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Anyone else find family vacations exhausting
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Anonymous
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We may be in the worst of it, but I find vacations with our 4 and 1 year old kids absolutely exhausting. There is so much to think about in terms of picking the right spot (see all the posts on this thread! suites vs. house rentals vs. hotels), packing everything, age appropriate activities. And then once you're there there is all the energy requried to get everyone to the activity you worked so hard to select.
Even heading across a boardwalk to the beach is work, did we get the suncreen? water bottles? two sets of shovels so the kids don't fight? how much time can we play before someone has to take the baby in for nap? And don't get me started on the food...is the resturant on our budget? do they have kid-friendly food? And can I get a beer immediately? Maybe it's because we're a little/non-tv family, which makes hanging out in the hotel room work too -- what can the kids play with without ruining? (add that to the never-ending packing list!) And DH likes to sleep late, so I take the morning shift (I get a break in teh afternoon for a bubble bath or something), so add the challenge of quietly geting the kids dressed & out to breakfast! We have friends that only travel with grandparents, and hear about people here who travel with nannies - maybe that's the trick!?! I love to travel, and have high hopes for when the kids are older, when they're more self sufficient, can self entertain and be more involved with the planning and such....but for now, it just wants me to stay home!! |
Anonymous
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You are in the worst of it. Our last few trips (kids are now almost 4 and 6.5) have been wonderful...it is much easier to get out of the hotel when both kids are toilet trained (no need for diaper changes/diaper bags), communicating well, and don't need to be watched like a hawk every second.
I can't say that I've had a truly relaxing vacation, but when we went to the beach a month ago, it was nice and not stressful. |
Anonymous
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Yes they are tiring! Our kids are 2 and 4 and at 1 and 3 it was worse. Right now we do not take vacations that don't involve a house rental for a whole week, otherwise you don't get into the "rhythm" of it (packing for the beach etc.) until it is time to leave!
We had an OK experience at a California hotel mainly because my parents live nearby and did dinner, and the hotel had a kid's club and a nice baby pool area. Otherwise it would never have been worth it (room service, lack of privacy etc.) |
Anonymous
| Once you can travel without taking a stroller and diapers, everything becomes much much easier. |
Anonymous
Agree with this. We have rented a house every summer since our boys were babies and this was the first summer (kids are 6 and 4) where we felt like we were truly able to relax somewhat and get some "me" time as well as family time. The kids were able to go in the yard of the house and play and we did not have to worry so much about them hurting themselves, running into the street, etc. I was able to read all the books I brought and needed more! It was nice. |
Anonymous
| I feel like the smartest person on earth for refusing to vacation away from home for the toddler preschooler years. |
Anonymous
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The logistics get easier when they are out of strollers and in the smaller booster seats around age 4 and up. The exhaustion is still there but at least you don't look like you moving to your destination or the Beverly Hillbillies. If you can find a resort with a great pool or more activities that you can do ias a family in the resort this is a little better.
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Anonymous
| We did a lot of travelling with other relatives at that age (a grandparent, an aunt, cousins etc.). It worked reasonably well and but also nice when we started just travelling as a family again. |
Anonymous
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Vacation with kids is vacation FOR KIDS. Once you get home from that vacation, make your plans for your own vacation where you can leave your kids with family.
I've come to the realization that once per year, I give myself a week to unwind on a vacation without my DH or the kids. It's my escape and my way to recharge the mommy batteries after 51 weeks of 24/7 service to the family. For those of you who would think that this is NOT fair to DH...he travels for work and gets to unwind in hotels and in different cities. Sure, it may not be the same, but guess who gets to be a single parent while he's gone? |
Anonymous
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Its exhausting at those ages. The needs for each child are large, planning ahead and preparing take a lot of mental and physical time and energy. It gets better. For the person who was so pleased for not vacation during that period I have to say that by going through it with your family at all different stages - practice makes perfect. You get a much better feel for everyones needs, what works for the family and what doesn't. There is no way I would want to jump in at age 6 and start doing this with out many opportunities behind us. We got to the point that we created packing lists of standard stuff we needed - made packing easier. During and after the trip I made notes of things I liked, wanted to change, would try again so that preparing for the next trip things would be easier.
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Anonymous
| It definitely gets easier. My kids are now 6 and about-to-turn 4, and our vacation this past august was really good. It wasn't exactly relaxing but it was a lot more fun than we've had in the past. And packing for it was really easy too since for the first time ever we had nothing to worry about but clothes and shoes. No diapers, sippies, or any other baby-related items. And no nap schedule!!! One thing I would suggest, and i do this not knowing your family situation, but when you're all in a hotel together I think it's time for your DH to suck it up and not sleep late. Why put more burden on you to handle the mornings, including keeping your kids quiet? That just seems like it's a little out of the realm of what's appropriate for your responsibility during a vacation. But that's just my humble opinion. |
Anonymous
| 10:24 - do you go the same place for that week or different places? I think it sounds fabulous. |
Anonymous
| i only have a newly 2, but the most enjoyable trips have been ones where i visit family [so they can go ga-ga over LO and i can rest] or where i visit friends with small kids so i can borrow all their stuff [and therefore don't need to trek it all cross-country]. a kitchen in the hotel is a must. |
Anonymous
That isn't a "vacation." That is a "trip." |
Anonymous
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Considering how I used to travel (think Peace Corps), traveling with the little ones is really luxe. I stay in nice hotels, instead of crashing at overcrowded hostels. I eat better, enjoy more reliable transport, and am "forced" to abandon my formerly relentless approach to sightseeing because, well, we now have mandatory nap time. For the first time, it's really a vacation. Everything is slowed down to a child's pace and pared down to what I child can handle. Ahhhhh... |