids to have a spot they have happy memories of with our family and where they can return to with their own families. 

Now that our third isn’t nursing anymore, we have a goal to get away on a trip every year without the kids. Leaving three kids in other people’s care comes with some anxiety and major planning, but it’s always worth it. I also try and get away with my sisters or friends as often as I can. Our traveling looks a little different every year depending on the stage our family is in, but our motto is to always say yes to travel when we can.

My favorite place I have traveled with my little family is Hawaii. It's not too far away, and it's so kid-friendly. It's paradise for me, and pure childhood joy for the kids. I feel like we're all just happier and more carefree there.

4. Tell us a little bit about your blog and how you incorporate travel into your blog and in your life? What is your travel philosophy?
We took our kids to Newport, California a little while ago and I decided to make a video of our time there. When my kids watched it, they were in tears because they’d never watched their own memories like that, set to heart-wrenching music. It made them desperately want to go back to California. Ever since, they’ve demanded that I make a video of every trip we take. We love documenting our memories like that.  

I post the videos on my website as well as travel tips. I love getting travel tips from like-minded friends who have been where I’m going, so I hope my tips can help other families get the most out of their trips. 

It may sound counter-intuitive, but traveling grounds me. It grounds me in who I really am and what I want out of life. Stepping away from my everyday life gives me a refreshed perspective on the blessings I have and what I need to change in my life. It also reminds me not to get stuck in my own way of thinking and viewing the world. It makes me more open-minded and understanding of other cultures and mindsets. It’s important to me that my kids have those experiences too. We’re trying to collect experiences, not things. Traveling as a family is a fun way to do that. 

5. Why do you like to travel with your kids? Do you ever leave them home?
I love traveling with my kids because they love it. They get so excited about taking off and experiencing new things. Watching them do that is so satisfying. Adventuring together binds us as a family and adds a depth of joy and fulfillment to our relationships.

A lot of people have asked in wonder how and why we take our kids on bigger trips but I feel like it's often easier to take them than leave them! Leaving them means worrying and scheduling babysitters and rides and meals. And when we bring them, we don’t feel a rush to get back home and “save” them. When we leave them, we’re always saying things like, “Oh Ellie would love this!” or “I wish Camden could see that.”

With that said, I strongly believe in getting away without kids regularly. In my book, traveling together has marriage-saving power. 

6. What's a memorable travel experience you've had with your family?
It’s hard to pick one because I feel like every one of our trips together are memorable. Our most recent trip as a family, in Kauai, comes to mind. We stayed there in a condo for 10 days and met up with some close friends from Australia who made our trip even more enjoyable. My mom was there to help with the kids and let us get away to hike the Napali Coast, so that was a huge help! Our kids slept well and were so content playing on the beach and in the pool for hours, and eating their favorite treat: Shave ice. Given the chance, we would move to Kauai in a heartbeat. Life just feels slower and more stripped down to the basics there. The weather and jaw-dropping scenery is a draw too.

7. What are the easiest and hardest parts about traveling with young kids for you?
I’m a bit of an organizational freak and love packing. Always have. I have positive associations with it because if I’m packing, it means I’m going somewhere fun. So packing is the easiest part for me. I also love gathering recommendations for our destination. I think food is a crucial part of a trip, so I always try to find out the best places to eat before we head out. The hardest part of traveling is coming home! And being on a long flight with a toddler who just wants to move around. 

8. What are your favorite travel resources?
I love following @flightsfromhome.slc on Instagram to find the best flights leaving from my home airport, Salt Lake City. Google Flights has sort of become a leader in finding the best flight deals, so I check that too. I use Airbnb a lot because it’s a more cozy, personal travel experience. I also get the free Scott Keyes e-mail. Uber is a must too!

9. What are three items you never leave home without?
Lotion. We all are prone to dry skin in my family, and air travel can really dry you out.

A book. I’m a bookworm and can’t imagine a trip without something to read. Reading by the beach or poolside is the epitome of relaxation! Well, that and a massage. Books are great for keeping kids entertained on flights too.

Extra binkies! It would be mayhem if we were out of the specific binkies our baby takes mid-flight. Those things always seem to disappear.

10. What's your next travel adventure?
I’m heading on a trip with my sisters for my birthday. We’re headed to Monterey, California during the peak of whale watching season! St. George, Park City, Lake Powell and California (San Francisco and our go-to spot, Newport) are on the list too. If we can find great flights, we may head to Australia at the end of the year. Boston is another possibility. We’ll see how much we can fit in!

Anything else you want to tell us?
I traveled to England for the first time last year, and the rolling hills and medieval villages of the Cotswolds inspired me to write my first novel. As soon as I finish it, I’m rewarding myself with a trip back there! Now I just need to find time to write with three little ones.

