Anyone else not like vacationing with their kids?

Does anyone else not like vacationing with their child/children? My daughter is 18 months old. I would give my life for her. She’s my everything but taking her on vacation just sucks… Does it get better or easier? Am I horrible for even saying this? I’m just overwhelmed

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It gets easier. They start looking forward to it as much as you do. My 11 and 4 year old were amazing this year on our 8 hr drive 7 day stay

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I take two vacations a year. One with my kids and one without. You need both.

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It gets much easier! I’ve been solo vacationing with my now 12 year old since she was 1.

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It absolutely gets easier as they get older and can start to enjoy the vacation too. I have traveled with all 3 of mine from just weeks old. They are now teens to mid twenties. They all still love to travel and have a great appreciation for other areas and cultures.

I was did with my daughter she was an easy baby todays she’s 9 and we’re celebrating it her bday here in Tennessee we’re from Ohio but with son we never did until last year we we took the kids to the beach for the first time and he’s four now and it’s getting easier with him now we know he loves long road trips

We had kids free vacation last year/ best time of my life🤣

I personally have always loved traveling with my kids but everyone’s experience is different! You are certainly not a bad person for feeling this way

Never been on a vacation but if I ever get the chance I would want my kids with me.

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My kids are now 12, 8,7 and taking vacations with them has become so much easier.

We do family vacations with the rest of our family members, or day or maybe a weekend trip with our kids, but until our kids are older we only do vacations us 2

I vacation with my 4 1/2 and 11 year old and it’s pretty nice, although there are those moments. Good job vacationing with an 18 month old, you are brave mama!

We’re doing that exact thing right now, including age lol. My husband’s family goes to Disneyland every couple of years and he was so excited for her first trip here. That, and having his entire family here to help, are the only reasons I let him talk me into it.

Doing anything with them that young is completely draining you can’t relax you’re constantly busy it will get better as she gets bigger

It does get easier yes! Just hang in there.

It gets better and easier. Vacationing with a very young child is difficult, at best.

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We have never had any real issues with our little people, we made sure they had plenty to do, things to eat and drink and would find a park or place to let them run off energy.

I always tell my husband the kids are the reason I need a vacation lol like why spend money to worry about them, take care of them, and watch them live their best life when I can do that at home lol

We went on a holiday around Australia with a 8 year old and a 17 month old.
Was a fantastic family holiday with lots of fun and made lots of beautiful memories.
Would not have missed it at all.

OMG on vacation now with my 8 year old and I am ready to forfeit the rest of the vacation and go home. My 16 year old I can hear him trying to tell her to stop mom isn’t kidding please stop ignoring them and just listen. Trying hard to make memories though. Hopefully the bad doesn’t stay in my head.

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I think you need three types of vacations. One, you take with your kids. One you take with your partner, and One you take by yourself. Nothing wrong with any of them.

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What is this word “vacation”? Lolol :joy:

It will get easier. You have to change your mindset and what you expect it to be and make your vacations into something new all together.

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Yes I totally get it… I’m not going on a summer vacation this year because it was so stressful last year with the twins and I’m just not into spending thousands of dollars in order to be more stressed so I just decided to take some extra money and do extra fun things here in town

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…she’s not even two, give it time girl :sweat_smile:

Doing anything without my kids upsets me- They’re now 29/30 and I Hated going away without them? I had to do it once b-c my husband received an award and it sent us to Bahamas! They were toddlers! Never went without them again- Now they’re grown and go away with their families /gf’s … Careful what you wish for!
It goes very fast!

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It’s just physically hard work with an 18 mo old! It’s not a vacation from anything so you are not wrong for feeling that way. We would take our littles to a permanent river spot we booked for the summer every other weekend instead of one big vacation. It was set up for us with all the things we needed so we weren’t hauling 500 items plus the toddlers and a baby just to go somewhere. We would go for a few days and it felt like we got away but we weren’t drained from it bc there was somewhat of a routine that the kids understood. They had beds they had slept in before, movies they enjoyed, etc…and the bonus was there were a ton of other families just like us to hang out with.

