STOP IT! - Keeping Your Cool on Family Vacations

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STOP IT! - Keeping Your Cool on Family Vacations

By Polly | June 10, 2008

A family with purpose is a family who acknowledges their problems and who work together for resolutions. They deal with their problems and issues with open communication and with confidence.

STOP IT! My yelling these two little words into the backseat of the car is usually the first sign that our family vacation is beginning to take a detour and if we don’t stop to regroup we will end up in a place that none of us wants to be.

You love your family with your whole heart and would even give your life for them, but after a couple days of backseat squabbles, smells of questionable origin, and a few wrong turns, it gets a little hard to keep your cool as the excitement and happiness over the long awaited family vacation melt away to become tiredness and irritability. Let’s face it, though most family vacations are more good than bad, there can be times during the vacation when you suddenly find yourself counting down the days until you can return to work. So to avoid having the time you completely lost it be the family vacation memory your kids talk about for years to come, use these tips to help keep your cool during your next trip.

Know and Recognize Your Family’s Weak Spots

Every family member has them, you know those little things that really push our buttons and send us over the edge into craziness. For me sharing a cramped hotel room with 5 other people will wear on my nerves faster than anything and send me into a nervous state that nothing short of a separate room will save me from. For my husband, the never ending requests from 4 daughters for bathroom breaks will drive him insane. Whether your button happens to be cramped hotel rooms, never ending bathroom stops, or something else, it is important to recognize those weak spots before the trip and try to minimize their impact by talking them through, negotiating solutions, and compromising. It’s easier to come up with compromises and solutions before the problems happen when your mind is clearer and less emotional.

Slow Down Your Pace

Prevent yourself and kids from getting tired and crabby by slowing down your pace. No one can enjoy their vacation if they are constantly running and never get a chance to relax. After all isn’t relaxation one of the reasons we take vacations? So when planning your vacation, take into consideration the pace you have set and make sure you aren’t going to come home more exhausted than when you left. Easy ways to slow down your pace are by adding in extra travel days, building in down days in which all you do is hang out at the pool, and emphasizing quality over quantity by cutting back on some of the sightseeing events.

Build in Breaks for Parents and Kids

An easy way to help with the nerves while on vacation is to simply build in breaks from each other during the vacation. Parents can give each other a break by taking some time for themselves while the other parent stays with the kids or if you are comfortable and it is available, consider using the resort’s babysitting service. If the kids need a break from each other, use the opportunity to get some 1:1 time with them by taking them separately for ice cream or doing something else they would enjoy doing.

Laugh it Off

I know this is easier said than done at times, but sometimes you just need to let it go and laugh it off while remembering patiently that what doesn’t kill you will make you stronger.

Good luck!

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