I introduced my take on vacation parenting by posing the age-old question–Just because you can travel with your children, should you? In my own childhood, we never once took a family vacation. My parents weren’t ogres, but they were busy, working-class people and since we lived in the country on 40-acres, my dad couldn’t see why on earth we would want to go camping or even leave our country paradise during the summer months. So, no vacations. When I grew up, I was determined and dedicated that I would travel with my kids and we would “do” the family vacation. While we’ve never been to Disneyland as a family, we have done enough traveling (most of it as a single parent) for me to feel like I have enough experience with parenting on the road to talk about it…
Okay, the reality of parenting on vacation is that no matter how idyllic and wonderful you dream the vacation will be–it won’t turn out anything like your fantasy. That doesn’t mean that you can’t have some fun and adventure, but a parent has to expect whining, squabbling, lost swim goggles, vomiting hot dog chunks, bug bites, and any other myriad disturbing realities. I can tell you that on one summer road trip through Yellowstone, Montana and Wyoming, my three kids and I all got the flu–two days of 101 temperatures and we ended up crashed and sickly in a motel in Missoula, Montana. There was also the summer vacation where one of my daughters spent the entire time fussing over, and losing two baby teeth–which we then had to cradle in the holy grail to get back home since she was convinced the Tooth Fairy did NOT know we were on vacation.
I have been stuck in a train station for a four-hour delay with a 9-year-old (imagine that!) while a track was fixed due to an early morning earthquake: “Why do they have to have dumb earthquakes anyway? Don’t they know we want to get on the train?!” Not to mention the camping trips where someone nearly drowned and the other got a fish hook stuck in her shoulder. Ah, family vacations! All I can say, and this comes from experience, it takes a brave and foolish parent to attempt the family vacation again and again (especially if you’ve got more than one child and less than two adults!)
See Also: On the Road Again, Parenting on Vacation–Part One
Traveling with Young Children–Dos and Don’ts