One on One Family Vacations

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

I just read a very interesting article about a topic that I didn't even know existed. It was about one on one family vacations wherein a married couple with two or more children would take separate, individual vacations with one child each. For example, lets say that you have a husband and wife who have both a son and a daughter. The mother would go on vacation with either the son or daughter and the husband would do the same with the other, and vice versa. It is meant to be a way to "get to know them better" without dealing with the hassles that can come with more traditional family vacations, such as who gets the window seat.

When we were raising our two kids I don't think my ex and I had ever considered doing something like this, or if it was even an "option", but in hindsight it may have been the ideal way to get to know each of them. I think the closest we came was when they were both playing hockey and one had a game in Canada and the other was in Vermont. Normally I would have gone with our daughter and my ex with our son but there were times when we would either switch, carpool with another family or let them ride with others and take the weekend off.

 

[Gear]

Id go with my wife and leave the kids at home. I wouldn't give up vacation sex to "get to know" my kids more. Sounds like something couples who don't really love each other would do. Kind of sad.

 

[BakerMayfield2018]

Id go with my wife and leave the kids at home. I wouldn't give up vacation sex to "get to know" my kids more. Sounds like something couples who don't really love each other would do. Kind of sad.

Your priorities are out of whack boss. Disagree 1000 percent.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Id go with my wife and leave the kids at home. I wouldn't give up vacation sex to "get to know" my kids more. Sounds like something couples who don't really love each other would do. Kind of sad.

I see someone totally missed the point.

Anyone else?

 

[over9five]

Seems a little strange to me to go on vacation without your spouse.
I have done exactly that with my son, but it was because my wife was away anyhow. Wouldn't be my first choice..

My wife and I have often vacationed with just one kid...

Just seems strange to me. Maybe I've been married too long, why would I want to go on vacation without her?

 

[over9five]

I see someone totally missed the point.

Anyone else?

Maybe... Do you mean the "getting to know them better"?

But I already know them!

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Seems a little strange to me to go on vacation without your spouse.
I have done exactly that with my son, but it was because my wife was away anyhow. Wouldn't be my first choice..

My wife and I have often vacationed with just one kid...

Just seems strange to me. Maybe I've been married too long, why would I want to go on vacation without her?

...and that was my first thought when I read the article...perhaps a combination of a family, one on one and spouses only vacations...

As I said, this is something that never even entered our minds when the kids were growing up.

 

[oldngray]

I could see a father/son or mother/daughter trip. Nothing wrong with just the two of them spending time together without the rest of the family.

 

[Gear]

I have 3 kids. My son is 13 years old, 2 daughters 7 and 11 years old. If one of my daughters speaks to me, the other immediately speaks to me when the other is finished. There is no way I could take just one of my girls on vacation. The other would be so upset. My son probably wouldn't care but that's mainly because of his age. If he was 10, he would care.

Family vacations and couple only vacations have worked for generations. I have no intention on trying some "new age" way of raising my kids.

 

[rod]

My wife and I go on separated trips all the time. Right now she is in Texas and I just got back from a great 3 day dirt track race. I don't go on her quilting trips either and she don't go on fishing trips with me. We take plenty of trips together. It's not necessary to spend EVERY FRIKING moment with your spouse----------and wear matching outfits.

 

[brownmonster]

My son and I took a couple of trips together and my wife and daughters took a couple of trips. We had fun, they had fun.

 

[bottomups]

My daughter moved to Denver last year upon graduation. I have flown out there numerous times since the move to spend one on one time with her. We haved climbed many 14er's and wilderness backpacked/camped for days on end. My spouse is not physically capable to participate in these kind of activities so it was not necessarily a matter of choice. Bonding time has been priceless and would not trade it for anything.
My son is still a year from graduation, but the two of us will spend long weekends fishing and/or camping in Northern Wisconsin together.
It is different when I spend time alone with each of my kids. They don't have the distraction of interaction with each other or have their faces buried in their cellphones.
We will still vacation together as a whole family for our annual trip to Kauai every January but have found these one on ones can be more rewarding.

 

[TearsInRain]

once they're teenagers i imagine that would be torture for everyone involved

wife would murder me first though she wouldn't know what to do with herself

 

[Gear]

My wife and I go on separated trips all the time. Right now she is in Texas and I just got back from a great 3 day dirt track race. I don't go on her quilting trips either and she don't go on fishing trips with me. We take plenty of trips together. It's not necessary to spend EVERY FRIKING moment with your spouse----------and wear matching outfits.

Old people dont count.

 

[Gear]

Are you guys talking about real kids or adult children? Taking your 7 year old daughter on vacation and not your 11 year old daughter is completely different then if one was 19 and the other 23.

 

[MyTripisCut]

Never considered this for vacations, but having boy/girl twins, my wife and I make an effort to spend one on one time with each of them. Being twins, they seem to get lumped together as "one" entity, so we do our best to give them individual time away from each other, with a parent.

 

[BSWALKS]

We always took traditional family vacations when the kids were young. I was always too impatient for one on one.

Looking back, I know we all missed out on some great memories, and bonding, but it was for the better.

 

[542thruNthru]

Depends on what you mean by vacation. I have 2 boys. The oldest likes fishing and hunting. So we will go on 3 day hunting and fishing trips together. My youngest loves baseball and my oldest thinks it's boring. So me and my youngest will take a trip to a out of town stadium to watch our favorite team together. Usually a 2 or 3 day thing as well.

Now if you mean a week long vacation. No we never do that.

 

[FrigidFTSup]

My parents did this growing up. It was actually pretty fun and a good bonding experience. It was always cool because there were certain things that you enjoyed but say one parent didn't.

I went to Washington, D.C. and Amsterdam with my stepdad and went to a crazy amount of museums. Which my mom and dad both hate doing.

Went to San Francisco and Los Angeles with my mom and did a lot of artsy stuff.

Miami, Chicago, and Seattle with my dad. He likes to explore cities, which I enjoy doing as well. Sometimes running around with no plan is just fun.

My brother on the other hand did more outdoorsy and sports stuff. My stepdad and he did like 5 MLB parks in 5 days. Golfing in South Carolina. He and my mom went to Florida and San Diego for beaches. Then my dad and he did another golf tour in Wisconsin.

I honestly think thats why I do so many trips with my wife. It's just fun to get away and see some new places with one other person.

 

[FrigidFTSup]

Just seems strange to me. Maybe I've been married too long, why would I want to go on vacation without her?

When my parents did it, they always matched it with a business trip.

So they for some reason had to be there for a few hours say Monday morning. We'd fly out on Saturday, do something Sunday, then they'd have their meeting or customer visit Monday morning, and the rest of the week they were off.

It also meant they didn't have to pay for their own ticket.