Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It never occurred to us to plan trips around our kids - we always just went where we wanted, and took the kids along. I guess it helped that we were never into hardcore third world adventuring or luxury no-children-allowed resorts, but some of our friends act shocked that we took a portable toddler to, say, Joshua Tree in February instead of - well, I'm not sure what kind of vacation a 16-month-old would prefer. Is this kind of thing really that out there?

I so love questions like this from parents of one toddler.

Lol yes, my thoughts exactly. A 16 month old, no less. Tooooo funny

Hello Disney

Lol no I don’t plan a trip my 16 month old would prefer…because I don’t think they have preferences, or will even notice or remember.

But for older kids? Yeah! We’ve done all kinds of trips based on kids’ interests. It has been interesting, they are into things that I wouldn’t have necessarily thought about (ranches, wild horses, etc).

Live a little OP, & see what your kids come up with when they are a little older!

You sound incredibly self centered.

I don't plan trips that are not feasible when you're tied to a nap schedule. For instance, we're putting off NYC until next year when my youngest should be done with naps, because I don't really want to spend afternoons in a hotel. Right now the formula is one big activity a day and a nice home base, ideally traveling with/to family we can hang out with. No interest in Disney though.

Anonymous wrote:It never occurred to us to plan trips around our kids - we always just went where we wanted, and took the kids along. I guess it helped that we were never into hardcore third world adventuring or luxury no-children-allowed resorts, but some of our friends act shocked that we took a portable toddler to, say, Joshua Tree in February instead of - well, I'm not sure what kind of vacation a 16-month-old would prefer. Is this kind of thing really that out there?

People are different.
Different people do different things.

No need for the fake incredulity

Of course! It's all about the kids! They are learning, growing, having fun with the fam!

I take each kid on a trip when they're 11 and a senior in HS. DH takes them when they're 8 and a freshman in HS. The first is anywhere they want to go in the US, and the second is anywhere they want to go in the world. Then we do family trips in between where we want to go.

Now that our kids are teenagers we often plan our trips around their interests, and/or aligned with something they are learning in school. They like history and culture and art. We’ve gone to various places in Europe, Mexico City, several places in Asia.

I thought I would raise perfect world travelers. And then I ended up with a kid with food allergies and another with ADHD and some other stuff. We took those grown up trips at a kids pace and they were....ok...ish.

We caved and took them to Disney last time and I've never seen them happier. The joy they had. The love they suddenly had for each other. I mean, I don't plan on doing only Disney going forward (or ever again) but lesson learned that kid centric trips do have their place.

We didn’t really pick our long vacations based on our kid when he was little, but all the logistics are still kid-focused. Once he was older of course we planned things he would enjoy - a hotel with a breakfast buffet, pool, etc. Now that he is a tween we pick vacations where there is at least one activity he will enjoy like an MLB game or something sports themed.

Anonymous wrote:It never occurred to us to plan trips around our kids - we always just went where we wanted, and took the kids along. I guess it helped that we were never into hardcore third world adventuring or luxury no-children-allowed resorts, but some of our friends act shocked that we took a portable toddler to, say, Joshua Tree in February instead of - well, I'm not sure what kind of vacation a 16-month-old would prefer. Is this kind of thing really that out there?

I so love questions like this from parents of one toddler.

For both of my kids, their first trip was to see Grandma, and their second trip was to the beach when they were right around their first birthday. I love to ski, but I also didn't want my infant or toddler in daycare on vacation, so we went to the beach, which I also like, and they loved.

This winter we went skiing, because my teenagers are accomplished skiers, and they love it. Ironically, I've now blown out my knees so I stayed at the condo and cooked. I love cooking, so it was a fun vacation, but not the vacation I would have chosen without taking their desires into account. This summer, we're heading back to the beach, in part because they have 3 cousins under 3, and it's a great place for the family to gather.

So, to answer your question, yes we take vacations specifically because the destination is good for the ages and numbers of kids we have.

You want a trophy or something?

We take family trips with all family members in mind. We (the parents) pick the locations and the kids don't always 100% agree but we make sure we plan activities that we all can enjoy. We're going to Yosemite over spring break and they aren't thrilled with the idea but we'll have them watch Free Solo again before we leave and there is a heated pool and wifi onsite at the hotel.