It gets easier. We go on trips all the time, been going since my oldest was 4-5 months old. The first ones were tough getting it figured out, plus my son got super sick on one of our first trips. But after 1-2 vacations they started to be so much fun! My kids are 3.5 and 1 and they have been to the beach, zoos, camping, aquariums, California… and we’re going to Texas, a week cruise, and more zoos and aquariums before the year is over. We go to Hawaii next year and Florida the year after. And those are just the big trips! I love traveling with littles. So much free admission!

The key for our family is to go into it with no expectations. Wanna get covered in sand for 6 hours? Fine. Done with Disneyland and ready for bed by 7 pm? That’s okay too. I used to be so rigid and plan everything and kids never do anything according to plan. Just go with the flow. Im just happy to see them living their best life.

Yeah we didn’t vacation with young kids . We waited till our youngest was 5 . It is a lot more fun when they can do more things and you are chasing them all over.

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Is never a real vacation with the kids. I have teens girls and it doesn’t get any better :joy::joy:

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If it puts that much stress on ya, give it another year when they are more fun, and they enjoy the different things.

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Honestly we plan family trips and adult trips separately for this reason. We get the kids out to explore the world and be in social settings but then when we have adult trips we can go to places where the kids wouldn’t really take the time to enjoy it. Also this gives the kids quality time with grandparents, or aunts and cousins.

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Make a plan that works. Quiet time at the beach or mountains is much easier than theme parks and nonstop traveling!!

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For me 18 months is too young to bring a baby on vacation . I waited till she was 2. When it was more manageable.

I take 2 trips a year… one with family…(kids hubby etc) and one just me and my besties. It’s a well balance.

I took my daughter to the beach when she was 12 months old. She hated the water, the sun was too hot even with sunscreen. She was miserable and so was I. The following vacation, I left her with family. Everyone was happier. Once she was 4 she was old enough to enjoy the trip and I loved making memories with her. It is very hard to leave them and I always felt guilty, but now that I’m older I realize that there was NOTHING to feel guilty about.

It gets easier but insanely more expensive :joy:

It is the most stressful thing ever :woozy_face:

It’s a hassle at that age because you’d have to bring a thousand things & MORE. To be prepared for anything. I didn’t really vacation til my kid was older and was able to take in the experience right along with me. Babies are too much work on vacation and it just ends up killing you even more jet lag x100000 :hot_face: but it absolutely gets better. :hugs::ok_hand:

Vacationing for moms is just taking care of your kids in a different city :melting_face::joy:

But honestly it does get better when they are older :heart: 2+ is so fun!

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Vacationing with small children is so hard. You need a Vacation from your vacation. I tend to do day trips.

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It does get easier! Not much fun when dealing with changes in routine and diaper changes. I think about the time they are able to walk and communicate with words is better

You’re not horrible for feeling this way. It is tough to enjoy time away when you have a small human. It does get easier in some ways as they get older and you adapt and adjust along the way. If you’re feeling run down though and need some down time lean on your supports… have partner or family look after bub and go get a massage or something you enjoy so you can keep going feeling a little lighter.

Don’t go on holidays works here

I don’t like it ! I got 4 kids and the oldest is 17 . I do trips for them but I also take trips without them ! Kids can get pretty annoying lol

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It’s not a holiday, it’s actually more stressful than staying home :joy:

When they’re that little just do easy stuff.

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It gets better!!! I loathed traveling when the kids were little. They’re now teens and it’s so nice.

I didn’t go anywhere til she was older too much work easier to stay home. I took her to indoor play as an occasional outing

No it doesn’t get easier wait until toddler age and they can’t sit still

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Are you a single mom…:thinking:

You need a vacation without your child

Does it get any easier? No

I have 4 kids, 16, 13, 9, 6

They just get more obnoxious.

