Comments on: Too afraid to travel? Are our fears killing off the next generation of backpackers?

By: Andy Jarosz

Andy Jarosz — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 19:31:04 +0000

Good on you, Leighann. It sounds like your son is destined to be a traveller! It’s amazing how people will try to project their own fears about a situation onto others, despite them being often grounded in ignorance.

By: Leighann Garber

Leighann Garber — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 09:31:52 +0000

We first traveled as a family when my son was 2. We went to Belize, and everyone told us he was too young to take to the 3rd world. He would get kidnapped. He get heatstroke. We would all get MALARIA and DIE. Come to find out, Belize is a crazy place, but not that crazy. We learned a lot, and we really grew to love it.

Now he’s 8, and we’re working on going around the world. We’ve lived in Canada, Germany and France. And I feel very confident that when he is older he will feel comfortable and safe traveling almost anywhere. I don’t think I’ll be able to keep him from traveling on his own someday, and i wouldn’t want to.

By: Victoria Trott

Victoria Trott — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:06:25 +0000

I started travelling on my own when I was 17 and I continue to do so – although age probably makes me more careful these days. I think that travelling alone is a great education for anyone and vital for self-development and understanding of the world. I agree with you Andy that the world is no more or less safe than it was 20 years ago. The advent of instant communication (mobiles, emails) rather than a call from a phonebox once in a blue moon makes it easy to stay in touch but I also think it loses something as well – you’re not truly immersed in the culture you’re in as your everyday life is at your fingertips. And these days, the backpacker routes are well trodden. One thing that I have found over the past few years is the anti-British feeling that exists in the world not to mention the anti-American feelings – I have American friends who say they are Canadian when they are travelling because of the abuse they’ve received in various countries. It startles me but given the times we live in and the awareness we have these days, I’ve never experienced or witnessed so much racism as I have done over the past few years. But I think that’s another issue.

By: Andy Jarosz

Andy Jarosz — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 09:43:11 +0000

Thanks Nancy, Zoe and Lauren for visiting and sharing your thoughts.
I’m sure it can only be a positive when people travel in their teens and 20s that they will pass on the chance to experience the lessons they learned while travelling to their children. I don’t believe the world is fundementally any less safe that it was 20 years ago. In fact we could argue that improved communication and the ability to seek help from almost anywhere on the planet via our cell phones has made it safer.
As for being seen off at the boarding gate Lauren, it’s a shame how the post 9/11 world has taken so many of the pleasures of flying away. Friends mentioned to us last night how they were able to sit in the cockpit for landing on a European flight only 10 years ago. No chance these days. But as you suggest it must be a big step for parents to let go for the first time.

Thanks all for the great comments.

By: Lauren, Ephemerratic

Lauren, Ephemerratic — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 02:59:03 +0000

Another conversation inspiring post!

I grew up in the suburbs of Long Island, New York, where most of my friends and many of their parents were afraid to travel to Manhattan, just a 45 minute train ride away. The first time I ever flew was right after college, and my first flight was trans-Atlantic to Italy. My parents waited with me at the gate (you could do that back then) until my flight boarded, and I’m certain that my mother burst into tears the second she lost sight of me.

It’s hard to believe that grew into a person that would travel around the world for a year. Many of my friends from high school think I’ve lost my mind and that I’ve done one of the most dangerous, stupid things imaginable.

Meanwhile I can’t imagine not traveling. The horror!

By: zoe zolbrod

zoe zolbrod — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 01:55:15 +0000

Great question to raise. I think about this all the time. Starting when I was a teenager, my parents gave me freedoms that would have them labeled as foolish or negligent now. I started traveling alone when I was about 20, getting in all kind of scrapes and strange situations and in the process having experiences that made me who I am. Now that I’m a parent, I have sympathy for my own, who had months of not knowing where in the world I was in the days before easy internet communication and more ample phone service. I hope I have the same trust and generosity towards my kids when it’s their turn to go–and I hope they have the same good luck I did!

By: Nancy

Nancy — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 03:01:56 +0000

I, too, went to Europe at 17 all by my lonesome. I’m so thankful my parents were cool enough to give me that long leash to let me work and live abroad.

In my opinion, it’s unwise NOT to travel. If anything this world needs more travelers to make it a better place. To become better people sometimes we must do the thing we think we cannot do. If I ever have children, that’s something I will one day impart to them.

By: Andy Jarosz

Andy Jarosz — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:53:40 +0000

“Encouraging ignorance and patronising kids is not going to create a generation of sucessful human beings”

Very true Kate, and maybe parents can cause more problems for their children later in life in the name of protection at a time when they should be experiencing new things and taking some risks. While all parents naturally want what is best for their children, maybe the media plays a part in creating a false picture of a dangerous world that is so different to the one we grew up in. That can only make it harder to give children the scope to experiment and take some risks to learn about the world.

By: Kate

Kate — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:44:52 +0000

Thankfully all parents are different. A friend of mine was encouraged to travel to north america on his own when he was 17 (we’re from England) which in my opinion is more dangerous than backpacking around south america

The Yanomami tribe allow young children to play with knives and to put themsleves in other what we might call ‘dangerous’ situations, because it teaches them responsibility for their own safety, and also how to hunt and survive. Encouraging ignorance and patronising kids is not going to create a generation of sucessful human beings.

By: Dan

Dan — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:37:29 +0000

I do wonder if these days young people don’t get to experience a sort of rite of passage anymore. I know I was always looking for something like that but I think things like political correctness and over protective parents have put an end to it. Things like equality between males and females is important but I get the feeling it’s coming at a cost of gender identity to some degree. Travel is definitely a great way to learn about yourself and the world, it’s a great loss to everyone if we are to fearful of it to step out of the weird politicized culture that we’ve created.