by Jessica Pawl
What’s the family travel tip you didn’t know you needed when on the go with little kids?
We’ll keep it short and simple. We call it the rule of three buckets.
What is it?
This is a simple tip to help plan your day in a way that ensures everyone’s needs are being met—an admittedly difficult task when traveling with the littlest ones. We refer to this general rule of thumb as the rule of three buckets. You can use it as a rough guide in planning your days to avoid falling into the “too much to do with too little time” trap that often happens on vacations. Which nearly always leads to Meltdown City.
The basics:
When planning your day’s agenda, try to evenly divide your time among these three buckets…
- Structured Activity: Think tours, excursions, and any commitment that includes a set amount of time and attention
- Unstructured Exploration: This may include hiking, visiting playgrounds, sand play on the beach, and aimless city strolls that allows kids to wander
- Rest: Downtime at home that could include meals in, playtime in an Airbnb backyard or naptime at a hotel
The results:
One of the keys to successful travel with children—particularly small children—is simply slowing down. Moving at an adult pace, which we’re wired to do, is almost always going to result in a meltdown, tantrum or overly exhausted little one. Because as many of us know, stroller naps can’t be counted on 100 percent of the time.
Taking a realistic approach to planning vacation agendas will give you the best chance of success for having the most enjoyable and semi-relaxing time on your next vacation. And you know what that means. Rather than needing a vacation following your vacation (which, well, you may still need), you’ll be planning the next one on your way home.
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