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It’s fun from about two to about nine. Then they gripe and make everyone miserable. At home too :laughing:

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:rofl::rofl: There is no such thing as a vacation for moms. Gone are the days of being able to just sit and relax or go explore something new, totally free of mind and worries. Vacations are extremely tough, especially with younger kids. I took my 3 children, ages 4, 3 and barely 2 at the time, to the beach. It was awful. They were hot and cranky, I was beyond paranoid about losing them in the crowd or having them swept into the ocean. I had to constantly keep tabs on them, make sure they had sunscreen and were hydrated. My youngest was kicking sand on random people, my oldest wanted to swim in the ocean. It was just wild. Lol. Needless to say, we have not gone on a vacation ever since. I’m planning a weekend trip in August now that they are a bit older (8,6 & 5). Hoping it goes smoother.

Do little outings,park,museum,library.splash parks.Make memories Make this summer have “stay-cations”

No mines awful to take away and he’s 6!

It’s not a vacation if the kids go, you’re just doing the same thing in a different place :rofl:

vacation isn’t exactly vacation at that age! More like trying to recreate home somewhere else and maybe doing 3 activities during your stay. Once she gets older, maybe 5-6, it’ll be a lot easier and something you can plan together to make it even more exciting. Don’t take super far away trips unless necessary until they’re like 10 though. Even then they’ll be complaining

Exactly why we’re not going to a wedding in DR in March. Thank God someone feels the same way I do. I was starting to feel bad lmao

Too young for va ca :smile: :rofl:

We go on family vacation as a grandma I help out so they can get a break my sister in law used to do it for me since my mother passed and now I do for my children and when hers have them I will help them too.

Worse. It gets harder. At 18 months they sleep in the car and you can babywear them. At 11 they ask are we there yet, and whinge when it’s something you want to do and it isn’t exactly what they want to do.

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Kids are fun suckers. You just get used to it

Honestly I couldn’t imagine going on vacation without my kids. Breaks are nice I don’t get many but I said said goodbye to my 18 year old who moved away to another state and realizing we just took our last vacation together kills me. They grow up so fast. I’ll have time for vacations without my kids when they are grown and gone from my home.

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:musical_note: Vacation, Vacation, parenting in a more expensive location…… :musical_note:

It’s ok to vacation without your kids.

Everyone needs time away from the kids. And that is ok

I didn’t realize tbere was another option :flushed: :sweat_smile:

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Vacationing with a kid until about 12 is just parenting in a different spot :joy:

Sounds like you don’t have the support you need around you. I find a lot of moms do it and before and after to get ready and their parent doesn’t do anything. No planning, packing, prepping etc. so it’s not a vacation for the mom but for everyone else.

Vacationing with kids is just taking care of your kids in a different spot

It’s terrible idc what anyone says. Don’t feel bad. We just got back from the beach took a 4, 5, 10, and 14 year old. Literally fought the whole time didn’t want to actually be at the beach wanted to be in the hotel, shop, or at the pool. Can’t please all of them. Got not an ounce of alone time with the husband. Just ugh never again lol

My daughter is 30 years old and I finally told her we will never go on vacation with her ever again. She has 4 kids and sleeps till 10am and expects us to watch her children. Every time we invite her anywhere, her and my wife end up in an argument

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Don’t know about horrible, but selfish maybe a more suitable word for you.

We never went without out our children. And now take our grandchildren everywhere…wouldn’t have it any other way.

Does anyone like doing anything with kids​:joy::sob:

If you take kids that’s called a trip, if you go without them that’s a vacation

Doing pretty much anything with little kids as a mom sucks. :sweat_smile:
I’m laughing, but not really.

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Vacationing with children is just like looking after them in another country. If you have support try and take 1 away with your partner or friends

We drove from new York to California , with 4 kids , youngest being 2 oldest 14 we had a blast , what I don’t get about parents anymore , you always complain you never have no me time, I was brought up once you had kids your life wasn’t about you anymore , it was about them , if you want to complain because it’s to hard to take them on vacation, just maybe you shouldn’t have had them . Or just stay home wouldn’t want you to struggle. They grow up fast and are gone in the blink of an eye. And trust me once they leave , you won’t see them ofton. Or even here from them , maybe you should count your blessings ,instead of whining about how hard they are to take care of

Nope hate going away with the kids LOL

There are trips with children and there are vacations. Not the same thing.

