Every Boca mom and dad needs a vacation. Whether you’re a stay-at-home parent, a working parent, or you both have jobs that add to the stress of parenthood; a vacation is the best way to take time off and care for yourselves and your relationship. An hour of alone time taking a bath in your bathroom isn’t a vacation. While small breaks can be helpful, a vacation can help you rejuvenate so that you have the energy to be the best parent you can be.
While you may feel a little guilty leaving the kids behind so you can enjoy a break, there are tons of benefits to traveling without them. Not only is it good for you and your relationship, but it’s also good for children to be away from their parents from time to time.
Like traveling with your kids, taking a trip away from your Boca kids takes a fair amount of planning. Here are a few tips to help you plan your trip away from your children!
4 Tips for Planning a Trip Away From Your Boca Kids
1. Give Your Kids’ Caregiver Detailed Information
Leaving your kids with someone else can be stressful, so it’s important that you give the caregiver all of the information you can. This will ease your mind and make caring for your children easier. You can make a binder or supply your children’s caregiver with lists for them to follow to keep your children on schedule, along with any dietary restrictions and safety concerns.
Whether or not the person taking care of them while you’re away is a relative they’ve spent a lot of time with or not, they’ll appreciate the extra information about how to care for your kids over a longer period of time.
You can create these lists and documents digitally so that you can share them in the cloud so nothing can get lost.
2. Decide What to Tell Your Kids
If you’ve never left your kids for an extended period of time before, you can expect them to get a little upset, especially if they’re young. The older your children are, the more they’ll understand. However, younger kids can get stressed when you tell them that you’re going away.
Make sure to tell them information about what they’ll be doing when you’re on vacation. For example, if grandma is going to be their caregiver, let them know that they’re going on a vacation themselves to grandma’s house so they can do all of their favorite activities with her. There’s no reason to tell them that you’re going to one of the best all inclusive resorts in Mexico, especially if you think they’ll feel left out.
3. Make Sure Your Caregivers Have Supplies
If your children need any special supplies, make sure that you put them in your binder or cloud folder and give them details on how to use them. For example, if your child has an EpiPen, it’s important that your caregiver knows where it is and how to use it to keep your child safe.
Supplies also include food. With a grocery list app, you and your caregiver can shop together for your children’s favorite foods without forgetting anything. If your caregiver runs out of food, they can return to that digital list to remember what the children like to eat or what they should be eating if there are any special dietary restrictions.
4. Schedule Time to Communicate
While you’re apart from your children, it’s important for the parents and children to communicate to ease everyone’s minds. Schedule a time to video chat every day so that your kids feel more comfortable being away from you.
If your children are old enough to understand your vacation plans, you may want to send them postcards from your travels so that they know you’re always thinking of them.
Planning a trip away from your kids can be stressful, but with the right planning, you can make the process a lot easier for yourself, the caregiver, and your children! Bon voyage!
