When you travel, who watches your kids?

[Anonymous]

We have family watch the kids. And we get creative (nieces/cousins who are younger and can keep up with the kids, not grandparents).

[Anonymous]

We don't have family that could watch the kids, so we just have to take the kids with us. It's just the way it is. Comparing ourselves to other families who can go on adults-only trips (or on any other dimension like money, jobs, etc.) is not helpful. We are lucky in may ways, just not with family support. You can get creative in finding sitters, you can wait a couple of years and send the kids to a sleep-away camp, or you just accept that you have to wait another 10 years for a kid-free vacation.

[Anonymous]

When our parents can't watch our kid, we have asked our son's former preschool teacher. For an overnight getaway, we've had our kids stay at a friends' house.

[Anonymous]

My in-laws watch our DC overnight frequently. They love to and ask to and are great with DC. My parents live in the same city as well, but there's been issues in the past when they've watched DC so they are no longer allowed to have DC overnight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My in-laws watch our DC overnight frequently. They love to and ask to and are great with DC. My parents live in the same city as well, but there's been issues in the past when they've watched DC so they are no longer allowed to have DC overnight.

Wtf happened

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm guessing that a lot of the parents here who say they'd never travel without the kids are ones who are working full time and feel too guilty leaving them.

Then there are the parents with nannies who can't even go on vacation without bringing her. They can't even take care of their own kids for a week! So funny.

Nope, I’m a stay at home mom. There are so many places I’d like to take our kids before they grow up. Not enough time for that, let alone that & couple only trips.

I was also a SAHM. We never took vacations without our kids. I love all the travel memories we made over the years! Our kids are all adults now. DH and I are only 54, so we have plenty of time to travel together. And we are taking full advantage of that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm guessing that a lot of the parents here who say they'd never travel without the kids are ones who are working full time and feel too guilty leaving them.

Then there are the parents with nannies who can't even go on vacation without bringing her. They can't even take care of their own kids for a week! So funny.

Nope, I’m a stay at home mom. There are so many places I’d like to take our kids before they grow up. Not enough time for that, let alone that & couple only trips.

I was also a SAHM. We never took vacations without our kids. I love all the travel memories we made over the years! Our kids are all adults now. DH and I are only 54, so we have plenty of time to travel together. And we are taking full advantage of that.

+1. So much of the joy of travel is watching kids experience new things. My youngest is turning 4 and DH and I are excited to take them to Europe next year. They’ll be grown before we know it and then DH and I can travel together as much as we want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My in-laws watch our DC overnight frequently. They love to and ask to and are great with DC. My parents live in the same city as well, but there's been issues in the past when they've watched DC so they are no longer allowed to have DC overnight.

Wtf happened

They apparently can't handle age appropriate behavior of a young child (being scared of the dark/wanting a nightlight, wanting to go do things vs. sitting in the house all day, crying because they miss mommy and daddy). Nothing where DC's safety was ever in danger or anything like that, but it's just not enjoyable all the way around and they made such a big deal about these things (to the point of insinuating that something was "wrong" with DC and I needed to take DC to "someone to have DC checked out") that we just won't do it again. DC is at a super fun age too and just an overall good kid, so they are really missing out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t travel without my kid. I think most people don’t.

Same. Oldest is 14. We have never traveled without them. No family nearby.

Someday they will all have same week of sleep away camp. That’s your window.

[Anonymous]

My mother will watch our kids for a long weekend, but about 3 days is her max. So, we have taken extended weekend trips in the past 6 years, but nothing more than that. I think I could probably ask my sister to watch my kids, but I don't need or want a vacation that bad. We use most of our vacation time to travel with our kids, so I don't have a lot of left over money or time for solo adult trips at this stage of life.

Like others, we traveled extensively pre kids. I have lots of great memories. I don't need long travels at this stage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is not as common as you may think.

Dh and I do adult trips but separately, not together. I do 2 girls trips with my friends a year and Dh usually does a conference and a guys trip.

We rarely do date night let alone go away without kids.

Same. Sometimes we take a weekday off to just have a day together though. We traveled a lot as a couple before our kids were born and will do so again, but for now we all just go on trips together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My in-laws watch our DC overnight frequently. They love to and ask to and are great with DC. My parents live in the same city as well, but there's been issues in the past when they've watched DC so they are no longer allowed to have DC overnight.

Wtf happened

They apparently can't handle age appropriate behavior of a young child (being scared of the dark/wanting a nightlight, wanting to go do things vs. sitting in the house all day, crying because they miss mommy and daddy). Nothing where DC's safety was ever in danger or anything like that, but it's just not enjoyable all the way around and they made such a big deal about these things (to the point of insinuating that something was "wrong" with DC and I needed to take DC to "someone to have DC checked out") that we just won't do it again. DC is at a super fun age too and just an overall good kid, so they are really missing out.

Oh my goodness. This is our grandparent situation. Almost every time we see them it’s some other medical or developmental issue they freak out about. I can’t take it anymore.

[Anonymous]

We go on family vacations but I try for DH and I to slip away for a night or two at least once a year. Our nanny always stays with them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We go on family vacations but I try for DH and I to slip away for a night or two at least once a year. Our nanny always stays with them.

+1. Same. I think it’s important to take little getaways with just my wife, Parenting is all encompassing for a few years and then they’re gone to college and it will just be us again. Vacations are always as a family.

[Anonymous]

We just went away for a weekend for the first time ever, and our kids are 12, 10, and 7. Like you, family isn't local. Best we'd done in the past was a night away here and there when grandparents are here.

In this case, we had a friend offer to come to our house with her two kids and stay with all five. It was amazing!