If you could, would you leave 1 year old home?

[shm_helene]

Ohana means family, and Family means nobody gets left behind...

I didn't take my parents to Hawaii on my honeymoon. I guess that means they are not family.

 

[4kids4karen]

My mom has offered to watch our 14 month old for the week when we go to Disney. We have 5 and 7 year old boys. We'll go to all the parks with a break day in the middle of the week. Our plan is to come back to the resort for naps each afternoon. What would you do?

I haven't read the replies, but it is a personal choice. It does not sound like a bad idea to leave the youngest at home, so you can enjoy more activities with the 5 and 7 year old. Once the youngest is older you won't have the option to leave him/her with a relative as they will want to go with you.

 

[4kids4karen]

Been a while since I've posted here but this thread is making me feel bad.

We have a 5 year old daughter and 3 year old twins.

We are going to Disney at the end of April to take my 5 year old DD for the first time. She is just at the age where she is all about Disney princess and we really wanted to get her to Disney before she out grew this phase. We have decided to leave the 3 year old twins with there grandparents, mainly because the are such a handful, especially when all 3 of them are together. We feel like we need an extra person to corral them all at times when we are out doing things. The grandparents considered coming along but decided they couldn't afford it right now and offered to babysit.

Money is the other issue and another reason they are not going this time. This trip has really been kind of spur of the moment after getting our tax refund. My wife and I use to live in Orlando and had AP so we now the lay of the land. This is going to be a quick trip with 3 days in the parks (we only recently decided to go park hopper, was going to be only a MK trip). We are staying with one of my friends to save even more money.

I do feel bad that we are leaving them behind and we thought long and hard about this and in the end we decided that my 5 year old would enjoy it more and we'd get more done if the twins stayed with the grandparents. Our kids are also all on the small side (my 5 year old DD is just now 40.5" tall) so we knew there would be many things the twins wouldn't be able to do that my older DD could and, that would cause some major meltdowns (my 3 year old DD is going through a very bad major meltdown phase about everything that doesn't go her way). We are already planning a return trip to WDW in 2 years when the twins are 5. That trip, if we save up enough money, will be a whole family stay on property type of trip, hopefully. The grandparents are even planing to come on that trip.

This is a surprise trip for my 5 year old, we haven't even told her yet. We plan on telling her once we are on the highway, she is going to go nuts! She starts kindergarten in the fall so I guess this is a "we are proud of you for growing up" gift, I guess. I just hope the twins aren't to mad at us when they find out where we went.

I think you have the right plan. Make it special for your 5 year old! There will be opportunities later for the younger kids. You daughter will love the individual attention she gets on the trip.

 

[4kids4karen]

After reading the replies, I wanted to add, the OP is not doubting the little one would have fun. Disney is fun for all ages. The point is there are extra expenses, packing, schedule modifications, etc. to accomodate the youngest. There are parents who have never spent a night away from their kids, that is fine. I am military have have spent years away from my kids. Other families do like to break up the vacations. I know families where the mom/daughter goes someone one week and the same week the dad/son goes somewhere else. The kids like the individual treatment. My family has taken separate vacations where DH and the oldest two sons went backpacking/hiking the Appalachian trail for a week which was not something I would have down with a 4 and 5 year old. So instead my girlfriend (whose DH and son were with my DH), her daughter, me and the little ones went to the Nick Hotel. The guys encountered bears, rats, snakes, etc. Should I have forced the little ones to hike for a week for the sake of "vacationing as a family?"

Yes, siblings do have to get use to being together a lot, but that doesn't mean they can't have individual time with the parents.

 

[BSanchez27]

It depends. A weekend trip to Disney to bond with an older child after a new baby is one thing. A week long trip to Disney without your baby because "it's too much hassle" is something else entirely. That's just called being a parent

 

[goodeats]

I might consider it. If we weren't nursing and it was only for a few days for a commando type trip it would make sense. For an "annual" family vacation then the baby would come.

