How to make stress free holiday happens, make long trip to other city or camp in someplace with your kids without stress. Matt Health give Five Tips for Stress Free Holiday Parenting.
Five tips for stress free holiday parenting
Packing your kids up and transporting them to different cities or countries is expensive and admin heavy. Plus you can't nip back to work if you're needed. That's why smart parents holiday close to home.
1. Fake your holidays
Day one I yelled down the hall, "good news boys, we're vacationing at the Northern Beaches". Ten minutes later we arrived at a mate's house on the North Shore. My boys didn't know any better. We could have been on the Goldie for all they knew.
Cheap and easy. Win win.
2. Pick your fights
We all want to bring our kids up right. These days that mainly involves fighting over digital devices. In the ideal world they'd be out building tree huts or fishing with a piece of string. Sadly real activities are a hard sell in 2017.
So just give them your phone when they ask for it. It saves arguments. There might even be hut building and fishing apps on there. The trick is to hide the charger in the backyard so they eventually have to do something else. Even if it's just an incredibly challenging charger hunt.
3. Find time to relax
Experts agree a quiet drink is the best way to deal with parental stress. But sitting around home refreshing all day is a bad look. You can end up losing the very brownie points you're trying to earn by having the kids. So clever parents find a bar with a view of a park, beach or playground.
Franc's, Main Beach Takapuna, is a great spot. You can watch your beloved children run around, in the fresh air for hours. While you get a few healthy relaxers in with your mates. Win win.
4. Sleepovers
Sensible Kiwis dump their kids on other parents. The children have a great time with their friends and you get a cost-free break. There are 16 nights in a two-week holiday. Unload eight of those on other people.
Sure you'll have to reciprocate and take extra children here and there. But it's worth it. Especially if you apply tips one to three on your guests.
5. Cat euthanasia
Dad's need to lead by example in tough situations. My boys and I came across a big ginger cat lying in the middle of the road last week. It's right eye mostly out of its socket. Someone's beloved pet bleeding and breathing heavily.
I needed to act quickly. Instead I stood over the poor thing scratching my head for five minutes. Soon a couple of other dudes joined me and we did the same.
My boys are yelling "Help him Dad, help him!" So we decided to put it out of its misery with a spade. Terrible idea. Horribly violent. Something my kids wish they hadn't seen. Potentially their Silence of the Lambs moment. Horrific nightmares followed. Plus it didn't work. Cats are tough.
Luckily a solution presented itself. One of the guys rang the SPCA. They said "take the poor thing to the vet". Great plan. The nice lady there put him down in a jiffy. Should have done that first up.
Articles by Matt Heath (Radio host on Radio Hauraki and Herald columnist) - source
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