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Grandtravel
Grandparents Traveling with Grandchildren
By Sue Marquette Poremba
It is also important to travel with grandchildren who are ready for trips away from their parents. No two grandchildren are alike. Just because one grandchild was capable of spending a week away from home at the age of 3 doesn't mean the rest of your grandchildren will be able to do that. Before promising a vacation, have a few sleepover visits first, to make sure the child is comfortable being away from their parents and to make sure the grandparents are comfortable caring for the child. This is especially important if the child requires special medical treatment.
Once it is decided who will be taking the trip, it is time to plan the vacation. "Make the planning part of the journey," says Dr. Marlene Coleman, physician and author of Safe and Sound: Healthy Travel with Children (Globe Pequot Press, 2003). "Grandparents and grandchildren will learn a great deal about each other as they plan their vacation. Let the child make suggestions and express preferences, with the understanding that you may not be able to do everything on your wish list."
Parents an be helpful in planning the trip, as well. "Parents are in the unique position to know the interests and limitations on both sides," Coleman says. For example, whereas a child may try to convince the grandparents that he is able to spend a full day hiking around a Civil War battlefield, the parents would be able to explain that the child tends to tire out after a half-mile walk, and that perhaps a bus tour would be a better option. Or the parent can subtly let the child know that Grandma probably wouldn't enjoy trying out all the roller coasters at the amusement park.