Day Trips Made Easy

In our family, there are five children and they are pretty young (the oldest is going into second grade).  So we know that simply traveling to the grocery store requires drama.  When we travel for a day trip to the zoo, things get even more complicated.  There is pushing, poking, general annoying noise making, and every now and again we hear someone complain,

"She's looking out of my window!"

Touring bronze statues at a local university.

You may say, it's just not worth it.  Set up a movie player and expect silence while they are entertained by the video.  Well, that would be great, but what do you do when they lose interest?  Would it just be easier not to go on family field trips?  Sure.  But where's the fun in that?

Our family enjoys visiting museums, zoos, bird sanctuaries, scenic byways, and historical monuments.  If we had given up, we would never have known T-Rex could scare a 3 year old who usually loved dinosaurs.  We would never have learned the behind the scenes workings of a pizza parlor.  Just because you have many little children doesn't mean you can't travel with them and enjoy the time together.

Since we have mostly small children, we have found that sticking as closely as possible to their normal schedule makes for happy parents and siblings.  Take, for example, our trip to the city zoo.  The drive takes us 45 minutes to reach the front gate of the zoo.  We leave about 10:00 am to arrive at the zoo gates around 11:00 am.  Yes, it takes us 15 minutes once parked to finally get to the admission line.  You try putting sunblock on that many people while making sure none of them get run over.  Whew!

Anyway, lunch is shortly after we arrive (to keep down the whining and increase energy/mental interest). We have time to see a few animals before leaving the zoo around 2:00 or 3:00 pm.  Too short a time for such a long drive?  Well, perhaps for older kids, but the 1 and 3 year old can't do much more.  Remember the whining kids?  They resurface after being in the sun for a few hours and constantly running around to see the next animal.

Naptime in the van on the way back home keeps their schedule pretty much intact and helps reduce the chance of overexposure to the sun.  Keep in mind toddlers will physically tire before teens.  But adolescents and pre-teens will become bored much faster than their shorter siblings.  Try to plan activities that can involve both age groups (if you've got them).  We haven't had much of that problem since our children are close in age, but I realize there are some families whose ages range from 16 to 2 years old.  Watching out for each other and knowing the limitations of each family member goes a long way to helping simple day trips stay fun and enjoyable.

The Traveling Family

Every one's seen it before:  Mom and Dad are trying to calm down and please their distraught child.  Temper-tantrums and unhappy kids occur in a variety of locations:  grocery stores, clothing stores, restaurants, airports, train stations, hotel lobbies, airports, etc.  But this kind of behavior seems to be most prevalent (even in normally good-natured kids) while traveling.  Tension is high; surroundings are unfamiliar; and a child starts screaming.  Now, let's amplify the stress factor by adding a few more children.

Whoa!  That made my blood pressure rise just thinking about all of the whining, crying, screaming (and not just by underage people), and frustration that goes with the "joy" of family vacations.  Well, if you're anything like my family, you find yourself surrounded by a lot more kids than adults (we're almost 3:1).  But no worries.  We can get through this and still have a great family vacation.

"How is that possible?" you say.  "How do you  handle travel stress with more kids than adults?  What do you do?  How can this be a positive thing?"

I see you don't believe me.  Well, let's work on this together.  Travel has always been something I've loved and my kids have picked up on it.  Let me share a bit of our experience (practical advice) artfully blended with what agencies, field "experts" (how many of these travel with more than two children?), and other travel businesses say.

I want all types of families to feel comfortable with the idea that they can benefit from enjoyable family time.  But I am going to emphasize traveling with more than the "ideal" family size.  Our family hasn't fit into the "family four pack" status for several years and we've come across a few snags while trying to travel.  Hopefully, we can share a bit with you and keep posting about our adventures as they happen.