Sustainable Parenting

101. Spring Break Survival Guide

• Flora McCormick, LCPC, Parenting Coach

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The last thing you want is to battle whining, overtired kids or the endless “Are we there yeeeeeeeet?” during your vacation.  
 
In this week’s podcast episode, I’m sharing my TOP 3 simple tips to help your trip to be more fun!

By the time you finish listening, you’ll know:

  • Two easy games that can make car rides more fun for everyone
  •  Simple ways to talk with your kids about what to expect at busy places like theme parks or water parks 
  • Gentle tips for keeping bedtime routines familiar, even when you're away from home 

✨ "Would You Rather" Game

✨ SP Curated List of Helpful Items to Purchase

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Speaker 1:

You're listening to episode 101 of the Sustainable Parenting Podcast and, folks, I have a cold and I'm going on spring break with my family, and I thought what better way to approach today's episode but to share with you some of my favorite cheats for a successful spring break, even if you're feeling down, even if you're feeling stressed or sick. I hope these tips will serve you today, mamas. I hope these tips will serve you today, mamas. Hello and welcome to the Sustainable Parenting Podcast. Let me tell you, friend, this place is different. We fill that gap between gentle parenting and harsh discipline that's really missing to parent with kindness and firmness at the same time, and give you the exact steps to be able to parent in ways that are more realistic and effective and, for that reason, finally feel sustainable. Welcome.

Speaker 1:

So let me give you my top three areas of ideas for a successful spring break. So the first is airplanes, or car rides, and my favorite two tools are some games that I think really help in that area. And then we'll talk about what do we do to have a better time when we're going to the amusement park or the water park or whatever you have planned, and then I'll talk about bedtime. So, first thing, the game, two games that I love, and I just sent these to a mama yesterday who's a client of mine and she wrote. Well, she wrote me in the midst of panic help, car rides going awful, kids are going bonkers, what do I do? And her kids are both under five and I suggested these two ideas and she immediately wrote back after a few minutes and said it's working. Thank you so much. So I hope the same can be true for you, friends. The first one is a would you rather game, would you rather? Or table topic questions are things you can find online. I'll share one link in the show notes here that comes from just a random web page, but you know it's this really fun way to get conversation going for kids as young as three or four and it can, you know, engage everyone in the car up to teenagers. So things like would you rather have octopus legs or crab arms and you're debating and laughing. Would you rather have to spell out every word you ever say? Or like have visible farts that everyone can see when you fart. Just funny questions. They have led my family to have lots of great laughter and connection in airplanes or long car rides, instead of that like droning on of are we there yet? Are we there yet?

Speaker 1:

Second favorite tool for car rides or airplanes is the, what I call the three clues. Yes, no game. So the three clues are I'm thinking of something brown, furry and big, and then the kids get to ask yes, no questions until they've guessed it. You know it might be direct. Is it a bear? I'm like nope. Is it taller than a person? Yes, is it? You know various things. Maybe it ends up being a moose. We live in Montana, so that's an animal my kids know. You might pick other things that your kids would know, but whoever guesses it then gets to be the next person offering the clue three clues of something to be guessed. We started this when our kids were also around four and five, and it's still something that's fun and entertaining with them at nine and 11. All right.

Speaker 1:

Second key area for some tools are what do we do during an outing to have it be as fun as possible? Now, I find that when the biggest thing that people forget to do is that they forget to plan for the worst. This is the mistake I call planning for the best and hoping for the best, when in actuality, it tends to go better when you plan for the worst and hope for the best. What does that look like? That means things like if we are going to a water park, I want to be able to think through the things that could go poorly and plan for that and have it be an overt conversation with the kids. So then when I'm giving a reminder or I'm giving a prompt that we may be getting close to that consequence, we agreed in advance that they know I really mean it and so that could look like you know. Let me be clear. We're going to this water's park. We want to have fun.

Speaker 1:

If we are fighting over who gets to go first in line, or we are not including everyone with our friends that are going with us, um, if, if we're not responding when mommy asks you to please come over to take a break, to get more sunscreen on, you know, then I will ask you to take a break from playing on the water slide for five minutes. You know, cool off, let's see how you can be a better listener and then we'll try again. Or if it's continuing to not go, well, you know, we are right here at the hotel. And or, you know, and dad and I agreed one of us will just take you back to the room. Or, dad, and I agreed one of us can take a break with you out in the car, if we're even at Disneyland or something.

Speaker 1:

Now, these kind of like clear parameters have really helped my family in so many moments to then, you know, take it seriously. And then I'm not spending all day just saying, hey, please be a better sharer, hey, please listen to me. Hey, why are you just like going around like crazy, fighting with each other all day? Why do I have to keep putting out fires? It switches the conversation to remember what we talked about. And then also, half the battle in these scenarios is having a plan ourselves. If we just go in thinking it's going to be awesome, we're at Disneyland, how could anything go wrong?

Speaker 1:

Then, as these little moments come up of complaining or whining or fighting, it wears us down, it's caught us off guard and we end up in a place of just old habits, nagging small reminders, until we explode. And so don't let yourself get there, friend, by putting a little effort in in advance, all right. And so don't let yourself get there, friend, by putting a little effort in in advance, all right. And third thing, what can we do to help bedtimes? To help bedtimes, I really recommend that you be um having as many things in place that help your children feel comfortable like they would at home. So it's always a priority to me.

Speaker 1:

Of all the things that we pack, that we do bring still, you know, blankies or favorite stuffies, um, if there's a noise machine or a favorite, you know, a couple books that are going to be familiar and enjoyable, I want to preserve that we are going to have good bedtimes. And also that's pretty sacred for us, even on on vacation, because my kids are super sensitive to sleep. And if we, you know, go to the Disneyland parade from 10 to 11 o'clock like it is going to wreck our whole next day and some families or kids, that is not the case, and so go for it, but just know your child. If they do not do well with overstimulation through the day, let's bring earplugs, let's know them. Or if we're worried they're going to wake up with all the sounds in the hotel room, let's bring earplugs. Or let's bring a little eye mask that can help it stay dark longer if we're camping and we're wanting to make sure that they can sleep in past the sunshine streaming through. I have one friend who used to cover all of her camper windows with tinfoil as a way to keep the darkness so that the kids could sleep a little bit later in the mornings camping. So think, be thoughtful about sleep and what you can do to preserve and protect your children getting good sleep on vacation, and I find that tends to be worth its weight in gold for how the days go.

Speaker 1:

All right, I hope those are three quick trips that really serve you well this week and I'm wishing you wonderful spring breaks. I'd love to hear about them. If you want to connect with me on Instagram or Facebook, look for sustainable parenting, and I'd love to hear about them. If you want to connect with me on Instagram or Facebook, look for sustainable parenting, and I'd love to hear from you Also. Finally, friend, I'd love to hear how this episode is impacting you, so you can scroll down to the end of the episodes on our main page and drop us a line. Let us know what you think of the podcast and we'd love to hear from you. And don't forget to subscribe and follow so you can stay with us on this journey and get more tips that help you parent with kindness and firmness at the same time. So parenting finally feels sustainable.