The Top 7 Building Resilience Activities for Children While Traveling
Family travel offers endless opportunities for growth and connection, but it can also present its fair share of challenges. From adjusting to new environments to handling unexpected changes in plans, kids can experience moments of frustration or uncertainty. Teaching resilience—the ability to adapt and thrive despite challenges—is an invaluable life skill that can be nurtured through travel.
In this post, we’ll explore simple, engaging resilience activities for children, share personal stories from our own family’s travels, and provide conversation starters to encourage meaningful discussions with your kids.
Why Resilience Matters for Kids
Resilience helps children navigate challenges, big and small, with confidence. Whether it’s missing a favorite toy or adapting to a new cultural environment, resilient kids learn to bounce back and embrace the adventure. As parents, we can help foster resilience through intentional activities and conversations that emphasize problem-solving, adaptability, and emotional awareness.
1. Journaling Their Adventures
Encourage your child to keep a travel journal. They can write about daily highlights, challenges they faced, and how they overcame them. For younger kids, drawing pictures or using stickers is a great alternative. Journaling helps children process their experiences and reflect on their own growth. If a journal isn’t readily available, talking through the below questions works well too!
Resilience Conversation Starter:
- What was something hard about today, and how did you handle it?
- How do you feel now that you’ve worked through it?
2. “Problem-Solving Challenges”
Turn small travel hiccups into learning opportunities. If there’s a delay, a lost item, or a change in plans, involve your child in brainstorming solutions. For example, “What could we do to pass the time while we wait?”
On a recent trip, which was also the first time I flew with two children on my own, we had a layover that was longer than expected. I ran out of snacks and we were all hungry. My 5 year old kiddo helped pick out a meal (Nashville Hot Chicken) which surprise, surprise turned out to be way too spicy for everyone. I had a moment of frustration, and then reminded myself that we could turn our long layover into a food sampling tour (albeit not Nashville’s finest culinary tour), but we did get to try some new to us food. Reframing a food fail as an “airport food tour” was not what we had planned for the day, but it worked well to pass the time and fill our bellies.
Resilience Conversation Starter:
- How did it feel to help solve the problem?
- What would you do next time something like this happens?
3. Practicing Gratitude
During transitions or after a busy day, take a moment as a family to share something you’re grateful for. Practicing gratitude helps shift focus from frustrations to positive experiences and reinforces a growth mindset.
Activity Idea: Start a “Gratitude Jar” during your travels. Use small scraps of paper to jot down things your family is thankful for each day, then read them together at the end of the trip. Taking notes in your phone’s notes app works well too!
Resilience Conversation Starter:
- What’s something you enjoyed about today?
- What’s one thing you learned that you’re grateful for?
4. Building Connections with Locals
Encourage your child to interact with people from the local culture. Whether it’s learning a few words in the local language or playing a game with kids they meet, these interactions help children understand and appreciate different perspectives.
On our first day here in Kinshasa, we went to a kids play area in a local mall. A young Congolese child who only spoke French followed around my 5 year old and they played and communicated, despite language barriers, for a full two hours- a clear example that play is the universal language of childhood.
Resilience Conversation Starter:
- How did it feel to connect with someone new?
- What did you learn about their culture or way of life?
5. “What’s the Plan?” Game
Make travel planning a collaborative effort by involving your kids. Give them age-appropriate responsibilities, like choosing activities or helping with packing. This fosters independence and prepares them to tackle challenges with confidence.
Recently, I’ve noticed my big kid, C, asking questions about how we get around the airport. For our most recent flights, I showed him how to find the departure gate and with our help, he guided our family to the next flight’s gate successfully. He felt so proud of himself for getting us to the right gate and it was special to see his involvement in the travel process.
Resilience Conversation Starter:
- What do you think went well with your plan?
- What would you change for next time?
6. Role-Playing Difficult Situations
Prepare your kids for common travel challenges by role-playing scenarios. For example, pretend to ask for directions in a new language or calmly handle a mix-up with reservations. Practicing these situations can build confidence and reduce anxiety.
We’ve used this tip often and it’s come in handy throughout our many travel challenges. For instance, I’ve mentioned before that the traffic in Kinshasa is horrendous. Yesterday, as we were sitting in an hour of traffic, our driver parked and just got out of the car. My 5 year old, who has practiced and experienced many confusing and challenging travel situations here, calmly said “he must have a complicated day, he’s probably just going to the bathroom.” We brainstormed all the silly, outrageous things he could be doing.
Resilience Conversation Starter:
- How did practicing make you feel more prepared?
- What other situations could we practice together?
7. Celebrating Small Wins
Acknowledge and celebrate when your child overcomes a challenge, no matter how small. It could be trying a new food, learning a local word, or staying calm during a long car ride. Celebrating these moments reinforces their efforts and resilience.
Activity Idea: Create a “Travel Victory List” where your child can write or draw their accomplishments along the way.
Resilience Conversation Starter:
- What’s something you did today that you’re proud of?
- How did it feel to achieve that?
Resilience Activities for Children: Closing Thoughts
Traveling with kids isn’t always smooth sailing, but every challenge presents a chance to grow together as a family. By weaving resilience-building activities into your journeys, you’ll help your children develop confidence, empathy, and adaptability. Remember, the goal isn’t to avoid challenges, but to embrace them as part of the adventure.
What activities have helped your family build resilience while traveling? Share your experiences in the comments below.
I‘ve loved reading your blog and learning how clever you are in keeping the kids occupied and engaged.
Thank you Susan! It’s been an adventure so far and we’ve certainly had to get creative on ways to stay active and entertained!