In my experience, I’ve seen families go on holiday together – only for the parents to spend the entire day checking emails or drinking cocktails by the pool, and the children go off to amuse themselves elsewhere or spend all day glued to their devices with the uncapped WiFi.
And for me personally, there’s absolutely no active engagement or bonding here.
Something I’ve had the pleasure of seeing on various outback tours has been this immersive teaching and learning between parents and their children.
The outback, in any country, is quite unforgiving. This means you must be awake and alert to your surroundings to avoid anything going wrong – especially when navigating it with your family.
This heightened awareness causes parents to be extra alert to their children and consequently shapes fantastic family moments.
For example, the opportunities for parents to physically go kayaking or fishing with their children and show them the importance of respect or catching only what they will eat – not out of excess, greed, or sport.
Our fast-paced world sometimes needs to be corrected in instilling this value.
You see your children return to their playful and free-spirited selves, as they’ll see a dune and find the closest thing near them to use as a sledge.
It’s one of the biggest joys seeing my children so inventive and excited to be in that space and a shared joy to see our friends’ children experience the same thing.
Especially when on the last day of our adventures, I can see the difference in their interactions and relationship. It definitely is one of the best parts of the job.
