But my kids don't like that kind of vacation! -update page

scintilla

Sun, Aug 25 2024, 11:28 pm

Puppies wrote:

Look into geocaching- it’s finding hidden objects on the hike. Or download an app like Seek where you take pictures to identify plants. Hikes where you can walk in water, or climb rocks or see animals are more exciting then just flat walking.

This - you gotta ease them into enjoying it, help them find the fun in it. Maybe make a scavenger hunt for things they can find along the trail and a prize for whoever completes theirs first, give the older kids a more challenging one, etc. DH can be in charge too

amother

Magenta ↓

Sun, Aug 25 2024, 11:47 pm

effess wrote:

I would suggest a reframe.
It’s not vacation for them. They just had a looong summer vacation.
The purpose is to spend time together.
It’s to build memories as a family. It’s to bond, try new things.
I’d suggest to ‘do something’ as your kids say, but the rest of the time create a plan in nature that has variety.
Set yourself up for success.
Waterfalls, creeks, rivers are a great place to get wet, splash in the water, relax together.
Hikes don’t need to be long.
4 year olds can easily hike. 2 yr olds should be in a backpack/ whatever you call that baby Carrier for toddlers. for part of the time. Some hikes are challenging and therefore more fun. Think gorges, rock formations, caves.
Perhaps plan by half day and do the harder stuff in the morning. Bring games. Create challenges. Get everyone the pedometer so it’s more exciting to reach a goal of a certain number of steps.
I can go on and on.
Kids are so excited to feel successful and they’ve overcome a challenge. This will build more character. Your husband can teach them survival techniques, building shelters…..teach them how to use a compass…..

This is so on target

↑ DVOM ↓

Mon, Aug 26 2024, 1:42 am

effess wrote:

Some more suggestions:

Find hikes that lead to some sort of 'treasure': we've gone fossil hunting, mining for minerals (like Herkimer crystals or other cool rocks) seashell collecting, collecting shark teeth or squid pens.

Get yourself some nature hunting books. There are great books for all ages on scat, animal tracks, flaura and fauna, birds. Make a contest: every sighting and correct identification of an animal/bird on your hike gets a point, winner gets 10$ to buy everyone a snack at the next rest stop.

Hikes in water. Hikes with natural waterslides. Hikes to waterfalls or swimming holes. Water! Bliss!

We've had a ton of fun geocaching. Learn how to use a compass and a map. Learn how to build your own nature compass using water, oil, and a little bit of leaf. So cool. Let your kids read the nap and lead the hike. Within reason, let them get lost and find their way out.

Bring rope/twine and build shelters. This is so fun and satisfying for my kids. They've built some incredibly cool shelters.

Bring binoculars, magnifying glasses. Kids are natural explorers, and naturally curious.

Bring art supplies. This is my truck for museums too. Have them try to paint the scene in front of them (or some famous painting at a museum). So much fun.

Teach the kids how to start fires and cook snacks and meals over the campfire. This is one of our favorite and most beloved activities. We've made some memorable feasts.

amother

Snowflake ↓

Mon, Aug 26 2024, 3:32 am

amother OP wrote:

DH grew up in a country where family vacations were priority but all their vacations were scenic nature hike style things.
My kids hate hiking and find this stuff boring. The last bunch of years we've taken them on vacations (3 days tops) where we did trips. This year DH said this is ridiculous, it's about family time and booked an Airbnb in a scenic place near lots of hikes and waterfalls. My kids are really not interested. He keeps trying to get them all into it but they are used to more exciting trips TBH. Maybe they are spoiled but it's 3 days a year and this is what they are used to.
What do you think I should do? Support DH and try to convince the kids or just go with the flow or speak to DH privately to convince him to make more exciting plans (if I can)? I do agree with DH in theory but I think our kids will just kvetch the whole time. In general he is a bit out of tune with their needs and tries to convince them his random ideas are what they want. When they were very young they "fell for it", now my kids get annoyed by this stuff.
What do you think I should do?

I have the same dilemma, my kids are hard to please. At this point I force them that 3 days a year they have to give in.
You KNOW it‘s good for their mental health to be in nature and away from their routine.
Just as you give them medicine against their wish, bonding with family and spending time in nature will be beneficial for them too

amother

White

Mon, Aug 26 2024, 5:40 am

Bring a backpack carrier for the two year old for the hike.

If you go excited hopefully it will spin positively and rub off on them.

Call it "glamping" or camping. Its still quite popular the past few years for the city crowd.

Its good to get out of everyone's comfort zone and teach them the value of this is totty's favorite memories from his childhood and he wants you to have the same experience.

Bring smores making equipment. Bring fishing rods & find a steam or creek. Go boating or parasailing/jet skiing.

Hike towards something, a gorgeous view or waterfall.

