Tips to Keep Older Kids Interested in Family Vacations
Does your family take at least one family vacation each year? Have things begun to feel a bit stale and the vacations are getting difficult to keep exciting for the kids as they get older? Here, you'll find a few ideas that could help to keep the older kids interested in attending those family vacations with you.
Step up the Lodging
As the kids get older, they're going to want to spend more time out and about without you. Unfortunately, you can't just let kids, even older kids, run wild through vacation towns that you don't know, but you can let them have a little bit of unsupervised fun around the lodging.
If you find a place that offers entertainment for the older kids, you'll be able to let go of the strings a bit and let them go off and have a little bit of fun without you. This will give you a bit of a break and give the kids the taste of freedom that they long for.
Tip: If you're not completely confident with your ability to let the kids go without knowing exactly where they are at all times, you can download a child-tracker app on your cell phones. As the kids move about, you can watch right where they are from where you are—if they begin to wander outside of the area where they're allowed, you can go find them or call them to reign them in a bit.
Make It a Group Vacation
Talk with some friends and family members to see if their families would be interested in joining your family for the vacation this year. If you want to have a few days with just your family, arrange to arrive a few days before the rest of the group, then, when they get there, you've already had your quality family time and the kids can enjoy spending time with the kids that come with the rest of the group.
Tip: When planning group vacations, you may be able to get discounts on lodgings and entertainment. Contact the front desk to discuss group rates for the stay, as well as any surrounding venues for entertainment.
It can be difficult to keep older kids interested in spending time with the family, but you can get your quality time and give your kids their alone time without sacrificing your family vacation this year or the next.