Comments on: The Simple Dollar Weekly Roundup: Vacation Edition

By: rosa rugosa

rosa rugosa — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 01:06:21 +0000

Camping – with small children – and extended family = I would SO rather spend a week at the office! There is just NOTHING about that scenario that sounds the least bit pleasant to me! But that’s just me, behold the wonder of personal preferences!

By: Janis

Janis — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 21:42:10 +0000

My first reaction to your vacation plans was the same as Kim (#5) and others. My husband and I don’t have children, but we have a lot of young nephews and nieces and even – thanks to a blended family – great-nephews and nieces. Some of these children I have gladly volunteered to babysit, while others… I’d rather have a wisdom tooth pulled without anesthesia. In any event, when spending vacation with family, I would always want to know *ahead of time* if I’m going to be expected to pull child-care duty.

By: Kate E.

Kate E. — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 01:33:36 +0000

We also have two kids (3 and 1) and have decided that we will not go on vacation until they are older unless we go with other family members. (As one of my friends said: Vacation is just moving your pain somewhere else.) :) Even if those family members are not watching the kids the whole time, there is still someone else there to help entertain them or talk to them. We also like the fact that we can leave after the kids go to sleep and go do something together since someone will still be at the house with the kiddos and can call us if there is a problem.

I hope you have a wonderful vacation this summer.

By: Kristin

Kristin — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 21:20:05 +0000

Watching someone else’s kids on my vacation doesn’t sound fun or relaxing. If your family offers the help, you would be stupid to refuse that offer.

By: Kat

Kat — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:04:58 +0000

Good point about the vacation plan, it really really depends on the family. My side would be insulted if we assumed they would be watching the kids, but my husband’s family would be insulted if we DIDN’T let them watch the kids. His parents and siblings LOVE that sort of thing, but we still make sure it is okay with the person watching and designate who is (“grandma time,” time with a certain aunt or uncle, etc) and not just assume that someone is paying attention, or else you run the risk of everyone assuming someone else is watching the kids, and no one really is.

By: Maureen

Maureen — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:53:38 +0000

THIS VACATION PLAN DOES NOT WORK!!! We’ve tried it for a couple of years when the kids were smaller. There were too many unattended kids near a pool. One sister in law didn’t even watch her own kids and expected everyone else to do it. Another time this same sister in law was put in charge of watching all the kids (she volunteered) and she spent the night on the computer while the kids tore up the house. Make sure everyone is on board with this plan.

By: Tammy

Tammy — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:40:56 +0000

Um. No. Not unless everyone involved is ‘on board’ with the babysitting plan. I’ve had far to many bad experiences w/ family members and their unruly children who just *assume* that since I’m there (or my daughter or whomever) THEY can sit and relax while someone else will chase their kids. They’re YOUR kids, they’re YOUR responsibility. We never, ever expected anyone else to watch our daughter when we were present. Sure, that meant that we’d stay home more than we’d like – or we’d have to hire a babysitter – but everyone else wants to relax too. It’s not right or fair to make them watch children that aren’t theirs.

By: Kristen@TheFrugalGirl

Kristen@TheFrugalGirl — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:59:30 +0000

My husband and I always go on vacation with our four kids and only ourselves to watch them. When they were younger, vacations weren’t all that relaxing for my husband and myself, but now that our youngest is 4, vacations are SO much better than they used to be!

By: Kate

Kate — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:16:37 +0000

I totally concur with #5Kim—At a recent family vacation/reunion a couple with two pre-K children decided that my children (teens) should be their default babysitters. It was a very uncomfortable situation for my children who were there not to work as babysitters but to enjoy their vacation, too.
Your family sounds very supportive and welcoming to your plan but like Kim I thought this needed to be mentioned.

By: Moby Homemaker

Moby Homemaker — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:42:48 +0000

Have a great summer vacation, Trent!!
We are heading out today–to visit the grandparents. A nice, cheap family trip!!!

By: kim

kim — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:39:08 +0000

Trent, I’m sure you’ve already done this but I think it’s worth mentioning. If you are doing a group vacation to spread out the childcare, make certain that the other adults in the group are aware that you are expecting them to help. Not everyone automatically thinks of or welcomes this responsibility.

By: lurker carl

lurker carl — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:27:09 +0000

Once upon a time, TurboTax was both non-existant and unnecessary. Every line on income tax forms represents a successful legislative effort for some special interest group. It now costs me over $50 to do what used to be free.

Thank you, Congress.

By: Frugillionaire

Frugillionaire — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:20:29 +0000

Trent, that’s a fabulous way to vacation with kids! You get a break, and your relatives get some quality time with their grandchildren/nieces/nephews.

Of course, extended-family vacations make for frugal ones as well: shared cost on food and accommodations, and no need to pay for a babysitter or daycare.

A win-win all around! :-)

By: BJD

BJD — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:18:25 +0000

Trent – it looks like your posting software needs to be updated for daylight savings. Your 8am posts are coming out at 9 am, and your 2pm posts are at 3pm. Iowa still part of central time zone and participates in DLS.

By: Steve

Steve — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:10:17 +0000

THanks for the mention! I couldn’t agree more about taking vacations with kids, although we “only” have 2 (ages 4 and 2). A 1:1 ratio of kids to adults doesn’t cut it…