This post is brought to you by SoulPancake. All opinions are our own.
We talk a lot about family vacations on OurFamilyWorld. Where to go, what to see, how to have cheap family vacations that don’t feel cheap. They all have one very important thing in common, though: the word “family.” While family can be many different things: from a single mom and her son (like me!) to a huge blended family with six kids on each side, it’s always about love and a unique bond. Vacations are a time to celebrate that love and renew that bond! So what do your kids really want when it comes to summer vacation? YOU! At least that’s what Kid President discovered!
Kid Presidents Finds Out What Kids Want Out of Summer Vacation
Kid President, the uber-cute and incredibly well-spoken self-appointed representative of kids everywhere, took to the YouTube Airwaves in a video that debuted on the Today Show and was hosted on SoulPancake to tell parents what kids really want out of summer vacation. Take a look, it’s really enlightening!
What did we learn? Our kids want US for summer vacation! Our time, our attention. I admit, as a single mom, I have a hard time giving my son undivided attention because I’m always working to support us. When I take a day off to do something with him, it’s important to make sure I’m THERE with him. Taking your child to an amusement park isn’t the same thing as riding the rides with them. Going to the pool and sitting in a chair all day reading isn’t the same as actually swimming with them.
If a long getaway together isn’t in the budget or the work schedule, you can still spend time with your kids this summer. Try one of these:
- Turn off the phone and get out the board games. Spend a few hours playing all your child’s favorites. Get on the floor and really BE there while you play. Don’t make lists in your head or think about what you’re going to do after.
- Watch a movie together. On the same couch, snuggling, sharing snacks. Let your child talk to you about the characters and plot without shushing him. There’s a big difference between watching a movie in the same room and actually watching it together.
- Have a water fight! My son and I love cooling down with water blasters during the summer. It’s 20 minutes of togetherness before I have to go back to work, but it’s undivided attention.
- Take a moonlight stroll. It’s too hot during the day to walk around the block, so go when it cools down at night. Talk about how different things look in the moonlight.
If you do take an extended family vacation, make it a WHOLE-Vacation by spending time WITH your kids, not just scheduling things for them to do without you. As Kid President says, ordering room service is nice and all, but it’s not what kids really want out of summer vacation. They want YOU, down in the sand building sand castles with them, swimming in the ocean and making real memories. Those memories will mean as much to you as they do to your kids as you watch your children grow up.
Want to hear more from Kid President? Check out all his great videos on SoulPancake or visit the Kid President website.
How do you spend quality time with your kids during summer vacation? Tell us in the comments!
My son does love a good water gun fight! We also try to play board games more often too.
We’re lucky enough to live near the largest freshwater bodies of water in the world, plus countless other crystal clear lakes, so summers to us mean lots of time in the water.
Time with family is so important whether you’re at home or you’re out of the house on vacation. Great ideas in this post!
Water! It has been so hot, that is all my kids want. Swimming, water fights, etc. :)
I just love Kid President. He’s such a positive energy. I also love this list. My kids loves the outdoors. They would choose it over hanging inside watching television any day.
I make sure to get the kids input when we plan our summer vacations. We always have a ton of fun. Water parks are a popular summer activity for our family.
I absolutely love this! And it’s soooo true. They just want our attention. I really love watching movies and playing games with my son.
We love the water fight idea. We’ve had a couple already this summer and my kids think its such a hoot. They love doing anything as long as we’re all together!
Spending family time together is so important!! My daughter is still
Little so we are taking advantage that she still wants to chill with mom and dad! That won’t last forever unfortunately
OH yes! I was amazed to find out that my kids didnt care where we went this year as long as we were all together :)
I totally agree. Our son wants time with us more than anything. He always enjoys playing monopoly as well as watching movies with us.
We were supposed to go to the beach this year but a kennel cancellation also cancelled our trip. We are just hitting some road trips instead.
We haven’t been on very many trips since my youngest was born and I hot laid off because of my back. I don’t want my kids to expect big expensive vacations but I do want them to have the memories. My parents took us camping just about every summer. I wish I did this with my kids but I was never well off money wise, I was a young mom and now my back prevents a ton of stuff.
I think kids just want quality time with their parents.
In this modern generation, kids are so lucky to have access to all sorts of entertainment with the help of technological advancements. It’s great to capture their picture to make them remember good memories while in vacation.
I absolutely adore Kid President! I am a teacher and often show his videos to my students…they love him too! He has great messages!
I don’t have kids but I learned a few summers ago from my oldest niece that it’s not about going tons of places and spending tons of money. She just wanted to spend time with me. So sweet!!
My kids always were more fond of the relaxation time then the scheduled events. Board games were always a great idea.
I love Kid President! I agree with him! Kids want nothing more then spending quality, unplugged fun with their parents! The location doesn’t matter! Being together does!
I love Kid President! This past Father’s Day we played his Father’s Day video at church and everyone loved it. Vacations are all about family. We just got back from our main summer vacation and had a blast with the grandkids.
I 100% agree spending quality time means more to a child on vacation than anything else. Those memories will last a lifetime.
Sadly, we were not able to go on summer vacation, so we stayed in. We try to turn off and connect as often as possible.
We just got back from vacation and we did most of these! We played board games and went swimming and just hung out. A very nice relaxing time.
I love Kid President!! Cute!! Yes what kid doesnt want a summer water fight??!
Well we always like to spend lazy beach days without any structured activities and we also love to play board games. Great post.
I really couldn’t agree more with this. When I was little, I loved going on family vacation because I loved getting to spend that time with my family.
We try to plan one big trip in the summer, but the years when we weren’t able to, the kids seemed fine with just hanging out with the fame and chillaxing.
I’ve found that my kids don’t need a big fancy vacation to have a fun time. They just want to hang out with us.
Yes! Kids really want to spend time with you during summer vacation! School takes up too much precious time. Watch a movie and cuddle! Time passes too quickly.
Totally agree with the assessment – really kids just want time with you! When we take our yearly vacation, we really try to unplug but this makes me want to do an even better job at it.
My kids are going to summer camps. We’ll have 2 weeks vacation next August and still thinking where to go
What great ideas you have highlighted today! I think all children of all ages just want to play! Spending quality times together as a family is what’s most priceless! The memories made last a lifetime!
We were at a play date yesterday with water balloons and the kids has SO much fun. I am going to need to make up some water balloons for us to play at home too!
I can’t agree with this more. The kids do like doing fun things, but the just want to be together and enjoy family time!
My son goes nuts for water fights and bubble time outside. I have been wanting to bust out some board games and give those a try.
I couldn’t agree more. It is so good to spend time together as a family. We have been be focusing on doing this and the results have been so worth it.
What a great idea! I think sometimes people make too much fuss about vacations. My family tends to take day trips or celebrate with special treats at home!