Thanks Caithlin. Sometimes I do tell myself that there will be another time, but there are never any guarantees. For instance, my husband and I decided many years back to revisit Zanzibar and we still have not gotten around to doing so. Yet, I am a little stubborn — choosing to rather live with my dreamy ideas of some destinations than letting an education-oriented visit dash my romantic visions.

I think children learn anyway, so you’re right, they learn from the whole experience. However, when they are young (toddlers/preschoolers), they also get pushed around in many activities that interest adults, which isn’t fair to them. We took them along for a helicopter ride over Tahiti soimply because it is such a once-in-a-lifetime experience. My elder daughter disliked how noisy and hot it was, my younger one was startled by the captain speaking in her ears and eventually puked from the blazing heat. So we learnt over time, not to push them into activities that we enjoy, or that we think would be exciting for them and instead plan journeys that are more age appropriate. And for many other activities, they’ll simply not be permitted to participate. So, in my experience, it all becomes win-lose, either for the parents or for the kids.

I see value in the approach you suggest for older kids. I am waiting for the day when my girls will be older so we can all be involved in fulfilling each others’ dreams. At that time, we’ll probably share bucket lists and have them kickstart their own too. Will be exciting times!