Tips for those with younger kids

[dyna]

We didn't take DD till she was 7 ideal age for her.

We had several rules some which we still use to this day.

1 EVERYONE had to go back to room for a NAP no swim till 1 hour nap. Now that DD is older she can read but no tv or talking for 1 hour to allow those who wish to actually nap.

2 DH and I took turns gettin up and going to pool with DD he'd go one day I'd go the next. This allowed us to get more nap if we needed it or just to get a few mins quiet time to ourselves. Sometimes I stayed behind got out the next days clothes and did little jobs like that so I wouldn't have to do them at the end of the day.

3 Even at disney to much togetherness isn't always a good thing. If your kids argue to much when together to much find easy ways to seperate them mom takes 1 on a ride dad take the other. Remind them we don't have to be here this is a privilage not a have to thing stick to it if they keep arguing.

4 Make sure mom and dad gets a little time away too. Sleep for an hour in room alone go to park an hour before the others whatever just make sure everyone gets what they need.

5 Bath/ shower time shouldn't always fall on the same person to help with the littles. This is everyones vacation.

Family vacations are great till we get to much togetherness in the same visit.

 

[java]

um I almost don't know what to say about that...but note I said almost....

We have 4 children and do take breaks mid-day but don't force them to stay in the room to take a nap. If they are tired they take a nap if not- we go to the pool...
If one of us- DH or I need a nap we take one while the other takes the kids to the pool(but we have not done that since our first was born- that is a tired that hits you like a ton of bricks)
We don't get time away from the kids on vacation. That doesn't work for us. We are on a "family" vacation and prefer to be together. Since our children's ages are so different we do split up to keep everybody happy and having fun..

So I don't think your tips are for all of those with small children. What works for one doesn't work for all. But I am glad that you did what worked for you on your vacation. And I am glad we do what works for us. So my tip is don't feel pressured to do anything according to plan. There is no plan(that is my tip.)

 

[1of6]

We didn't take DD till she was 7 ideal age for her.

We had several rules some which we still use to this day.

1 EVERYONE had to go back to room for a NAP no swim till 1 hour nap. Now that DD is older she can read but no tv or talking for 1 hour to allow those who wish to actually nap.

2 DH and I took turns gettin up and going to pool with DD he'd go one day I'd go the next. This allowed us to get more nap if we needed it or just to get a few mins quiet time to ourselves. Sometimes I stayed behind got out the next days clothes and did little jobs like that so I wouldn't have to do them at the end of the day.

3 Even at disney to much togetherness isn't always a good thing. If your kids argue to much when together to much find easy ways to seperate them mom takes 1 on a ride dad take the other. Remind them we don't have to be here this is a privilage not a have to thing stick to it if they keep arguing.

4 Make sure mom and dad gets a little time away too. Sleep for an hour in room alone go to park an hour before the others whatever just make sure everyone gets what they need.

5 Bath/ shower time shouldn't always fall on the same person to help with the littles. This is everyones vacation.

Family vacations are great till we get to much togetherness in the same visit.

We didn't follow any of this and still had the best time.

We never made it back to the hotel for nap time. DS4 was a trooper! DD2 took a couple of cat naps on someone's lap on a bus. She did awsome! She even thought that she would potty train while we were there. Every time we took a bathroom break, she used the bathroom and we put her dry diaper back on. She was even dry at night! There is something about Disney!!!

We didn't have a single meltdown from any of our 4 kids the entire week. If I could duplicate the week at home I would. I wish I knew how to keep them melt-free everyday.

We stayed together as a big group for everything (DH, me, DS9, DD7, DS4, DD2, DM & DA (aunt).) The only time we were apart was when DM sat with DD2 while the rest of us went on some rides. We did have a couple of times when a small group "waited" for the others, but not many.

The 4 kids shared the double stroller (yes my 9yo rode!), the 8 of us shared meals & we all shared beds. I tackled bath- just like I do at home. I wash all (well not DS9), older ones dry themselves, DH takes 1 and I take the other to dry and dress. A couple of times grandma took one or got the brush out and started on hair.

One of the things that really helped us was the buddy system. Each adult was a buddy to 1 kid. We changed buddies everyday. There was no fighting about who was going to sit with daddy on the ride.

We also had a color of the day for our t-shirts. It made packing very easy! It also made for some great pictures (imagine Mr. & Mrs. Incredible with 8 Incredible helpers in the picture.)

 

[dyna]

BTW I also have a wide range of ages by about 13 yrs