3 Tips for Taking Family Vacations When You’re Divorced

While you may have gotten divorced, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you will never have to see your ex-spouse again if you have children together. Unless your former spouse got their parental rights taken away for some reason, your children will likely still be spending time with your ex, which means you’ll have to see each other on occasion. And while this can be very challenging for some, there are a few parents that still choose to be very involved as co-parents, even going so far as to take family vacations together. If this sounds like something that might interest you and your ex, here are three tips that might help you when taking a family vacation after you’ve gotten divorced.

It’s All About The Kids

When planning a family vacation for your children with your ex, it’s important that you keep focusing on the right things: your kids. According to Kathryn Dickerson and Alan Plevy, contributors to the Huffington Post, the thing you and your ex should be most concerned with is making sure that your kids have a great time on the vacation. This means that you’re going to have to put your difference aside and just make the time you spend as a family all about the kids. By focusing on them, it can help you to overlook some things about your former spouse that may have irked you before.

Make Peace A Priority

Traveling can be hard for an group of people, even ones who all love each other unconditionally. But add into the equation a couple that used to be married and you could be creating a recipe for disaster. Knowing this, Sally Black, a contributor to VacationKids.com, recommends that you make peace your ultimate priority while on your trip. Even if this means biting your tongue about certain things, it will be worth it to do this to help keep the peace on your trip. If you do end up having to speak to your ex about something that’s bothering you, make sure you have this conversation well away from your kids so as to not make your problems their problems and take away from their experience on this family vacation.

Keep Your Intentions Clear

Especially if your kids are young, it may be confusing for them if you and their mother or father choose to take a vacation all together as a family. They may think that you two are rekindling your relationship. So to ensure you don’t give your child any false hope, Karen Schwartz, a contributor to the Seattle Times, recommends that you make your intentions very clear by explaining to your kids that you both just wanted to be with them on this trip, not necessarily with each other. This will help them to better logically understand the situation they find themselves in.

Allowing your kids to spend time with both of their parents can be a great things for their development. So if you’re thinking about taking a trip as a whole family after your divorce, consider using the tips mentioned above to help make this experience a great one.