This isn't my friend's kid - but it could be.

A friend of mine is visiting Orlando with her son right now.  She and her husband saved for this family vacation for over a year.  She had done her research, made her schedules, and planned the perfect Florida vacation for her family.

At least, that’s what she thought.

I received a frantic text message from her early this morning:

Help!  Travis hates Universal!  What do I do for the rest of our days here?

As it turns out, her son isn’t really into amusement parks.  Which would be fine, except they had carefully planned their Orlando vacation around visiting the amusement parks.  They booked a centrally located hotel that provided shuttle services to and from the parks – negating the need for a rental car.

He better start having fun soon or I’m going to go ballistic!

Ah, yes.  The familiar cries of a mother who’s watching her savings and planning and dreams of magical memories go up in a cloud of tears.

It happens.  In fact, it happens a lot.  Sure, there are steps you can take to plan for a happy vacation with kids – but all the planning in the world can still blow up in your face and leave you wondering why in the heck you spent all this money for everyone to have a good time!

Then what?

What To Do When Your Kids Hate Your Family Vacation

1.  Relax. Stop and breathe.  The more they get worked up, the more you get worked up.  The more you get worked up, the more they’ll get worked up.  And then someone is crying on the carousel and you’re hiding your face from the strangers who heard you yell at your kids at Disney World.  Take a moment, step back, and chill out.  It’s up to you to stop the cycle.

2.  Forget about your perfect vacation. The number one vacation killer is unrealistic expectations.  Believe me when I tell you that, this is perfectly normal. It happens to everyone.  Forget about the themed scrapbook pages you have sitting at home, waiting to be filled with pictures of your smiling children.  Forget every TV commercial you’ve ever seen telling you to getaway and relax and enjoy the pleasure of one another’s company.  It’s all crap.

3.  Scrap your plans – even if it means losing money. Cut your losses.  Even if you have another day on your amusement park passes, if the kids – and therefore, you – are having a miserable time, don’t go back to the amusement park.  (I know, this all sounds like common sense reading it now, doesn’t it?)

4.  Confide in your concierge. A good hotel will have a knowledgeable staff that can give you new ideas for things to do in the area.  Be ready to explain that you’ve already tried that and are looking for something a bit different.  Ask them what they do with their kids on the weekend.

5.  Ask your kids. The best person to tell you what your child is in the mood to do is, coincidentally, your child.  Ask for their input.  Giving your kids a sense of control over their vacation will make them much more inclined to be cooperative and enjoyable.

6.  Do the free, easy stuff. It doesn’t have to cost a fortune for it to be considered fun or “official vacation activity”.  Go to the beach.  Or, better yet, hang out in your hotel’s pool.  Kids are impressed with hotel pools.  Indoor, outdoor, water slide, or mediocre hole in the floor with chlorinated water in it – your kids can spend hours in the pool without feeling like they’re missing out on anything.

7.  Try again. After you’ve taken a day – or an afternoon – off from your perfect schedule, talk about going back to your plans.  Maybe once everyone has had a chance to regroup and actually relax, you’ll all be in more of a perfect family vacation mood.

Or maybe you won’t.

In which case, go to the park and then threaten to ground them for life if they don’t start having fun.

Photo by roy on Flickr