It's OK to Not Go on a Family Vacation & It's OK to Go on a Family Vacation
Looking at the endless posting and boosting going on for years on social media, I am thinking how it would be for us, a family of 5 to go with our kids in such exotic places. Then, I think about why vacations are important for families: to bond and make great memories together. That, we do every day, 365 days per year right here, close to home. So, for now, we are not missing out.
Reality is I dream about a vacation faraway - last time we did one was in 2010 when we made a Tour of France in a tent for 3 weeks. Saw places that are always in my heart.
But now with 3 kids such trip, even low cost as it was is not possible. No matter what influencers and other shinny families of Insta portray those things are not a reality for me and my family. One of our kids has a strict diet and we could no go long without home made meals, pre-packed. Even travelling for a few hours is a challenge for our family. In Brno there is only one accommodation where we felt really good and prices where OK for a family of 5. Is close to us and kids love it - at Atlantis.
What I did during the last years, to help me cope with this constant comparison game, that we all do at some point in social media and which takes so much fire during the summer holidays:
- made a plan each summer where to go, for every day. A new place, a new activity or a simple hike. That helped me feel secure about the coming summer
- every week I spend 2-3h browsing the map and making plan for our next road trip, near to home but far enough to keep kids interested and curious
- we visit attractions and go to local events almost every week, not just now during the summer
- kids have a variety of activities during the school year but also at weekends and during the summer. The only thing is that in summer the clubs are closed so is on us parents to find and join events with them, plan activities like for example treasure hunts
- I involve the kids in finding next attraction
- we have a hiking group where we meet regularly for the outdoor walks, sharing experiences and even planning playdates or games for the kids. These meeting vary on the weather outside, the season when kids get sick often of course, attendance is very low
- we make sure they kids go to sports clubs and are exposed to natural gardens like the Lipka school and even if we do not manage to go all at ski in Austria, we know that Lemur offers skiing lessons right here near Brno for children from age 4. The ski with Lemur was such a transformative experience for our son, we hope nest semester they join both again
While for now, we do not take kids on an exotic faraway expensive vacation, we still try (and hope to manage) offer them varied experiences, nice memories and quality bonding time right here, close to home. Some people are happy with what they have right here and right now. Some choose to be tourists in their own country, closer to home. Some need to take family vacations at least 1-2 times per year in a far from home place. All choices are free and right. No pressure, all you do is enough and OK.
If time allows, I will continue this summer a series of articles with all the locations and things to do in Brno and surroundings with kids. Every day we discover something new and I wish days had more hours to also write about the experiences.
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