 

[BSanchez27]

We are leaving my daughter with grandparents when we go in a month and a half. She will be 15.5 months at the time. Bringing her was never even under consideration. It would just be more trouble than it would be worth for us. She loves mascots and we would love to see how she would interact with the characters and I know she would like all the music and lights, but the idea of having to bring a stroller, keep her cool, keep her warm, change diapers, have snacks, have drinks, have milk, and deal with naps and meltdowns because her schedule was thrown off just sounded like a nightmare. We will happily take her when she is older.

That said, if I was already taking kids, I would be more willing to consider it, but it would depend on the baby and how much it might impact the trip for the others. For example, if it was a first trip and the other child was tall enough to get on all the rides, it would be a no. If the other child is three years old, can't ride everything, and I already have a double stroller, it would be much more likely.

In other words I know my daughter would love it BUT I can't be bothered to go through "the trouble" of taking her on what could be an amazing family trip. Bringing her was never under consideration?? Taking your own daughter to Disneyland sounds like a nightmare? How sad..

 

[chloesmommy]

We took our twins at 9 months and then again at 2 1/2 and believe it or not my son still remembers things from the second trip. We are going again in May. I would be miserable without my kids at Disney.

 

[BSanchez27]

We took our twins at 9 months and then again at 2 1/2 and believe it or not my son still remembers things from the second trip. We are going again in May. I would be miserable without my kids at Disney.

That is awesome. I wonder how long he will retain those memories? One of the things that makes me the saddest about parenting is knowing that they won't remember much of anything of their early childhood.

 

[chloesmommy]

That is awesome. I wonder how long he will retain those memories? One of the things that makes me the saddest about parenting is knowing that they won't remember much of anything of their early childhood.

Not sure.........but the reason I know he remembers is because we got "stuck" (delayed for 30 minutes) on POC on our last trip, and we have been watching you tube videos of Disney stuff. As we were watching the POC ride my son says mommy we got stuck on there and you took our picture making silly faces. I was amazed

 

[Crystal824]

This is really a personal decision. Me, no, I would not leave one of my kids home on a trip to WDW. I'm a working mom and time with my kids (especially vacation time which I don't get a lot of) is very important to me. If I were a stay at home mom with my kids day in and day out, I might feel differently.

 

[Missy29]

I didn't take my parents to Hawaii on my honeymoon. I guess that means they are not family.

The OP is talking about taking a family vacation and leaving one child behind, not going on a honeymoon and leaving all the kids behind.

 

[wallawallakids]

Not sure.........but the reason I know he remembers is because we got "stuck" (delayed for 30 minutes) on POC on our last trip, and we have been watching you tube videos of Disney stuff. As we were watching the POC ride my son says mommy we got stuck on there and you took our picture making silly faces. I was amazed

I think it is amazing what kids remember! My twins were 3 the first time we took them to DL and they remember a surprising amount about the trip. They still talk about the light up headboards at DLH. My son talks about meeting Buzz and Woody all the time (Buzz was his hero and obsession for years). My DD talks about meeting Ariel at her "restaurant". Maybe some of it has to do with pictures but I think they honestly just remember a lot of it because it made such a big impression on them.

Hope you have a great trip with them in May! We went last year in May to WDW for the first time and our twins were 4. They loved it.

 

[corneredbycorn]

In other words I know my daughter would love it BUT I can't be bothered to go through "the trouble" of taking her on what could be an amazing family trip. Bringing her was never under consideration?? Taking your own daughter to Disneyland sounds like a nightmare? How sad..

Just because you would take your young ones doesn't mean people are somehow wrong for not taking theirs.

I know my daughter and I know us. You do not. I know how trips with my daughter go because we've taken them. You do not. For us, the trouble of taking her would outweigh the benefits and we would all have more fun if she stayed behind, including her.

I know this may come as a shock to you, so you may want to sit down for this one:

Not every family is like yours. What works for you will NOT work for everyone else. Period.

The fact that you seem to think so is, oh, what was it you said? How sad...

