{"id":3450,"date":"2017-08-06T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-08-05T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wotif.com\/vc\/blog\/?p=3450"},"modified":"2020-04-02T05:34:03","modified_gmt":"2020-04-01T19:34:03","slug":"take-kids-back-to-childhood-holidays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wotif.com\/vc\/blog\/real-travel-stories\/family\/take-kids-back-to-childhood-holidays\/","title":{"rendered":"Why I take the kids back to where I holidayed as a child"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Sophia Auld<\/em><\/p>\n

Remember the days when summer holidays seemed to stretch out before you like endless miles of sandy beach? And when games of backyard cricket were accompanied by the aroma of sausages sizzling on the barbie? I remember my childhood summers fondly from our family holidays. I want to make sure my kids have great holiday memories too and what better place to start than the popular spots I remember so well.<\/p>\n

A walk down memory lane<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sometimes we\u2019d visit the\u00a0Gold Coast<\/a>. There were long days lazing on the sand, strolling the beach at sunset, fighting with my brother over the last slice of watermelon, and finishing the day with a stroll along Cavill Avenue for ice-cream.<\/p>\n

Then there was the year we went camping with family friends. The Mums loaded our packs with food and waved goodbye as the dads ventured boldly forth to the\u00a0Royal National Park<\/a>, two hours south of our Sydney home.<\/p>\n

Tempers were stretched as we fumbled to get tents up. Making a campfire turned out to be harder than it looks in movies. And we had too much food.<\/p>\n

But we had a great time. My brother caught a fish that we cooked over the fire. We pretended to be explorers, climbing rock ledges, hiking through the bush and swimming in rock pools where the water took your breath away. No electronics. No TV. Just fresh air, imagination and outdoor fun. That\u2019s what I want for my kids.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Exploring Australia<\/strong><\/p>\n

One thing I loved about these holidays was getting to see Australia. From towering\u00a0Gold Coast<\/a>\u00a0high-rises to the\u00a0Victorian<\/a>\u00a0high country, I got a taste of the diversity of our country.<\/p>\n

I want my kids to learn what a vast and varied nation we live in, as they experience first-hand the bush, the beach, the rainforest and the outback. \u00a0I hope they\u2019ll discover that we live in the most amazing nation on earth.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Switching off<\/strong><\/p>\n

On our family holidays, we\u2019d fall into bed exhausted at night after a day cruising theme parks, or rock-hopping a craggy stretch of\u00a0New South Wales<\/a>\u00a0coastline. I learned to body-surf and duck under the waves. We\u2019d eat at different restaurants, which has given me a love for various cuisines.<\/p>\n

Making time to tune out is more important than ever in this age of electronics. I want my kids to put down devices and be present in the moment\u2014feeling the sand between their toes, smelling the ocean breeze, tasting freshly sliced mango, hearing bellbirds calling through the trees, watching dolphins play in the surf.<\/p>\n

Reconnecting<\/strong><\/p>\n

Holidays were a time when we reconnected as a family. Visiting my childhood holiday haunts helps my kids understand where I\u2019ve come from. They love hearing my own childhood tales. I\u2019m grateful we\u2019ve made family holidays a priority. We\u2019ve done more than making memories. We\u2019ve built relationships that will last a lifetime.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/i> Book your next family holiday! <\/a>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Sophia Auld Remember the days when summer holidays seemed to stretch out before you like endless miles of sandy beach? And when games of backyard cricket were accompanied by the aroma of sausages sizzling on the barbie? I remember my childhood summers fondly from our family holidays. I want to make sure my kids …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3476,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,760],"tags":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wotif.com\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3450"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wotif.com\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wotif.com\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wotif.com\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wotif.com\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3450"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.wotif.com\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3450\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3477,"href":"https:\/\/www.wotif.com\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3450\/revisions\/3477"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wotif.com\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wotif.com\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wotif.com\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wotif.com\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}