Get kids some cool new gear.

amother

Starflower ↓

Mon, Aug 26 2024, 6:16 am

One thing I do with my kids that makes this stuff less “boring” is buy them the Kodak cameras that print out pictures with sticky backs. I get them journals and I decorate each page for the activity we are doing that day and then space to put their stickers. I also include little envelopes with fun/ helpful stuff for that activity. It’s a lot of work but it makes them actually look forward to lighthouses and hikes! You can just buy them the cameras if you can’t do all the other stuff. They’re about 100 dollars each, so maybe they can share if you have a lot of kids.

amother

Yolk

Mon, Aug 26 2024, 6:56 am

Your kids have been to camp so they've had their vacation and experiences there. This vacation is about family time, even if they don't think it's so exciting. It's about the people you're with more than what you're doing.
Dh loves the back to nature hikes, I'm not so into them. But it's now a family joke that mommy is slower than the toddler on the hike. And because we've always done these types of vacations, my kids are fine with it. We do try and mix it up a little, one day a hike, another day we'll travel into the closest city.

↑ DVOM

Mon, Aug 26 2024, 7:32 am

amother Starflower wrote:

Oh goodness! I love this idea! How fun!

amother

Winterberry

Mon, Aug 26 2024, 7:59 am

DVOM wrote:

I suspected that this was the case.

Well, if you think of it as strenuous and boring and a waste of rare vacation time, they definitely won't enjoy it.

All I can say is that my family of origin was more of an amusement park/water skiing type of vacationers, and I've come to truly and deeply love vacationing in nature. I could see that this was something my husband deeply loved and valued, and I chose to learn to love it too. And now I do, very sincerely. I actually crave camping. Sounds weird, but the quiet, the freedom, the beauty! We get our tents set up, the kids run off into the woods, we get our fire going.... It's just so simple and peaceful and good.

If you can find the good in it, your kids will too. And there's benefits to finding quieter, simpler happiness, no? Being able to appreciate pushing yourself a bit physically and mentally, challenging yourself. I think of it like the difference between a movie and a good book, or a bag of sour sticks vs. an apple. Yes, it's easier to sit back and be passively entertained, but it's not nearly as satisfying.

Same! I literally crave camping and we just went on an incredible 4 night camping trip as a family- and neither me nor DH are into hiking at all. So we didn't hike. It was a huge campsite with so much else to do...we went swimming and fishing in the river, the kids kept the fire going, we went tubing, they read books in an extra "kids tent" I had brought along, played games in the forest with their swords and nerf guns, caught frogs, etc etc. It was fantastic and a blast and peaceful and full of nature and no hiking involved.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Mon, Aug 26 2024, 2:12 pm

I think DH has this romanticized version of family bonding nature vacation and I'm not sure that's quite how it will play out.
We do these vacations for the kids, we hardly go on chol hamoed trips, we don't go away for midwinter vacation, this is the one family trip a year - that's what I mean it's for them.
From the posts here it sounds like if I invested properly I can make it fun. I guess I never had to make things fun, they just were. Lots of ideas mentioned involve gear and knowledge that we don't have.
Another big piece is my DH being all into these nature things and the kids essentially rolling their eyes at him. He does tend to be a bit woops missed with their interests and connecting with them.

amother

Freesia

Tue, Aug 27 2024, 7:53 am

I think it's really cool he's into that and he wants to pass his interests on. It's an experience for your kids.

Maybe try to think about the long term. They will roll their eyes but really they are listening and learning and they will remember it. My Father is very into DIY and tools and engineering. We all rolled our eyes at him when he'd point out interesting trains and things along the road. Now I adore him for all his quirks and hobbies and I love to ask him about it.

My parents used to schlep us around art galleries on vacation (no Disneyland for us) which we had no interest in. Yet I now appreciate that I've seen some of the most famous paintings in the world.

I was also going to say to take loads of snacks to keep them going (hiking the Jewish way).

amother

↑ OP ↓

Fri, Aug 30 2024, 2:10 pm

So we went on vacation. There really wasn't anything that my older kids' style anywhere near except for white water rafting that we didn't feel comfortable to do because of the recent tragedies and because of the 2 youngest.
We spent 3 days doing wholesome style things. The 2nd night and by the last day the kids were bickering and annoyed and bored. They were complaining and starting to be rude so then my DH dug his heels in and said we aren't doing anything. I recommended we go somewhere on the way home but he felt we shouldnt give in to their behavior. I was just annoyed because I knew this would be the case but he was convinced that they would enjoy it once we got there. I did try to do games and a scavenger hunt, to make things more exciting. DH talked about the different types of plants and things. We really tried but it really wasn't their thing.
I would of been happy to have been wrong.
Lesson learned.

ittsamother ↓

Fri, Aug 30 2024, 2:20 pm

amother OP wrote:

Sorry it worked out like that!

amother

Brass

Fri, Aug 30 2024, 2:32 pm

amother OP wrote:

My kids bicker even when do things like amusement parks and museum…