Family vacations can be a ton of fun – but they can also be complete disasters. Unfortunately for many families, vacations lead to arguments, stress, and other problems because not everyone can see eye to eye on the destination and the activities that will fill your days. It can be especially difficult to deal with children in multiple age groups – younger children are easily upset when they aren’t having fun, but older children are easily bored and stubborn when they don’t get their way. Before you start pulling out your hair, here are eight tips you can use to make sure that your vacation is fun for the entire family:
- Let each child pick one activity. If they have a hand in planning things, they’ll be more receptive to the vacation, and everyone gets a turn to do something they want to do, which makes the vacation fair.
- Split up. Yes, this is a family vacation, but sometimes you can have more fun if you go your separate ways. Bring a babysitter on vacation with you to make this easier (and to make it possible to spend some quality time with your spouse).
- Avoid long travel days. Instead of driving 15 hours straight to get to Disney World, for example, drive over the course of two or three days, stopping at fun pre-vacation destination locations along the way. Make the travel part of the fun so the kids don’t get antsy.
- Vote on the destination as a family. Again, children like to take part in picking the destination. Come up with two or three top picks between you and your spouse and then decide as a family where to go.
- Give older children a little freedom. Yes, you need to keep a watchful eye when away from home, but you don’t have to hover. Some resorts and cruises even offer camp-like programs so your child can have some solo fun while still being supervised.
- Stick to your family’s normal eating schedule. Meltdowns most often happen because children are either tired or hungry. If you’re used to eating lunch at noon and dinner at six, continue to do that on vacation.
- Plan short activities instead of day-long events. That way, if the kids aren’t having fun, it won’t be long before you’re off to the next activity.
- Make sure you have lots of free time. Planning activities can help you fully appreciate your destination, but vacations are meant to be relaxing. Some lounging on the beach or by the hotel pool for an afternoon might be just what the doctor ordered for everyone.
No family vacation is perfect, no matter how well you plan. Keep that in mind during your vacation to avoid stressful situations that escalate and ruin entire days. Remember, children (especially younger ones) take their cues from you. If you’re calm, patient, and happy, your kids will be too.
This guest post is from Allison with TravelInsurance.org, where you can go to get a travel insurance quote to protect the entire family on your next vacation. Image by Jackal of all trades
