Travel has a way of opening us up reshaping how we cope, adapt, and take healthy risks. For children, those shifts can be profound. Yet between school drop-offs, deadlines, birthday parties, and the quiet hum of everyday life, carving out time for a family trip can feel impossible. For working moms, already navigating the tides of mom guilt, it can feel even harder. And still, many of us find a way by taking leave when we can or sometimes blend work and parenting by bringing our kids along on work trips.
When Workplaces Make Space, Families Thrive
It’s a gamechanger when organizations support this by letting women to bridge work and family without having to choose. Sometimes, simply having the option to bring your child along, when it doesn’t interfere with responsibilities, makes all the difference. It signals trust. It offers flexibility. And it acknowledges that our professional and personal identities don’t have to be in conflict.
The Myth of Constant Travel in Tourism
People often assume that those of us in the tourism sector are always on the move and so are our families. The reality is more grounded. Two summers back I took my 7-year-old daughter on only her second trip with me (her first was at 1.5 years old co-incidentally again to Nepal). This time, she saw me not just as “Mumma,” but as a professional on the ground, building connections, speaking on a panel, making things happen.
The Impact on a Child: Immediate and Lasting
What I witnessed in her was nothing short of phenomenal. She shifted from timid to self-assured person almost overnight. She was proud to watch her mother on stage, doing what I love. Photos and videos in the past had always made her curious if she could ever watch Mumma in person speaking at one of these panels. Being there made is so special for both of us. She met incredible women and men, observed how people interacted, and soaked in the culture around her.
Then came one of those unforgettable moments during a stroll through Patan Durbar Square: “Mumma, I think I want to move here for college.” “Why?” I asked. “The roads are so clean. People are so kind.”
She said it with an ice cream in hand, eyes wide open to a world she was quietly absorbing. You think they’re not noticing, but they always are.
Travelling with my daughter added a whole new dimension to this journey, one I hadn't fully anticipated. While I was there for work, she reminded me, time and again, that children have an incredible way of experiencing a place without any preconceived notions. They are simply curious, present, and wonderfully open.
She joined our little hike in Nagarkot with the biggest smile, happily setting off along the trail while I followed a few steps behind. Then came a moment that caught me completely by surprise. Without hesitation, she let go of my hand and reached for Suraj ji's. As this remarkable homestay host, whose life's work has inspired and strengthened community tourism across Nepal led her across the rope bridge, I stood frozen. Ironically, it wasn't her who was afraid of the bridge; it was me. I watched them walk ahead while I lingered behind, camera in hand, quietly taking photographs and trying to hold on to that moment. Somewhere along that trail, I realised she didn't always need me to lead the way. Sometimes, my role was simply to trust, step back, and let her discover the world through the kindness of others. As a mother, it was both humbling and incredibly beautiful.
Some of my favourite memories are of watching her encounter Nepal's artistic heritage. In Patan, she wandered through a Paubha artist's studio in complete silence, taking in every painting, slowly turning the pages of the artist's books, and listening with genuine curiosity. Later, another artist patiently showed her how colours are created by manually grinding natural minerals before they find their way onto a canvas. There was something magical about watching her connect the finished artwork with the painstaking process behind it. In that moment, culture wasn't something displayed in a museum it was alive, shared generously by the very people who keep these traditions alive.
Perhaps the biggest surprise came later. A beautifully illustrated book gifted to her in Nepal by a dear aunty, Yakkety Yak, completely captured her imagination. The folktales, the mountains, and the warmth of the people stayed with her long after we had left each place. While we were still travelling, she chose to create her school project around Nepal, filling it with her own drawings and writing about how she hopes to hike there one day with her Daddy. It made me smile because I realised that what she was taking home wasn't just photographs or souvenirs, it was inspiration.
That, to me, is the quiet power of community tourism. It doesn't just show you a destination; it gently invites you into its stories. It creates moments of genuine connection with artists, hosts, traditions, and communities that stay with you long after the journey ends. And when children experience travel in this way, they begin to understand the world with empathy, curiosity, and respect rather than simply ticking places off a list.
Coming Home with a Fuller Heart
As a mother, I returned home to India with my heart full. Watching her approach strangers with kindness and confidence was one of my proudest moments. That trip became a turning point in planting seeds of courage, curiosity, and self-belief. Maybe I actually did something right.
Role Models, Close to Home
We often search for role models far away, forgetting they might be right beside us. For my daughter as a South Asian girl, it matters that strong, inspiring women and men are part of her everyday landscape. Whether it’s the incredible aunties at Community Homestay Network in Nepal or her own mom, aunt, maternal grandmother, the uncles who are pioneers of their work she’s surrounded by examples of leadership and warmth.
A Note to Working Moms: We Are Enough
This trip also reaffirmed something I care deeply about as a working mother. Too often, women are made to feel that they must choose between pursuing meaningful work and being present for their children. But journeys like this remind me that, with flexibility, trust, and supportive workplaces, those two worlds don't have to exist in opposition. When organizations embrace family-friendly and equitable policies, they make it possible for women to participate fully without leaving motherhood behind. And sometimes, the greatest beneficiaries are the children themselves, who grow up seeing the world, meeting extraordinary people, and learning lessons that no classroom alone could ever teach.
These trips aren’t just for our kids. They’re for us, too. They remind us of our own worth of what we carry and create. We don’t give ourselves enough credit. Maybe it’s time we did.
Pro tips
Travel can fast-track children’s coping skills, adaptability, and confidence.
Organizational support by letting kids accompany on appropriate work trips helps parents' bridge work and family.
Being present at a parent’s workplace can transform a child’s perception and self-belief.
Role models don’t need to be distant; they can be the women and men in our communities and at home.
Sometimes, the trip changes us as much as it changes them.
If You’re Considering It
Start small: a short, structured trip with clear routines (with a space for flexibility for unexpected moments and changes when on the road)
Communicate with your employer about expectations and boundaries.
Build quiet moments for your child to process and for you to rest. Don’t overschedule or over plan.
Invite reflection: ask what they noticed, felt, and loved.
Carry paper, pencils,crayons let them doodle if they wish to. Often it works as a great medium for expressing if a child does not wish to put it in words.
Travel isn’t just about where we go, it’s about who we become because of this journey.
