We all know that feeling of anticipation and looking forward to something great, but no one really knows what to do when it’s missing.
Your kids can be excited about the most usual and random things; however, it’s completely different when it comes to traveling.
They have no idea what to expect, making it difficult to show any interest, let alone excitement.
It’s easy for an adult to fully grasp the destination and the significance of the entire vacation. From your perspective, the point’s clear.
But kids? Not so much.
Kids just basically know the name and are pretty much unable to feel any excitement about something so abstract to them. It’s like you saying some word without meaning. And ok, while it sounds interesting, you have no idea what’s really going on, so you’re there waiting in silence now knowing what to say or do. That’s what saying something like, “We’re going to Italy!” sounds like to them. Exciting, sure. But yeah, that’s pretty much it (What’s an Italy??).
So, it all comes down to including them from the start and gradually introducing them to all the fun activities that are to come.
Make the Waiting Part of the Holiday
It must be taken into consideration that every parent’s nightmare is the overly excited kid who just cannot think about anything other than the holiday ahead.
But the other side is the kid who doesn’t look forward to going and won’t enjoy it as much.
The whole point is to just scratch the surface of things you will be doing together. Now, you are not only creating lifelong memories for your kids, but you are also helping them emotionally develop through anticipatory engagement.
Let Them Help Build the Trip
Nowadays, everything is about children’s development. Every vacation is a new chance to encourage kids’ confidence.
In a way that you can easily include them when making decisions, simple questions like ” What’s the most interesting thing for you?” or ” What do you want to do? ” make them feel meaningful and included.
Explore/discover together; let them show you how they view that place and activities. Check the world from their perspective for a bit. See what they’d do. Even if the idea isn’t, you know… ‘the best’, it can still tickle your imagination and help inspire you with something even better (coughsafercough).
Yet, if there is still no excitement, you can make up quick stories for them.
If they’re interested in history, show them a few pictures of landmarks, or if they are more sporty, introduce them to something new, like beach volleyball or skiing.
Here’s another idea: if your kids are a bit older, make a plan that each day one of them decides what the family activity is. Now they are faced with all their desires while also having to step out of their comfort zones.
You can even make a travel journal where they write everything they want to experience, more like a bucket list for a vacation.
Bring the Destination Home Before You Leave
To make the vacation less abstract, you might want to try using various senses to make it more familiar. By that, it really doesn’t have to be anything special.
Maybe a famous movie was filmed at the beach where you are going, or a documentary about the whole country.
Getting familiar with something makes it much easier, even for adults, let alone kids.
Also, make it a bit more spontaneous, like a themed dinner with a country specialist. Like making a Greek souvlaki. Then when you go there and actually try it, you can rate them. And, let me tell you, you will most certainly laugh at how different tastes are. What’s also cool is to learn a few words in another language.
It’s even better if it’s a really hard language; it’ll be even funnier.
All in all, in the end you are well prepared for the new culture.
Plan Something Everyone Can Look Forward To
Besides the idea that each of you plans a different activity on a vacation, you should have insight into actual options and events happening there.
You can’t expect everyone to enjoy the same things, so it’s best to have a backup option for kids while you go discover the city on your own. This might be difficult to accomplish once you have already arrived, so a week or two before is the best time for arrangements. Some examples of those activities might be craft sessions, children’s tours or programs, or cooking workshops.
All of these can be easily found almost everywhere.
For instance, if you are going skiing in France, in places like Val Thorens ski resorts, you might find various supervised kids’ programs while you have time for yourself.
On the other hand, in summertime, if you are looking for a calmer destination like Sicily, you can easily find a children’s workshop. One of the most famous is puppet-making workshops.
So, while your kids are expressing their creative side and learning new things, you can discover Sicily through wine and culture.
This way, everyone has something unique for themselves while being on a family holiday.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, the most exciting part of the whole holiday is that lingering anticipation before it even happens.
So, as every parent’s job is to make it as enjoyable as possible, that means letting kids take control, in some ways, or for them to have a bit more responsibility than usual.
But all within healthy boundaries.
Just the fact that they are part of something bigger is special.
Not to mention, this is also a great opportunity to learn what your kids are interested in the most, and also what their uncertainties are.