Why our letters travel by ordinary post

Families sometimes ask whether they should pay for tracked or registered mail. You don’t need to. A standard stamp is enough.

Ordinary post keeps the exchange affordable for every family, whatever country they write from. It also means the letter arrives the way letters always have, with a handwritten address and a stamp your child has probably never seen before.

Untracked mail does sometimes go missing. Not often, but it happens. If a letter seems lost, tell your pen pal family and write another one.

A letter travels well, and so does a drawing or a flat surprise like a sticker. Money and valuables don’t belong in the post.