I have been through the part of life that includes traveling with kids and my children just do not go on vacation with the parents anymore. I thought I might pass on a few ideas and tips from the years when we did travel with young ones. My first suggestion, and one that I found very difficult to remember, was that when there are children involved, vacations seldom turn out as you would expect.
Of course, we made plans, made sure that we had places to stay and had some idea of the sights we wanted to see. However, each day there seemed to be an adjustment or two necessary, either to keep one of the youngsters happy or to try and keep all of us happy. Okay, so my advice would be to stay flexible and adjust. It really is the best way to have fun on a holiday or vacation trip.
One excellent piece of advice I received from a friend, years ago and still use today, even when I am traveling alone, is to pack everything you think you need then take about a third of it out and leave it at home. This has saved me a lot of sweat and stress because I seldom worry about lugging around a heavy suitcase. I do not get too excited about where I am going to put my luggage in the car, because I seldom have enough to worry about.
This may not work as well with children however, especially if you have a son or daughter that insists on taking all three colors of each item, including shoes. The day before leaving on vacation is not the right time to fight this battle of wits, though you may want to compromise and take two of each color. Sometimes this works. The best time to start heading off this potential fun killer is when the children are so young that you make the decisions for them. It is much easier to gently, shape their vacation habits when they are very young and as they grow. Trying to change their personality one hour before getting into the car will probably always be a study in frustration.
Finding the Silver Lining around Travel Difficulties