Prior to using this Quick Discussion Guide, you and your child may want to do any or all of the following activities on "It's My Life":
- Read the "Family Vacations" article.
- Work together to come up with a "You Said It" submission for this topic.
- Print out the IML Journal page "Family Vacations.” Complete it together or encourage your child to complete it on his/her own.
- Print out the list of "Cool Travel DVD's and CD's", a list of vacation-themed and sing-a-long movies on DVD, as well as classic adventure-themed books on CD.
- Print out the list of "Car Games" which describes some easy, gear-free car games for your family to play in the car.
Discussion Questions:
- What did you like about our last vacation? What didn’t you like?
- Do you want to be included in the plans for our next trip?
- What can we do to make traveling more fun and less stressful?
- What kinds of places would you like to visit?
- What kinds of activities would you like to do?
- Do you prefer vacations that a relaxing and quiet, or ones that are exciting and fast-paced?
- Would you like to set up a vacation allowance so you can do all of your souvenir shopping yourself?
- Can we set up some rules of behavior that will help prevent bad moods and fights?
Remember:
--Both kids and adults may have very high expectations for their vacation. Try to keep these expectations reasonable so that they don’t lead to big disappointments.
--Allowing kids a say in some of the decisions will help them feel like it is truly a family vacation, rather than something completely controlled by adults.
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