June 2008 - Planning Vacations with Children

With school letting out soon many of us are planning what to do this summer. Travel is usually on the agenda in one way or another. You may be planning a weeklong family vacation or a few day trips to break up the monotony of the hot summer. No matter what you hope to do with your family this summer, if you are traveling with children, here are a few helpful hints.

Spontaneity can be fun, but arriving at your unexpected destination without the proper clothing or general needs can make a spur of the moment get away miserable. Planning is a good start to any trip.

You need to know something about where you are going. If you have never visited your upcoming destination get some information by calling or checking online so you know everything from the hours they are open to what their policy is in case of bad weather. Knowing where you are going will help you decide what to take, the best time of day to arrive and what activities they offer while you plan to be there. This is for theme parks and national parks, for overnight stays and state park day visits.

Organization is not always my best virtue, but I do understand the value of lists. While planning an outing with your family, lists may just save your sanity. One list should be for everything you need to take with you, include the phone number for where you are going. A second list is great to note all the things you need to do around the house before you leave. Your favorite family pet will not appreciate being left unattended while you are away. These two lists will give you more confidence when you leave, by showing you that everything is checked off and all is right with the world.

Include the children as much as possible. If they have some part in getting ready, they will enjoy the trip more and not feel like they are just something else for you to worry about. If your children are old enough, they should be packing for themselves. We started this at 10 years old, with mom checking each pile before it was put into their individual canvas bags. All I have to do now is make sure what they need is there. I don't have to find it, fold it and gather it. Time saved for folks, good skill learned by children.

To make the packing more fun for the children, turn it into a scavenger hunt. Give them a list of the items that they need to pack and send them looking and gathering. The one who finds all their stuff first and has it ready to be packed gets a prize (something small). If you only have one child to pack, set a time limit and give them a little something if they get everything together before the time goes off.

It also helps if your children can each take a small bag of items to entertain them on the trip. Give them a size limit and let them pack this also if they can. You’ll never pick the same things they will, it's amazing.

Pack the vehicle the night before, even for a day trip, and you will be amazed at how much pressure that takes off of everyone before leaving in the morning. I have known families that travel at night so the children can sleep the trip away, but we discovered two downsides of this for our family. The children miss the changes and stuff to see on the trip and the adults tend to take two days of vacation to recover from staying up all night driving there. You know what works for your family.

When planning how long a trip may take, please for everyone's sake, don't make it a race to get there. Limiting time on the road, stops and eating may get you to your final destination a little quicker (not always) but you will have a frustrated, angry mob exiting the vehicle when you get there. Estimate your time but leave room for flexibility in your schedule. The old saying that half the pleasure of a trip is in the journey is true. Let the family enjoy the trip and the destination.

Traveling to new and familiar places are part of the joy in our mobile society, and by thinking ahead and exercising a few simple planning skills, you just may be able to make day trip to the local park or a family vacation to the coast a lot more fun for everyone.

Lisa M. Sheldon is a wife, mother, author and Calhoun County resident. She has 12 years experience in early childhood education and her RBA from WVU-P. She is also a columnist and advertising director for The Calhoun Chronicle.