Taking the Kids -- and Joining Forces with Another Family on Vacation

Sounds perfect: The kids have built-in playmates and parents have responsible adults to split child care costs. They can split lodging and food costs too. No wonder so many families join forces on vacation—especially extended families who don’t see each other often and single-parent families. Joining forces on vacation can be a vacation dream come true..or a nightmare.

 

Syndicated family travel Columnist Eileen Ogintz has experienced both and interviewed many other families across the country in camp grounds and luxury resorts, on cruise ships and sail boats. Feel free to publish these tips, just kindly give attribution to Eileen Ogintz and her website: www.takingthekids.com

Here’s what you need to know before joining forces:

1. Be clear from the get go how you plan to divide costs. What if one family has more members than the others? What if one family needs more bedrooms or insists on the bigger bedroom?

 

2. Opt for more space, even if it will cost more. You’ll need it—especially bathrooms. If you’re staying in a hotel or on a cruise ship and the kids are old enough, consider letting them all share a room.

 

3. Plan meals in advance. Assign the dads to cook one night, the moms the next, the kids the next—if they’re old enough. Plan on take out or dinner out. Whoever doesn’t cook cleans up! Send a committee to the grocery store armed with a shopping list.

 

4. Only parents may discipline their own children. Hear that grandparents?

 

5. Establish house rules everyone can live with—even if your parenting styles are different at home compromise on vacation.

 

6. Make family time. You don’t need to be in lockstep the entire trip. Make some time to go off just with your own family.

 

7. Allow each set of parents a night out , if they want it, while the others baby sit.

 

8. No criticism allowed of kids’ behavior, parents’ jobs, or family dynamics.

 

9. If too much togetherness becomes a problem, get away from each other for a while. A couple of hours apart can do wonders.

 

10. Keep your sense of humor. You’ll need it!

 

To find out more about the weekly Tribune Media Services syndicated column TAKING THE KIDS (www.takingthekids.com), please call or email me: 203-227-9180 – Eileen@takingthekids.com. Taking the Kids has 10 million readers and appears in newspapers across America.