 

[DisneyRegulars]

I haven't read all the replies, but I am going to offer a different perspective. When I was 3 -4 years old, my parents went to Disney with my big brother who was 9-10 years old at the time. I was left at home to stay with my grandparents. I knew where they were going, they brought me back a mickey mouse stuffed animal. I was not harmed in any way by not going with them. I knew someday I would be big enough to go. I loved the time with my grandparents. The trip also gave my parents some special time alone with my brother which they had not gotten since I was born. How awesome for my brother to be able to be the center of attention again, even for just a week. How awesome for my parents to be able to reconnect with their first born. I'm sure the OP's daughter will relish her parents full attention for a few short days. It will be wonderful for her and her parents.

 

[Disneyaddictz]

I haven't read all the replies, but I am going to offer a different perspective. When I was 3 -4 years old, my parents went to Disney with my big brother who was 9-10 years old at the time. I was left at home to stay with my grandparents. I knew where they were going, they brought me back a mickey mouse stuffed animal. I was not harmed in any way by not going with them. I knew someday I would be big enough to go. I loved the time with my grandparents. The trip also gave my parents some special time alone with my brother which they had not gotten since I was born. How awesome for my brother to be able to be the center of attention again, even for just a week. How awesome for my parents to be able to reconnect with their first born. I'm sure the OP's daughter will relish her parents full attention for a few short days. It will be wonderful for her and her parents.

Thank you for this well put reply. Very positive, very true. Those who go to the extreme to say how awful that child's life will be if they one day realize they were left behind just crack me up.

 

[mjkacmom]

Lol - dd10 just asked me if she was ever excluded from a family vacation (vocabulary word?). I told her yes, when she was a baby, as had all of her siblings, when they were babies. All of them were left behind with grandma while the older (walking, potty trained) kids went on vacation with the parents.

Now, not all vacations, but some (beach, Hershey), where it would be much more pleasant for the rest of us without a baby! I'm saving up for their therapy now....

 

[danceintherain]

I would make the decision on a case-by-case basis.

I probably would not leave one child behind while taking all the others.
I would do a mother-son/daughter trip with each of my children individually, if the opportunity arose.
I would absolutely leave ALL the children behind and go with just DH.
I would leave them all behind and go with other people entirely.
It depends entirely on the reason for the vacation.
I will not feel guilty.

That said, we took DS at 3 months old (he slept most of the time when he wasn't having diaper blowouts and it was still a very enjoyable trip) and are taking him again at 2 1/2 (he'll probably spend at least an hour watching trains). We would have taken him in between, but we didn't go. I doubt I will hesitate to take any of my children at any age.
Disney is an MUCH easier place to vacation with kids than a lot of the other possibilities and I plan on taking vacations as a family as much as possible.

I'm going on a beach vacation with my Mom and sister and leaving DS behind with DH in a few months. It's a girls' trip and I think it will be good for me to get away for a while. DH agrees. I've never been away from DS for longer than 2 nights, so it's going to be hard for me. It has never occurred to me to bring DS along.

I do not think that leaving a 1 year old behind will harm that child in any way nor do I think bringing them will ruin the trip.

 

[123LuckyMom]

I have not read all the responses, but I have read many. I don't think your baby will be scarred if you choose to go without him or her. I just wanted to let you know that if you do take the baby, s/he will most likely have a fantastic time. We just came back from a trip with our 4 year old DS and our 11 month old DD, and she LOVED all the rides and sights and sounds. She was looking around all the time wide-eyed. She was laughing and waving her hands around and just generally being gleeful. She won't remember the trip, but we will. It was a pleasure to see her so (positively) stimulated and happy. You need to make the choice based on your family and the temperament of your kids, but I just wanted you to know that Disney can be magic for kids of ALL ages!

 

[ForMyBoys]

Just because you would take your young ones doesn't mean people are somehow wrong for not taking theirs.

I know my daughter and I know us. You do not. I know how trips with my daughter go because we've taken them. You do not. For us, the trouble of taking her would outweigh the benefits and we would all have more fun if she stayed behind, including her.

I know this may come as a shock to you, so you may want to sit down for this one:

Not every family is like yours. What works for you will NOT work for everyone else. Period.

The fact that you seem to think so is, oh, what was it you said? How sad...

Well said!