Summer is Here-Joyful Traveling Secret for Parents
Just recently a friend of mine with little children asked me what I did to keep my children occupied on car trips. I let her in on a secret I use to use. Since we were in the military and seemed to live in cars, either traveling to our next home, visiting grandparents out of state, or family vacations, for survival I had to come up with a great distraction for my three kids. I do not know when I came up with this idea that worked 100% of the time with my three kids. I believe I came by this when my kids were in elementary school.
What I discovered was when ever we went somewhere my children always wanted us to buy them something- like at Disneyland, a Travel stop, just anywhere. So what I decided to do was have my children earn their spending money.
This is how I did it. I promised each one of my children $20 at the end of the trip to do as they pleased- but they had to earn by behaving. Every time I had to discipline the child or raise my voice they lost a quarter. I had them all agree with the rules and ask questions - so they were clear. Then the game began. Let me tell by the time they lost 50 cents there would be no more problems- peace and quiet. They became responsible for their own behavior. They found things to occupy their time that did not included fighting with each other. They learned patience. Once the money was gone it was gone. They did not get a chance to earn it back. That might sound harsh- but they learned that there were consequences to their actions. If they whined about losing a quarter- they lost another. Hence the arguing ceased! It was like magic.
I would do the same thing on the return trip. It was worth every penny I spent. Children always want you to buy them something- so this way they had some money of their own to buy what they want. I did notice that they took a great amount of time to buy just the right item or items. I feel they learned a lot about earning money and spending on those trips. A great life lesson.
If you have children that are too young to understand money, have every child start out with a bag of their favorite candy that they will get at the end of the trip. Put their name on the bag. Explain that they have to earn it. Every time they misbehave they have to take a piece of their candy out bag and put it in their parent’s candy bag. Again they will learn responsibility and consequences. If you do not want to use candy- find another item that will work.
Because of this secret, we got to experience the joy of taking a family trip. A lot less stress and a lot more joy.
Let me know if you use this secret this summer and let me know if you got to experience more joy traveling with your family this summer!
Happy Traveling,
Vicki