Not a happy camper. Austria, 2013.
I often get asked advice about Camp Mom and how I keep family travel happy. My #1 answer is simple: schedule a Meltdown Day.
Meltdown days can be due to sickness, exhaustion, or just the plain old bad mood. By building lots of breaks into our travels I can pull the plug whenever tummy bugs strike (as one did for Deal Kid in Paris) or just plain old bad moods reign (as one did for both kids last week in Florida). I learned early that I paid the price for over-scheduling.
So last week in Florida the Deal Kids spent a couple of hours with Jessie (in separate rooms-thanks to our oceanfront suite) and I read on the balcony guilt free thanks to the Meltdown day. In Ireland, after 10 days on the road, an Adrenalini Brothers marathon and some outside play with local kids was just the ticket. One more castle and we all would have lost it!
So now that I’ve let you know I’m a big fan of the Meltdown Day, I’m curious. How do you keep it together with your kids while traveling? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
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Back in the day, traveling with 4, we kept hard candy
hidden for the most in opportune moments. Not to reward
Bad behavior but to “change the subject” when all the regular
Tactics were coming up short. For emergency use only.
LOL. I have a similar strategy: when all else fails, plug in the iPad.
Love this! So timely for us as we are on spring break and were awoken this morning to a puking 18 month old. Today has been our meltdown day of taking it easy and not worrying with the schedule! 😉