Want to Raise an #Adult? Let Your Kids Plan the Next Family Vacation
For the Parents
Today’s tweens and teens want to feel connected and important to the family, but busy schedules and too much time on electronics pull us all away from each other.
Allowing your kids to plan the next vacation is a win-win solution: It gives your kids the chance to exercise their executive functioning and critical thinking skills, and when you actually go on vacation, you will have their 100% buy-in.
Set the ground rules
In allowing your kids to plan the next family vacation, you get to establish the framework. Let your kids know
•What the budget is
•How many days to plan for
•How far they may travel and any travel restrictions (like no planes)
•The lowest level of accommodations you are comfortable with (may they book you at the local campsite to save money for an extra day at the amusement park?)
•What kinds of activities are off limits (like no river trips with Class 5 rapids)
For the Kids
Your parents are handing you a BIG responsibility, but I bet you are up to the challenge.
Here are some ground rules
•Your parents get the ultimate veto power, so create a vacation that they are going to enjoy. It’s okay to favor your own interests some days, but on the whole your goal is to make every member of the family equally happy.
•Don’t include anything in the plan that won’t work for one family member. If you plan a big kid activity, part of planning this vacation is lining up the babysitters! Stick to sledding on a gentle hill rather than boarding black diamond slopes if you have a baby sister and your parents aren’t going to be comfortable with a babysitter.
•Stick to your parents’ GROUND RULES.
Your plan should include the following elements:
How you are going to get there.
Where you are going to stay
Concrete ideas for where/how you are going to manage meals
What activities or sight seeing you are going to do when there.
Here is some general advice
•The point of a vacation is to relax and have fun; if you spend half your time getting there and getting home, that’s no fun.
•Everyone has to have fun for anyone to have fun. Everyone doesn’t have to have equal fun every moment, but beware of a balance. If you ask your mom to go to the haunted house at the wax museum one day, be willing to cheerfully go to the picture gallery the next day.
•Make plans that take all the ages and stages of people in your family into consideration. If Grandma is traveling with you, will her walker do or does she need access to a wheel chair? Be sure to check for extra services. Lots of tourist attractions will supply a wheel chair.
•Plan for some downtime every day and plan for some down days during the trip. When you go someplace, it can be tempting to try to fit in everything but at some point the need to do and see everything can turn an adventure into a chore.
•Be aware that everyone in the family is getting enough sleep and is eating some good food. Of course schedules change and standards relax when we are on vacation. We might go to bed later and sleep in later. Mom and Dad might say yes to the milkshake instead of the milk, but too many late nights and greasy food leaves people feeling sluggish and irritable. Find a balance.
•Include individual spending in the budget. How much are people going to get to spend on souvenirs and extra ice cream cones? Decide in advance out of the budget your parents give you, so there are fewer in-the-moment fights.
Remember, always plan with your parents in mind: They get the final say!
Have a great trip!