Traveling with kids may seem to be challenging. When you are a divorced parent, related difficulties may even double. Yet, this doesn’t mean you have to avoid traveling when it is your turn to spend vacations with your children. Contrastly, your kids will be happier, get some new positive experiences, and switch off the divorce-related troubles in their life.
Learn about the top ten points to consider when you are to take your kids on a trip as a divorcee and do your best for everyone to have a great time traveling.
1. Follow Co-parenting Agreement
When you file for divorce in Washington state and have little kids, the parental agreement is a mandatory document for you to sign. It includes considerations about spending leisure with your children when you have your visitation time. So, this will be the main paper to regulate your time-spending with kids when traveling.
You have to review the following issues in your parental agreement and consider them when planning your travel:
- whether you are allowed to take your kids traveling in and out of the country;
- whether you need any written permission from your spouse to set on a journey with your children;
- whether you need to provide your ex with pre, in, and post-travel reports;
- when your visitation time is so that you can plan your trips;
- what rules and regulations you are to obey when traveling with your children.
If you want your travel time to be filled with joy but not followed by serious problems, you’d better not break any rule or agreement from your divorce docs.
2. Keep Your Spouse Informed
Before you even plan a trip with a minor traveling with one parent, you should inform your spouse about it as early as possible. Plus, it would be great if you can provide your ex with a detailed plan of your journey after the approval. You can also ask them to participate in making travel arrangements if they wish to or at least ask for advice on general points. Often, a custodial parent can be very useful in fulfilling the kid’s dreams and desires. So, never neglect your ex’s tips as to your plans when you are a non-custodial parent.
3. Plan Thoroughly
If you are to travel with children, you have to pre-plan everything to guarantee your trip goes as smoothly as possible. When there are only adults traveling, it is easier to adjust to sudden changes in the travel plan and decide what to do next on the go. But for kids, everything needs to be pre-arranged to meet their needs and comfort level so that you can fulfill your parental duties properly.
Consider the following points when working on your travel plan:
- time
- destination
- documents
- transportation to destination and around the place
- accommodation
- food
For each point, it is better to have several alternatives so that when the force-majeure happens, you can easily change your plans and spend vacations with your kids with pleasure.
4. Be Flexible
When creating any plan, you shouldn’t go to extremes and get either glued to your arrangements or improvise everywhere you can. You have to be well-organized but flexible at the same time. Don’t get depressed if your plan doesn’t go as you expected but search for another suitable way out so that both you and your children can enjoy the trip. Don’t be afraid to admit the travel troubles to your ex since they are the first person to help you.
5. Ask Your Kids’ Opinion
When traveling with kids, it is necessary to remember that this journey is for your children primarily so you must consider their interests as your primary directives. Depending on how old your kids are, you can involve them in your travel planning to a different extent. Little kids can come up with their dreams and interests for you to cover, while teenagers can even give you a hand with booking and searching for interesting tours.
6. Care about Safety
Security on the trip is one of the primary concerns for you. Educate your kids on proper behavior in new places and around strangers. Label your luggage and belongings. Instruct your children on what to do in case they get lost. Make a copy of the docs for the case of loss or stealing. And if there is any threat to you or your kids’ security, don’t hesitate to ask local authorities for help.
7. Unite with Friends or Relatives
Traveling with kids will be interesting and help you strengthen your relationships. But it will be even more appealing for your children if parents with kids of a similar age accompany you. It will be both easier for you to handle your kids and the journey in general when you have other adults to help you out and little friends to play with your kids.
8. Arrange Versatile Activities
If you want your travel to be unforgettable and fascinating for you and your children, you should care that you have different activities planned. Get to know what interests and preferences your kids have for the activities to suit them. Consider age-appropriate factors. And interchange activities which involve your kids spending time with you and on their own so that you don’t get bored of each other.
9. Keep Divorce Away from Vacation Time
If you need to get permission to travel with a child from your ex, you should certainly be nice to them. But it doesn’t mean that you have the right to blackmouth your former partner behind their back. Moreover, don’t even dare to complain about your ex and discuss your relationship failures in front of your kids. Neither they nor you need this unless you want to spoil your vacations.
10. Enjoy Your Travel
Overall, your main task is to enjoy the trip with your children. Concentrate on positive happenings and emotions. And your kids will feel the same way. You all are worth quality vacations together.
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