You can learn more about the Christenson family's travels on Instagram at @talkwordytome_ and you can read more about their family online at www.talkingwordy.com

Raising Your Kids to Be Global Citizens

One of the main reasons we travel is to help our kids develop a better sense of what it means to be global citizens. We hope to teach our kids to appreciate, communicate, and interact with people across different cultures and in different countries and to inspire our kids to be curious about the world around them. In addition to traveling the world, there are several ways that we've found we can help our kids develop global citizenship. We've listed our tips below and we'd love to hear if you have any to add.

1. Try cuisines from around the world. Using food is probably one of the easiest ways you can introduce your kids to new cultures. We have made a point of trying a new cuisine once a month. We started off this challenge with food that we knew our kids would like (Mexican) because they were already familiar with most of the ingredients and spices so it wasn't too foreign. Sometimes we take our kids out to ethnic restaurants, or sometimes we make food at home. Most cuisines have some basic staples that all kids like (rice, tortillas, nan, pita bread) and each time we try a new type of food we ask our kids to taste a few bites of everything we've ordered. It doesn't always work, but usually they will take few bites and find something they like. Another way we've incorporated new cuisines is with the "Try the World" food subscription box. Each month we receive a box with snacks from a different country. When we are trying cuisines from other cultures we usually end up talking about that country or culture and sometimes we find a YouTube video to watch or book to read as we discuss a particular country. 

2. Travel to new places. Not surprisingly, we think travel is an important way to open kids' minds. When we travel we learn so many things about different people and cultures. However, this does not mean you need to take an exotic trip out of the country to give your kids this experience. Instead, try to find places you can take your kids where they can experience something different from their every day life. If they live in the suburbs, take them to a big city. If they are accustomed to the desert, take them to the ocean or to a national park. Sometimes all you need to do is drive to a different part of town to get an entirely new cultural experience. For example, in larger cities like New York City or San Francisco, you can take your kids to Chinatown or Little Italy and feel like you are in a completely different country. We live to drive to more rural parts of Utah to experience life at a slower pace and to see how people live differently than us.

3. Learn another language. Anyone can learn a new language (although it can get harder with age). Children who grow up learning another language develop empathy for others and a curiosity towards other cultures and ideas. Our daughters have been learning Spanish since they were three and are in a dual-immersion school where they speak English for part of the day and Spanish for part of the day. They have been able to use this language when we travel around the world and when we are in areas in Utah where people speak Spanish. Once children have learned a second language it is often easier for them to learn additional languages. If you don't have access to schools nearby you that have language programs you can find apps to teach kids languages (we like Rosetta Stone and Gus on the Go), listen to music and read books in other languages, or you can make friends who speak other languages through your community.

4. Read books. There are a wide range of books available to help expose kids to people of other cultures, different countries, and different ways of life. We use reading to help expand our kids' minds on a variety of topics, especially diversity. One preschool book we love to read is "Little Blue and Little Yellow" by Leo Lionni because it references tolerance and diversity in friendship. When we go to the library or bookstore we spend time in the sections that feature different languages and countries to see what is available. Our local library also has a whole section of books on diversity and multicultural studies. Reading gives kids an opportunity to experience life in someone else's shoes. When my kids are able to picture what life is like for other kids around the world it expands their worldview and helps them realize that not everyone has the same experiences as them and that we should take time to learn from others.

5. Look for local cultural experiences. This is probably one of our very favorite things to do (and is usually food related). Our community has an Oktoberfest, Swiss Days, and a Greek Festival that we love to attend every year. In addition to great food, we expose our kids to music and cultural ceremonies from other countries. Because our children attend a Spanish-language school we also have the opportunity to participate throughout the year in cultural festivals and events their school plans. We also like to celebrate the arts and try and attend plays, art shows, and musical performances in our community. I usually find out about local and community cultural events through online searches, our local newspapers, and by word of mouth. These cultural experiences give kids an opportunity to learn about other people and countries in a fun and entertaining way.

6. Participate in service projects. We just finished a service project for refugees in our community, so service has been on our mind a lot lately. When we serve others we learn to love them. It is almost impossible to serve someone and remain ambivalent towards them. We have found that by serving others we can break down cultural barriers and communicate through the language of love. We find most of our service opportunities through our schools and local charities. We like to participate in service that directly affects people we know, just because it is easier for our kids to understand and feel a connection to what we are doing. If you need more tips for finding service opportunities where you live, send me a message and I'd be happy to help.

7. Help kids develop diverse friendships. One of the main ways we have found to become culturally aware is to connect with REAL people. When our kids have friends from different backgrounds (whether they have cultural, racial, financial, physical, or religious differences) they begin to understand that even though we have differences, we also have similarities. They learn to celebrate diversity in others and not be afraid of it. We have found friends through cultural experiences, school, extracurricular activities, church, and sometimes just running around the park. When my kids notice something different about another kid, we talk about their differences and strengths and encourage them to go get to know that kid better.

We hope some of these ideas will help you look for ways you can raise your kids to be global citizens. And, we'd love to hear your ideas. Feel free to comment below or send us a message. When we celebrate diversity and raise our children to be citizens of the world we can change the world for the better.