Take a Trip With Your Child

Not all good-sounding ideas about raising young children "work" but I can suggest one which - whenever you can fit it into your home life - I know will pay great dividends, now that your child has started to school.

Whenever you can find the time - after school or on weekends perhaps - take your youngster on a short walk or a short car ride to see some of the sights in your community. I am not thinking of long journeys. Nothing that will tire you out or tire your child. Just brief trips. Nearby. To see the happenings that are close at hand. This kind of a special trip, for you and your child, is an excellent thing to do.

Where you go depends on where you live. In many communities you can simply walk down the street and see some important goings-on: a ditch being dug... a tree being pruned... workers repairing the road... a moving van unloading...

This gives you an idea of the kind of event young children need to see at firsthand: men and women at work... machines at work... jobs... activities... the doings that make our world go 'round.

Most of these sights are commonplace to us adults - we've passed them a thousand times - but they are not old-hat to children. And it is rare for children to have the chance to get close up. Today's youngsters catch glimpses of a lot of life as we speed along in our cars. What they need, however, is the opportunity to look carefully, to stare, to think. Close observation is mind-stretching for a child.

You may know a worker at your post office who will let you take your child "backstage" to see how letters are sorted. Or you may know someone at the supermarket, or at the firehouse or at the gas station. Even if you don't know anyone in particular, people at work are usually very glad to show a young child what they do and where they do it. All we have to do is ask them properly. One reason why most people are so generous with their time is because young children are good audiences. Their eyes almost pop out of their heads and they ask a million questions.

Depending on where you live, you may have to drive a short distance to some special locations: to the airport, the bus terminal, to see a train coming in, to watch boats in the harbor, to see sheep being shorn, a car being repaired, a cow being milked or a loaf of bread being wrapped.

It really doesn't make a great deal of difference where you go. Sometimes you become aware of a misunderstanding or confusion in your child's mind; sometimes you become aware of a special interest your child has - these help you decide where to go. Just as often you simply set out. You will know you have gone to the right place when your youngster says: "Look at that!" Or maybe doesn't even say a word but is completely absorbed. The important point is for your child to see something - to see a lot of things - that start the brain stirring.

I am sure you know why all this is so very good for a child at the beginning of a school career. Whoever first coined that expression, "Travel is broadening," put their finger on it. The more places you go to, the more you know. The more you understand. The more the world begins to make sense. And in large part that is what schooling is all about: Knowledge... Understanding... Getting matters straight.

This Johnny-on-the-spot firsthand investigating is especially important for under-Six children. These boys and girls have not yet reached the age when they can read books about anything and everything under the sun, all on their own. They have to get their information another way: by looking at the real thing, by touching, by asking. Firsthand seeing is the best possible grounding for all their schoolwork, now and in the future.

The youngest children have always needed this firsthand look but today's youngsters have an extra-special need. Today they watch a lot of TV. This gives them some knowledge about the world. But TV can fool children - that tube doesn't really show things as they actually are. And TV can fool us, too. Our children talk as if they know so much but when a lot of their knowledge comes from the tube, they may not truly understand as much as we think they do.

Trips - these little visits around town, nearby, close at hand - do a lot more than build knowledge. They help children become better observers. On every trip you hear them say: "Look at that."... "Look!" Looking is exactly what you want them to do. You can help your child become more and more skilled in observing. One way: Don't ever hesitate to point out to your youngster things you see.

That leads to another great benefit from these little trips. Children talk on these jaunts and you talk, too. A lot of conversation goes on. New words are used. The names for things: cherry-picker... acetylene torch... The names for workers: meter maid... upholsterer... tree surgeon… The names for places: bog... shaft... silo… buoy... Any time you help your child's language grow, any time the two of you talk together, you are getting in good licks for good work at school. Language is at the very center of successful schooling.

On every trip, a lot of children's language comes in question form. These questions can push you a little. Children ask: "What is that called?" and you may not know. "Why are they doing that?" and you may not know.

There are two ways to respond and I guess we all use both of them from time to time. You may have to say: "I'm sorry, I don't know." There is no terrible harm in that. But now and again we can do something that is better: "I'm sorry, I don't know but let's find out." Then the two of you ask someone or look up the answer in a book or maybe you work out the answer yourselves. Searching for answers is very good education. You can be delighted when your child asks questions, even the hard-to-answer ones. That is exactly what a school-going person ought to do.

Children will find many answers as you go with them on these little journeys and all the answers feed into their sense of growing up. That is another reason why I think so highly of trips. Trips make children feel smart. They make children feel big. Trips make children feel proud.

Sometimes youngsters boast a little: "Do you know where I've been?" And that's all right. Sometimes they brag a little: "I've been there... I've done that." And that's all right, too. And sometimes with their friends they even sound fresh: "Dummy! Don't you know that?"

A little pride is all right. One of the secret ingredients that leads to doing well in school is having confidence in yourself, feeling that you are somebody. Self-confidence somehow makes it easier for children to learn.

So: Let me urge you. Whenever you can, make a little time in your busy life - fifteen minutes... half an hour... an hour. Take a little trip, you and your child. A little trip, close at hand. You won't need a travel agency.

I can add one more comment: The chances are that you will have a good time on the trip, too. That is one of the nicest things about taking your youngster on these journeys.

Bon voyage!