Last year, for my son's birthday, I booked a trip to Cebu and Bohol. It was just the two of us. I planned everything alone, including the unique adventures that he would experience for the first time with me! More importantly, I planned everything to be safe, hassle-free, and enjoyable for the both of us. 

As a parent, I wanted to be brave and show him my confidence so he will not be afraid to try out new things. I believe it's part of parenting to let them be excited to try out new things in life and to explore what life has to offer. Be it learning how to swim, learning a new instrument, or riding a plane, these experiences can also be a big help in building their personalities and interests for the future.

Apart from snorkelling in the beautiful oceans of Cebu, we also had a face-to-face encounter with big fish, mantareys, and sharks, as you can see in the video. These are fish that, in normal circumstances, would be sacred to encounter in the wild. Of course, I asked him and briefed him about what to expect before finally booking these trips.

The reason why I opened up these activities to him at such a young age is because I wanted him to love the sea as much as I do and to love what our country can offer before going out to explore the world.

In my experience as a child, having overly protective parents can influence how a child feels. Since I was a child, I never got to explore the ocean, and I have always been afraid. Until I went on a trip in Cebu with my friends, that's the only time that I learned to love the ocean and be brave enough to face my fears. Since my parents have always been afraid of the sea, it's no wonder that I have been afraid of it too.

Of course, I didn't just decide to go on a trip with him alone without being prepared or gauging my child's preparedness. Before we went out on a trip to Cebu, me and my son tried snorkelling at sea together on Christmas break with my family. It was the first time that my son went snorkelling without a life vest on or floaties, and he just wore a full-face snorkelling mask. I was amazed at how brave he was! 

Mind you that the buoyancy in the sea is different from the pool because of the salt in the ocean, so he can swim even past the depth of a human's height (more than 6 feet) without much difficulty compared to a pool. Maybe it's because he didn't feel any threat from me, and he knows that he can trust me if things happen to him, and he was confident enough to swim with me in the deeper part of the sea. Of course, we didn't go too far. I never invited him to join me in the deep sea; he just decided to go with me on his own.

At that moment, I knew he was ready, and I believe that my confidence and trust in him and myself played a big factor in why he was brave enough to try new things. So that is why he had a lot of fun and was not afraid of the great blue sea in all our travels! And even when we had this sea trek adventure at Ocean Park, he was able to follow instructions well and enjoyed every moment of our sea trek adventure. He was so excited to talk about his adventures to his grandparents at home.

By the way, if you're wondering why it's just the two of us on this trip, that's because I'm a single mother. But being a solo parent does not mean you cannot go out and enjoy fun adventures with your child alone.

If you want to know more about my travel adventures with my son, tips about being travel-ready alone with kids, or you just want to know more about fun destinations here in the Philippines, feel free to book a lesson with me!

In this picture below, we are getting into the giant aquarium.