Kids, vacations and.....rules

[mommaU4]

I'm just curious to know when you go on vacation what rules if any do you relax on a little bit?

Obviously certain ones will always apply such as certain behaviour rules about fighting and the like. But what about bedtimes? Naps? Eating "junk"? Spending more money than usual and getting more toys/souveniors than usual? Etc.

Would love to hear from others parents how relaxed they are or aren't with the rules.

 

[Brendita]

No set bed-time.
Homework has to be done on the plane.
If not losses 1 day @ the parks.
Ice-Cream is a meal.
He has his own spending money.
So I don't have to worry about I want this.
He knows when it's gone it's gone.
Other than behave & have fun.
We are pretty relaxed on vacation.

 

[mrscoobs]

The biggest relax we've done is bed times. Normally very strict on they need to be in bed by 9pm (this means lights out everything else done like brushing teeth and the like). Still have an afternoon nap because we don't want to deal with the cranky express coming to town. We still require they eat a veggie or fruit with their meal other than fries.

As for souveniers (sp?) they can have $40.00 total. They may either spend $10.00 at each park on something, or buy one really nice thing. Their choice, we found this works well (ages 6 and 7)

 

[miss missy]

I'm just curious to know when you go on vacation what rules if any do you relax on a little bit?

Obviously certain ones will always apply such as certain behaviour rules about fighting and the like. But what about bedtimes? Naps? Eating "junk"? Spending more money than usual and getting more toys/souveniors than usual? Etc.

Would love to hear from others parents how relaxed they are or aren't with the rules.

The only rule I have besides being polite and well behaved, which never gets relaxed on.... is

MY RULE: HAVE FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Schmeck]

Definitely agree on the Ice Cream is a meal!

We relax about everything, except personal hygiene and manners. I mean, you still have to be polite, and brush your teeth at least twice a day, and take a shower (or spend a long time in the pool, LOL)

I do try to get them to eat two healthy meals (with fruits and veggies) and then we have something wild for the third meal, like a chocolate chip croissant, or ice cream, or a cream cheese filled pretzel. We seem to be less hungry at WDW, maybe from being tired, or from all the exercise.

For spending $$$ - if they want clothing, I'll pay for it. Food, I'll pay for it. Toys, beanies, etc, they pay for it.

And bedtime? Uh... We totally blow off any semblance of home rules for bedtime!

 

[lilfroggie]

Honestly...I think this depends on your family dynamics and your kids. You know your kids...you know what they can handle...you do your best to prevent meltdowns. My daughter will have meltdowns if she does not get enough sleep...so if we stay up later, then we sleep in later/if we get up early, we go to bed early. We also watch sugar intake...but if the kids want pizza for dinner three nights in a row...I don't worry too much.
As for spending...we budget money for souvenirs and we have our kids save money for what they want to spend outside of that. We do that for ALL vacations, not just WDW. We certainly spend money on silly things on vacation though ;-). When we have gone to WDW, we tell them what we are willing to buy for them (ex: One t-shirt, one hat, one stuffie, one "other" toy)...and then they know what to expect.

 

[olivia in canada]

In my house there are always rules that are non-negotiable-hygiene, respect for others, the food groups, LOL

My kids need to have a good nights sleep to be pleasant and productive. I know this so this is important. Also meals involve more than one food group LOL so pizza is great with a salad and fruit.
HAVE FUN!! that is really important----only you know your kids and what they can handle. Might be a good idea to explain stuff before you go ie. why the rules are a little different on holidays etc----
**** Also I sent my sons teachers a note this week explaining when we would be away and that I needed their help to get the missed work done before we left. LOL I am having a homework free vacation too!!!! LOL

Have a good night

Olivia

 

[Family Fun Mom]

I enforce the basic daily behavior rules, but other than that all bets are off. Pig out, eat junk, stay up late, run, shout, scream with laughter (of course, not at the hotel at night) and have the time of your life! I'll be doing the same, lol!

We do set an amount for spending and they can pick whatever they want with it from the gift shops. Once it's gone, it's gone, but they seemed fine with it. We never had trouble at bedtime either because they were always so worn out nobody could stay awake once their little heads hit those pillows.

 

[eeyoreiscool]

Bedtimes and naps usually get relaxed a little but we try to keep the others fairly close to normal. Even with naps, they are usually expected to be quiet in the resort room to get a little rest.

 

[bizeemom4]

Ice Cream is a meal - so are chilli cheese fries and diet coke.
Bed time is whenever we drag ourselves back to the room and crash.
Homework gets made up when we get home.
Sleeping in public is allowed - effective use of time on the bus!

When at home, the kids dress themselves. When on vaca, I pick out their outfits. A little backwards but they know Mom has to dress them so we all look good at WDW.

