Family Travel - Going Solo with Kids
Traveling Alone with Children: Vacation Tips for Single Parents
Jul 6, 2008
Whether traveling with one child or four, toddlers or preteens, parents traveling solo with kids can use these tips to help ensure the success of single-parent holidays.
Pack Light for Planes and Trains
Most travelers hear and understand this bit of advice, but they don't always heed it. When one is responsible for little folks as well as luggage, taking no more than a single adult can handle is a primary rule, especially when flying or taking the train. Even when driving one's own minivan, paring down to the essentials will help simplify life on the road.
Remember That Most Family Travel Destinations Are Located Within the Civilized World
In parental zeal to bring everything children might need during a trip, it is easy to forget that one can almost always purchase necessities at one's destination. In most locales in the United States, bulky items like disposable diapers, snacks, and bottled water can be ordered online for delivery to the hotel or resort.
Leave Time for Laziness
Children, as well as parents, need unstructured time as a break from their sometimes overscheduled ordinary days. Plan to hang out at the hotel, resort, or campground for at least one full day in the middle of a family trip. Playing in the pool or sandbox, or even watching a video in the room with mum or dad, can be just as enriching for kids as the most stimulating hands-on exhibits in a museum.
The traveling single parent might also want to work in some down time so that keeping an eagle eye on young ones 24-7 doesn't result in vacation burnout. Consider spending an hour or two in the nearest spa mid-vacation while the kids play under the watchful eye of a babysitter or participate in a hotel-sponsored kids program.
Let Older Kids Make Activity Choices
Keep preteens and teens engaged in their trip by giving them responsibility for planning a day's activities, within limits, of course. Let them choose ahead of time what to include in a picnic lunch for a day at the zoo, and then give them the lead, and a budget, at the nearest food store.
Know One's Limits
On the first time out traveling alone with children, try a short trip to learn how best to cope with the challenges of single parenting away from home. Balance active days with less strenuous ones, days in the hot sun with indoor, air-conditioned comfort. Parents of large families might consider multiple weekend trips with one child at a time.
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