LINDA CASTOR: It's Labor Day weekend-the last "hurrah" of the summer season-and you and your family are ready to embark on that driving trip you've been planning for weeks. But as soon as everyone piles into the car, the full moon law goes into effect. Instead of experiencing a heavenly, family vacation with your loving children, you are now entrapped for miles in a hellish nightmare with possessed, wild animals resembling your kids who end up fighting, screaming, complaining and throwing things out the window! This was NOT what you had envisioned!
Let's rewind and try that again.
If you want to have a successful, and fairly stress-free vacation, here are my suggestions:
Before you leave:
- Lay down the law and have a family meeting the night before the trip. Discuss expectations about behavior and involve the kids in planning activities.
- Make sure everyone picks something they would like to do on vacation, so no one gets left out. Planning ahead can help avert disappointment and hard feelings.
- Do not over-schedule your trip. Allow a few hours of "down time", so everyone can do something they routinely enjoy, such as playing video games, reading, or calling a friend. If you're lucky, or daring, you and your spouse might get in a 10-minute "nap"!
On the road:
- Have portable DVD players available and music. Be playful. When everyone is bored with electronics, play the "best and worst" game of the trip so far. My son used to defy offering such details by saying, "My best was everything, and my worst was nothing". Nevertheless, we all laughed and were able to use that opportunity to show acceptance about his and everyone else's response. It is still one of our favorite games.
- If an older child is so inclined, let him or her film the trip with a video camera. Name the vacation something goofy, like "Slammin' Seattle". When you get home, you all can watch it and laugh. Burn a disk of the trip. Ten years later, it will be fun to revisit those times!
At your destination:
- Plan each day at breakfast and go over the highlights. This will reinforce group planning and give kids a sense of ownership and emotional investment in the trip.
- Also, if you ask a teen to watch younger siblings in the morning, then give that teen the afternoon off to do his or her activity.
- Similarly, if a smaller child is too tired to continue an activity, one parent can take the child back to the hotel room while the other parent stays with the rest of the family.
You can make your vacation memorable and fun. Most of all, it can be an opportunity to show respect for one another and create a bond with every adventure along the way.
Linda Castor, RN, LCPC, is a nurse and therapist at Clocktower Therapy Center who specializes in families and several other areas of psychotherapy. Castor can be reached at www.LindaCastor.com.
Online:
MOMSMINIVAN.COM: 101 car travel games and road trip ideas for kids
ABOUT.COM: Travel games to print out
DISNEY FAMILY FUN: On the road games
