Why You Don’t Always Have to Take Your Children on Vacation

Family vacations are important. It is an opportunity to spend some quality time together, reconnecting and enjoying downtime as a family. Most families take at least one vacation a year, typically in the school holidays, but not always. However, what you need to remember as a parent is that it’s OK to take a vacation without your children.

Parental Guilt

Guilt is a parent’s best friend. We feel guilty about working while someone else takes care of our children. We feel guilty for not buying our kids the latest technology, even though we don’t have any money. Not surprisingly, we also feel guilty if we can’t take out kids on a fantastic vacation, even though for us, it is not much of a vacation at all, mainly because we spend all of it doing all the chores and being on “mom duty” 24/7.

Modern life is hard work and there isn’t a lot of time to relax, especially when you have kids. Not surprisingly, stress and depression are common afflictions amongst working women. We are driven to succeed in the workplace and at home, often to the detriment of our health and wellness. It’s a vicious circle, but unless you jump off the merry-go-round and take some time away from work and family, nothing is going to change.

Reclaim Your Sanity

A short break without the kids can do wonders for your sanity. It can also do wonders for your relationship. Too many couples pour all of their emotional energy into their kids, at the expense of their relationship. The early years of raising kids are full on in the extreme. Sleep deprivation is common, yet we muddle through, aware that this crazy time won’t last forever. Sure enough, eventually the kids reach their teenage years and things morph from toddler tantrums to teenage tantrums. You can probably cope with all that, but what happens if you and your partner have lost that special connection you once had?

Relationships rarely implode in a firestorm of bitter accusations and recriminations. Most wither and die oh-so-slowly over a number of years. Couples stop talking and start leading separate lives. One way to avoid this from happening to you is to prioritize your relationship.

Relax and Unwind

Taking a vacation without the kids is refreshing. If you choose to go alone, you can use the time to relax, unwind, and rediscover who you are and what you want from life. You can also use the time to catch up on some much-needed sleep!

Leaving the kids with grandparents and taking a vacation, just the two of you, is also therapeutic. Book a few days away at the Hotel Chateau Beauvallon in Mont Tremblant and enjoy each other’s company, without a constant stream of interruptions from the little ones. You can stay up late, enjoy the scenery, and order room service for once. Doesn’t that sound amazing?

Don’t feel guilty about taking an occasional vacation without the kids. No doubt, the grandparents will spoil your kids rotten, so why not have fun and make the most of your time away.