How to Enjoy Your Vacation With or Without Your Kid
Vacations can be a real luxury for the modern working parent. A proper time off parenting duties is almost impossible for more than a week throughout the year. However, it is necessary. Everyone needs vacation – time to switch off from being responsible for pretty much everything to being responsible for a few days of total relaxation, fun and not worrying too much about your day-to-day life.
But how to adjust yourself and let your brain relax without running through all the to-do lists that are waiting on the fridge, even if you can’t afford the luxury of travelling with your spouse or by yourself only? Here are some tips for both case scenarios. They are simple, easy to follow and most importantly – efficient.
Buckle up, it’s a family vacation!
The best way to ensure you’ve got everything you need for your family trip is to prepare a to-do list. Keep it as short as possible, and lean more towards the practical side of it rather than all the fancy clothing, accessories and cosmetics you can put as separate outfits for every possible occasion.
A simple list looks like this:
- a medicine kit
- baby laundry solution
- your kid’s favorite lightweight blanket
- a tablet or a laptop
- snacks
- a fixing stuff kit (glue, sewing supplies, etc.).
The preparation for a family vacation usually begins few months in advance. If you don’t have a tradition visiting certain location already, make sure you do your proper research on the hotel/villa you will book for the time being. It’s important to look for child-friendly places, which will provide you with enough space for your kid to play and sleep at, as well as room for you and your spouse to get some privacy.
There are plenty of hotels that offer family packs, which include a proper breakfast and some entertainment activities for the whole family, such as visits of local attractions and museums, horse riding or trekking. Depending on your location of choice, the time spent outside can be both fun and relaxing for you and your spouse, and a real, unforgettable adventure for your kid.
If you are planning on doing a local staycation and visit some attractions or historical places, make sure you have a proper vehicle available. If your family pack includes a tour bus, let the tour guide person know if you or someone in your family that’s with you has a motion sickness or anything that can cause an incident.
Relax, the kids are going to be alright.
Being a parent is the most important job you can land in your life. What’s funny is that you get the feedback of your performance once your kids are already grown up adults.
Taking time off of your parenting role is not easy. Even impossible sometimes. But is totally worth it once you look at it in a long-term perspective. Like any other stress-related activity, being a parent puts in a 24/7 alert mode. You have to organize your schedule according to your children’s regimes and needs.
Newborn babies need to be fed every few yours. Toddlers like to walk around and explore the house, the outlets and all the sharp edges of the furniture. Young children have homework assignments and school-related activities. All these things take up your energy and often you forget that you are just a human, even with the responsibilities that come up with being a parent.
Being overstressed, overworked, taking less sleep and no time for yourself have a destructive side effect on your body and mind. Taking a few days away and completely switching off will help you recharge and keep the balance that a role-model parent wants to be.
Pack lightly. Or splurge a little, it’s fine both ways. Whether you booked a fancy hotel or you want to go camping, make sure you have these few things with you:
- a proper clothing
- a medicine kit
- a spare battery charger
It is only normal to feel anxious about being away from your kids. It’s important to understand, that even at young age, kids can be very independent. They will be alright without your presence for a couple of days. Just make sure you leave them in the right hands. This spare battery charger is for those cases, when you just can’t hold yourself from checking up on them.
Love,
Familystaysg team