They’ll learn to be organized – How often do you wonder if your kid would lose her head if it weren’t screwed on? The responsibility for keeping track of boarding passes and luggage, remembering to scan hotel rooms before check out, keeping track of personal property when disembarking a train, all generally fall on a parent’s shoulders during family trips, but about when she’s with a group? She may be in the care of chaperones, but when she’s one of a crew, even under the watchful eye of adults, she’ll need to take on more responsibility. Letting her test her mettle in this area, maybe making mistakes, can show her the benefits of staying organized

They’ll learn to pay attention – Our oldest has lived in the same house since three years old, but never learned any more than the name of our street until he began driving and navigating on his own. If you’re dragging your kid along on your adventures, he’ll likely rely on your leading him. While traveling without you, he’ll learn to read maps and arrival/departure displays, to take stock of his surroundings and orient himself. These are valuable skills, learned by necessity.

They’ll become stronger – Travel can be stressful. Will you make your connection? Sleep through your alarm? Where’s your luggage? When our kids travel with us, they don’t sweat details. But anyone who wants to live independently eventually has to learn to deal with anxiety. Exposure to normal stress helps build resilience. Talking to your child before a trip about strategies to deal with stress (remaining calm, breathing, finding a helpful adult to answer questions), can help her build an arsenal of coping mechanisms she’ll be able to draw on for life.

They’ll build a resume – Whether it’s employment or college admissions, in today’s competitive world, global experience (or even that provided by intrastate travel) is always a plus. Cross-cultural experiences or service travel indicate a level of maturity that employers and admissions offices find attractive and make an applicant stand out.

Focusing on long-term goals can encourage good decision-making - Okay, many students mature enough to travel aren’t going to be ones who have to strive to stay away from the party scene, but for some, the carrot of a pending trip can be a good long-term motivator to choose the straight and narrow path. The teen years are rife with opportunities to take risks, and sometimes it’s good to encourage good decision-making with a little incentive.

Finally, you’ll get the hang of having them away from you – I am astonished at the parents who engage in the pointless gnashing of teeth when their kids are away. Eventually, if we do our job right, we will all send our little birds from the nest. It is surely helpful for us as parents to have confidence in our children’s ability to be on their own, as well as in our ability to sleep at night without them under our roof.