Boring family trips

Why We Always Plan Family Trips that are a Little Boring

We don’t plan boring family trips.

At least not intentionally.

Our kids might disagree – some of the time.

It’s just that these are our days off work and we have to foot the bill, so we deserve the right to call the shots.

If it was up to our kids they’d be in a theme park for a week or at the playground behind the house.

But it’s up to us to broaden their horizons, teach them about compromise and shrug it off when they say they are bored.

Boring family trips

1.It’s a matter of perspective

I don’t think our family trips are boring. The destinations we chose aren’t boring: Scotland, Japan, Normandy to name a few.

There are seemingly unlimited places waiting to be explored. Why would you want to narrow down your choices to family-friendly destinations only. Just make it family friendly.

But I get it, they don’t really scream fun.

2. They’d be bored anywhere…

Still, we pick the places the two of us want to see.

Then we try to make it fun for the kids.

Too often we don’t succeed in the way they’d want.

But after listening to ‘I am bored!’ at the theme park, where there is absolutely no reason for them to be bored, I’ve decided to not really care.

They’d be bored anywhere, so let them be bored at the place the two of us love. It’s easier to show them the good sides.

3. Boring is good

Scientist – aka not me have found that being bored can actually be a good thing.  It encourages kids to become more creative, because they have time off to think and daydream.

Still, we don’t plan boring family trips, yet we do include lots of opportunity to be creative.

We take them to a beach in Scotland where they can’t do what they’d usually do at a beach. Hit the sea and swim. No, if they want to have fun here, they have to think of alternatives.

We drive for long periods of time. I read and if they don’t want to, tough. ‘Pick something other than staring at a tablet.’

We might spend an hour visiting a church. Boring, right! How about on top of that the kids have to be quiet and respectful.

4. We don’t care

I try not to. Because I know it’s all good for them. That’s what travel is all about. Exposing them to different situations and keeping them on their toes.

Don’t get me wrong, we try to make the family trips fun, we stop at the local playgrounds, we skip some museums,… but I want my kids to reciprocate and know that life is not just about what is fun for them. Life is not just about them and their needs.

I want to teach them, they if they want to have fun, if they want to be happy: ‘Work for it!’

A place we visit can be fun or boring.  Let’s see the positive sides. Let’s be curious, open minded and give it a chance. ‘Don’t give me boring without giving it a shot!’

They didn’t know they loved theme parks, until they visited one. They never believed galleries can be fun, until we went to one and made it fun. If you can’t swim at a beach, what good is it for? How about building castles, how about chasing your sister… ‘Use that incredible imagination, kiddo.’

5. Family time

Supposedly boring family trips give us a great amount of quality time as there aren’t too many distractions. It would be easiest for us to pick a theme park, a kid friendly sight… but we go on trips with the kids because we want to be with them, because it’s our time to be together.

It is a chance to talk in no rush, explain, share what we love with them with such excitement that some must dull the boredom at least a bit. We can play, as there is nothing or no one else to play with, we can be creative together or we can be bored. It’s entirely up to us.

 

P.S. You can guess my kids helped with the post :).

 

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