With the holidays behind you, you may think that your blended, extended family negotiations are at an end. But time moves quickly, and your kids will have breaks again soon, and that’s when many families choose to vacation.
With the often highly sensitive nature of parenting time agreements, vacations with just one parent can create tensions. However, if you want to circumvent those difficulties, you can try to take go on vacation with your kids and your ex. But that can be tough to do, so here are some tips for you:
Treat it like a business discussion
Whether it was your idea or your ex’s, you must enter into the talks about going on a vacation together with your kids as dispassionately as possible. It may help to consider your ex to be a travel agent or some other professional that you’re working with to build a good vacation plan. In any case, the more dispassionately and effectively you negotiate, the better your trip will be.
Clear open communication
Once you are on the vacation, just like it works back home, making sure you have working communication strategies will be essential. You need to be clear. If you can be an effective communicator, you will decrease the stress for you and your family.
Teamwork makes the dream work.
Like it or not, you and your ex are teammates regarding your kids. Teamwork is much more important on a vacation as a whole unit. You must recognize what they excel at and what they don’t. You don’t have to make accommodations, but working together will smooth out your relationship and make for an easier time back home.
It’s a vacation; try to relax.
At the end of the day, you’re on vacation. You should try to relax. However, you’re a parent on vacation, so it’s probably not going to work that way until you get home and get the kids in bed. You made some good memories. You may have an easier time with your ex going forward. Enjoy your five minutes of rest.