5 Things To Remember When Traveling Alone with Your Child

I work in the travel business by day. Studying and marketing the world’s most unique and luxurious locations makes my heart beat fast. Because of that, working in a vacation with my family is high on the priority list for me each year. Like everyone else, we are bound by our budget and by the amount of time off allowed by our jobs.

My daughter is a dancer and had the opportunity to take class and compete in New York this summer. When we first learned about this opportunity, we were excited to make it a family affair. Although my husband and I have been to the city many times, neither my daughter nor my son had. As we got deeper into planning and putting pencil to paper, a 9-day trip to New York just wasn’t going to work in our budget. My husband and I made the decision that I would take Piper, our daughter, on my own. 

Piper is a great traveler and was super excited to see New York. So, like any good mom, I started a Pinterest board about New York and began to make a list of what we must-see and must-do since our time was going to be limited due to the dance class and competition restraints. By the time the trip rolled around, we were ready, prepared, and excited.

Here are 5 things to remember when traveling alone with your child…

  1. Just Do It. Go alone with just one of your kids. The quality time is off the charts. There were many occasions that we could have met up with other families, but we chose to stay with just each other. We talked and laughed; we made a thousand memories. Reflecting on this time, I look back and see that as my kids are getting older it is so important to have alone time with them. I don’t even think it has to be a big vacation. It could be as much as a weekend staycation downtown. I’m already thinking about how this can happen for my son and me.
  2. Build in Extra Time. By building extra time into your schedule each day, you aren’t under as much pressure to run from one thing to the next. Piper and I were able to go at our own pace through every spot on our list. It was so nice and relaxing. We weren’t nearly as tired at the end of each day and could stop to take photos {or eat a snack} at a leisurely rate. 
  3. Pick a Splurge. Set aside a small bit of money and make a memory. In New York, Piper and I went to see Wicked on Broadway for our splurge. She aspires to be a star, so I thought that would be a great show for her. Watching her eyes as she took in her first Broadway performance was one of my top highlights of the trip.
  4. Let Them Lead. I usually tend to take the reigns when it’s just the kids and me. For this trip, I bought all sorts of apps to help us navigate the subway and the pedestrian routes, but I didn’t need any of them! Piper had it down pat in less than a day. Letting her have the freedom to guide us showed me a side of her that I’d never seen. By the end of Day 2, I had her making the schedules and picking subway lines. It was great; she was able to enjoy being in charge … and I was able to enjoy not being in charge! Ha!
  5. Capture the Moments. Take photos – lots of them. Get in the photos, too. I came home with hundreds of photos of places and of Piper, but less then 10 that we are both in the shot! Ask people to take a photo of you together, or better yet – buy a selfie stick. {I’ll be doing this next time!} Piper has a vlog, so we ended up with some great videos which I appreciate because they are shot from her perspective. Document it all. These kids are growing up so quickly; do all you can to preserve these memories that you are making together.

Have you ever taken a vacation with just one of your kids? Share any additional tips that you have in the comments; we would love to hear what you have done!

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Stephanie C
Stephanie loves life and living it to the fullest. She always has something new going on, and it is probably the most random thing you’ve ever imagined! A native of Beaver Dam, KY, Stephanie stays busy with her family. She is wife to her hilarious husband Don and is the mother of two tweens – drummer son Avery and dancer daughter Piper. As a family, they enjoy anything fun-in-the-sun and annual trips to Disney World. She lives the good life in the suburbs of Houston and works full-time in the travel industry. A complete social media fanatic, Stephanie is always up on the latest technology. She is a living “Six Degrees of Separation” and seems to have some sort of obscure tie to most anyone you might ask about! Stephanie has been blogging since 2004 at StephanieClick.com. You can also find her @stephanieclick on Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook.

2 COMMENTS

  1. My daughter and I had our first Mother/daughter trip this past summer to Boston and New York. We absolutely loved it and had such a good time together. We made a pact that we would try to continue this from now and make it a tradition.

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