 

[Mandalou]

It sounds like everyone has the same "rules" on vacation. . . no rules. I'm glad to hear we're not the only ones!
As long as everyone is polite and no one is a jerk (I REFUSE to raise a jerk!), then all is good.

 

[buzzgirls&dad]

Top priority is Fun!!! We look forward to our trip all year long so why spoil it.
So as not spoil it we reinstate an afternoon rest period (which for DD6 usually will result in a nap) sometimes for Mom and Dad too. Then we can take a relaxed approach to bedtimes which is whenever (on vacation) This works for us and no one is crabby. As for meals we take care all year long so a week of chicken strips, french fries and itzakadoozies is what vacation is all about. As for money DD loves to save for trip. Whatever money she has saved she can spend.( around $80.00 we just have one child so she may make more than the ave. child in the allowance dept.) When it is gone it is gone. Last year she came home with money. We buy any t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats etc. Manners are however probably more inforced only because I find it really rude when people are loud in the hallways and let their kids run like animal around the resorts. I realize WDW is for kids but not everybody is on your schedule so please be respectful particularly at the resort when people are having there down time.

 

[chris7]

This will be our first trip so I don't actually know how things will be put into practice. I do know, though, that my oldest, DD5, is a routine junkie. My worry is that if her little world as she knows it is completely disrupted (which obviously it will on a trip like this) then she's going to melt down. I'm going to try to go with the flow but also keep in place little routines from home. For her naps are essential, and bedtime routines, and just making sure she does not get overtired. We'll be there long enough that we don't have to go full force and have hyperstimulated kids. Of course, when I get back I may have a completely different story.

 

[The Sweetness]

Be at any park before opening

Ice cream is *not* a meal

Pastry for breakfast must be accompanied by juice or fruit

NO sodas before 11 am

$100 souvies each

Its always fine to leave over bread or fries to leave room for snacks / desert

Its always snack time (yes, I am a pig on vacation. No appologies there)

 

[tjevans]

DS (age 7) was allowed to stay up one hour later at night (except when we were at MNSSHP, then he stayed up much later).

He had a hundred dollars that he has saved up throughout the years (He's a better saver than I!), and he was allowed to use that for souvenirs. We were at the parks 5 days, so he has $20 a day to use, although he could "borrow" from another day's funds. He could also save it for more expensive items. As an aside, it's amazing how his attitude on spending changes when it's his money. He came back with over $60 dollars. (We would buy him a t-shirt, his money was for his "fun" souvenirs).

Because he is very impatient and hates standing in line, we made a goody grab bag for him with inexpensive toys. We told him that he could not complain to much about standing in line. He could tell us his feet hurt, he was tired, etc. For every complaint about a line or other misbehavior (just our everyday expectations, nothing special), he got a strike. If he went through the day with less than three strikes, he could draw one toy from the goody bag at the end of the day. He enjoyed those things better than the Disney souvenirs.

 

[Sugardimples]

Nobody is allowed to throw up.

 

[k_k_100]

Nobody is allowed to throw up.

 

[wvjovifan]

We didn't have many rules when my girls were little and we were at Disney....
Of course, the normal "wash your hands, be polite, no fighting" stuff, but other than that .... we were on vacation so we really lightened up!!! I always let them help with all the planning ahead of time to prevent the "I don't want to do that" argument!!! Those vacations were for THEM so we always got their input as to what to do and see!!!


Now the vacations are for ME so I get most of the input and DH just follows along

 

[LoriZH]

My kids are so well behaved, it really doesn't matter to us what they do, okay just kidding there! baaaaaahhhhh...

They are very well behaved but we definitely relax on the bedtime and the eating of the junk (well Mickey Bars are far from junk, right? ). We try to get them to eat better meals instead of just chicken fingers and fries (yes they would LIVE off them if they were allowed to!) but hey it's only for a week so we don't stress.

 

[mamacatnv]

I like this question! Our kids are DS 16 & DD 7
Respect and courtesy must be displayed at all times.

that said...........................

Yes, you may have dessert

Yes, you may order or eat whatever you want

Yes, you may stay in the pool until they kick you out

Yes, we can ride Splash Mountain again..............

DS - Yes, you may stay at the park without us until it closes, but don't complain when we get you up the next morning.


No, you may not wake your Mother

No, you may not behave like a beast

You may only take home 1 stuffed item - make a good decision - Stuffed item may not be so big that we have to buy it a ticket for the plane ride home.

You may each have $25.00 per day to spend on souvenirs, use it or bank it to the end, doesn't matter to us, unused funds will not be paid out in cash! - we buy the shirt, hat, pins & jacket