Y Did u have kids then, they go where ever u go n YOU DEAL WITH IT TILL THEY ARE OF AGE TO BE ON THIER OWN!!! IM AN OLD SCHOOL MOM!!!

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Camping, cottage, day trips to beach . Why wear yourself out?

Parents never really go on vacation we just take care of our kids in different places.

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Gets easier as they are older I believe. No shame in getting a sitter when child’s too small to remember the trip anyways. I find the extra money spent on traveling with a child who will have no memories of said trip is kind of silly. My kids are 6 and 10 now and I can drag them perdy much anywhere now so it does get better

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That is totally normal! I just booked a Disney cruise because that’s the only family vacation where I can imagine everyone having fun. They have daycare on board!

It gets more fun when they get older trust me. For our anniversary every year my husband & I always take a trip by ourselves without the kids.

It will get easier for sure. The first vacation I took with my daughter we left early because she just wouldn’t sleep. They get overwhelmed too. Breathe, and try again.

Currently vacationing with a 2.5 yo. Only perk they are free for a lot things. But all the other stuff I can do without, plus they wont remember. Would rather vacation without, but I would still feel guilty that their missing out.

No absolutely it doesn’t get better lol until they are literal adults!!!

Vacationing with little ones can be a struggle! I’ll never forget the vacation we took our son on just before his 2nd birthday. He would not go to sleep. He finally fell asleep then a half hour later he sat up and said “I go home now.” It broke my heart! But now he is 5 and begs to go on “mecation” and it’s so much easier!!

Vacationing with young kids just sucks sometimes lol. Sometimes even vacationing with older kids suck :disguised_face: but it should get easier, and should get better as it goes!!! I’m saying this out of experience of having things go wrong on vacation lol!! My mom would take me and my sister vacationing with her alone since we were about 7! She had no help, no one went with us and my dad refused to come with her as well. Even around 12-13 me and my sister managed to pick some petty fights and annoy her with them :sweat_smile:! I know it annoyed my mom. Sometimes we’d get upset about something that wouldn’t work out. I’d get irritated by the heat and humidity, sometimes we’d get grumpy from all the bug bites. We were kids :sweat_smile:and I’m sure it wasn’t always a “vacation” to my mom. Having to plan everything, make sure she was doing the activities each one of her kids would enjoy, let alone some of the other things that goes wrong on vacation that you can’t control. Sometimes vacationing with kids is going to have it’s bad moments, and have bad times :sweat_smile: probably wait till they’re a little older but I’m going to be honest… you’re usually going to have to deal with something on vacation, especially with kids, but it’s so worth it making those new memories and seeing all the new things!

I don’t know if you’re married Or have a significant other, but we do a vacation with our child And then we always have 1 or 2 with just us. If you’re not strong in your marriage, your family is weak and you need that time. Last year we took my son on a family vacation to universal studios for a week. We have a beach trip coming in October That we will be taking him on. But I just got back from Honduras And we are going to Israel, The holy land, in January, that will just be for us.

I’m not sure when children became the entire focus of the entire family, but it was never meant to be that way, Again if you are not strong with your significant other your family is weak

Just as a different opinion it didn’t get easier for me in the sense of they all complain and break down at some point. I’m currently in Disney with my son and two have never been to Disney. We gave them all $150 gift card for Christmas. One spent all his money at Disney springs day #1. 1 cries every ride. 1 is suddenly scared of rides he went on at 4.We are constantly getting on to them. Even the oldest at 10 had to o be told not to lick a pole and the second oldest of 9 wanted to touch every trashcan. I wanted to come home after day 1. I’m not taking them anywhere besides the beach anymore.