Traveling with little kids involves lots of gear, things to keep them distracted and baggies of Cheerios. Parents of young kids may think traveling gets easier as kids get older, which is kind of true, but there are different issues then. There’s less gear involved, but older kids have strong opinions and would often rather be anywhere else than with their parents.
If you’re traveling with teens and tweens this holiday season, this is how to survive it:
- Involve them in planning - If your destinations aren’t set, ask your tweens and teens for suggestions about where to go. If you already know where you’re going, ask them to research interesting stops along the way or activities at your destination. If they’re involved in the planning, chances of getting them engaged in the trip are much higher.
- Keep your kid’s idea of a good time in mind - On vacation, kids are going to like to do the same things they like to do at home. You could plan a “kid day” every few days of the trip that’s focused on things they’d enjoy doing, or just give them some free time to lounge after dragging them to museums. Letting them be in charge part of the time can help you all head home with happy memories.
- Give them some independence - Being stuck with your family 24/7 may not be ideal to some teens, so if you can let them wander around for even an hour without you, they’ll probably appreciate the freedom.
- Pace yourself - Adults and toddlers snoozing in strollers can go all day long, tweens and teens may not want to. So build in breaks to recharge and rest … and keep the peace.
- Ease up on screen time rules - Long car trips and flights aren’t the time for strict screen time limits as you’ll get more cooperation out of your kids if they’re entertained.
- Snacks galore - One thing that doesn’t change as kids get older? The need for lots of snacks.
- Keep the power going - Make sure they have the ability to keep their phones charged and you won’t have to listen to them complain about their phone dying.
- Encourage flexibility for everyone - Giving teens an idea of what you have planned each day is helpful, but remind them that not everything will go as planned. And parents need to remember this as well. If teens are clearly not having fun, tweaking the schedule to make them happy may be the way to go. Unless you want to have a miserable teen on your hands all day.
Source: She Knows
Scott's Thoughts:
- Suddenly lugging that stroller around the airport seems a lot easier than traveling with a teenager!
- I seem to remember traveling with my little ones not being that hard.
- Would rather drive and split up the trip with hotel stops than fly.