For a lot of families, summertime also means vacation time.
Allowing your kids to have a small say in your family’s next adventure will definitely generate excitement and could serve as a great learning tool.
So, the question is, how do we involve them?
Believe it or not, there’s a way to do this while keeping the peace among the kids. At least, so I hope!
Choosing a destination
First, discuss with your spouse a list of potential destinations. Then allow your children to choose their favorite. It’s also a good idea to ask your kids beforehand to gage an idea as to what they’re thinking. Maybe it’s a beach trip, camping trip…try to stick with a theme when creating a list. Also, when making the list, make sure each place is kid-friendly. You don’t want them to pick a place you might not be able to go to. This concept takes some pre-screening on the parents’ part, but it’s necessary to keeping the kids on track.
Keep the kids involved while on vacation
Probably one of the best ways to involve the kids is to ask them to help document it. Buy a bunch of disposable cameras, (yes they still make them!) and let your kids take lots of pictures of the vacation. Of course, parents can still snap their own shots, but then when you’re home you can all look back and compare photos and relive the memories.
Another great idea I just read about it on a travel blog, and I love this one, is avoid dealing with where are we going next? What are we going to eat? Etc..each kid can have a turn at being “Mayor for the day.” And what that means is the person selected as mayor gets to make certain decisions, such as order of the sights for the day and selecting where the family will go for lunch or dinner. It helps avoid arguments and gives them something to look forward to each day, because everyone will have a turn.
Keeping the kids entertained while in the car
There are some great, free tools on the internet that can help you prepare beforehand. Games like road trip bingo and the license plate game are good for toddlers and up. Many websites offer free printables so you can just prepare before hand and then take them with you.
Also, it’s a really neat idea for each kid to have their own travel journal. It not only gives them something to do in the car, but they can also write down all of the interesting things they see on the trip, making it a great keepsake.
At what age do you involve your kids with vacation planning? And how do you usually have them participate?
