Give world to grandkids
Nan says international travels perfect to bond with younger brood
ROBYN Nixon is skipping a generation to focus on introducing her grandchildren to the wide world, which is helping them to develop a keen interest in what’s outside their Melbourne backyards.
Her love of travel, which has been fuelled by the 66year-old’s job as general manager of the Intrepid Foundation, has led her to organising international travel experiences with three of her six grandchildren, without a parent in sight.
“When my daughter had the grandchildren, they were living overseas in different places for a while, so we travelled together with the kids quite a bit,” Robyn said.
“Then I decided, because we have a range of Intrepid family holidays, that one of the things I would like to do is take the kids away on their own, just with me.
“I started that with my eldest grandson when he was 11 and we went to China.”
Robyn enjoyed the shared travel experience as she watched grandson Josh become enthralled by the country and make new friends with the other children in the group.
She also found herself with like-minded adults who wanted their children and grandchildren to have similar experiences.
“The group just gelled really well together,” Robyn said.
“We experienced The Great Wall, Terracotta Warriors, quiet country villages and the energy of big cities.
“All the kids were super excited about the Great Wall of China. They literally ran up it.”
Robyn came back from China determined to give the same travel opportunity to her other five grandchildren.
She has since taken Isaac to Japan and plans in February to take Ben, 11, to The Galapagos and Equatorial Amazon.
“When you get to spend a decent amount of time with your grandchildren and you see them interact with other parents and children, you build more of a relationship because their parents aren’t there, so it’s just you and them working it out,” Robyn said.
The decision on where each child travels is based on each one’s personal interests.
Robyn chose China for Josh as he had just done a school project on that country. Isaac chose Japan.
Ben talked about going somewhere with animals. She decided not to take him to Africa as she thought he needed to be older to get more out of that experience, and his real interest is in marine animals.
Robyn encourages her grandchild to write a daily tour diary along the way. She also collects mementos and then puts them into a scrapbook to give to her grandchild.
“I also take lots of photos and videos, and get them to talk to camera. I then get that made into a video for each of them to have as a memory,” she said. “It really opens their eyes to the world – that people speak different languages, don’t have all the advantages that we have, and that countries have different history and traditions.
“The travel has definitely created an interest in them seeing more of the world – it’s broadened their horizons massively.”