As families prepare for the end of the school year, they are also preparing for summer family travel. To help make it smoother for families planning for trips, I'm sharing these techniques by Debbie Ausburn, author of Raising Other People's Children.

Follow Their Interests (But Stretch Their Boundaries)

Of course, you have to pick activities suitable for your kids’ ages and interests. At the same time, children typically don’t have enough life experience to know when they are missing out.

One brilliant technique that I learned from a friend is to give each child responsibility for planning one or more days of the trip. Parents have veto power in regard to safety issues, but no one can complain about anyone else’s choices for the day.

Tap Into the Power of the Pack

We always encourage our older kids to bring friends along. We did not have nearly as much responsibility for entertaining everyone because the friends tended to take over that job. As our kids grew older, we could send them out to the beach or on hiking trails (in groups) and stay inside relaxing.

Of course, you need to watch for differing group dynamics. Like all of these suggestions, adapt the principle to fit your particular situation.

Send Kids On Their Own Vacation

Summer is traditionally a time for kids to go to camp, and that tradition is strong for very good reasons. Camps are an excellent time for kids to learn new skills, test their independence, and make new friends. Find a camp that you can trust that’s within your budget and send all of the kids off. It will be a good opportunity for them to learn to get along without you there to referee, and common experiences create strong bonds.

Opt for Homes/Condos Over Hotels

We always rented homes instead of hotels whenever we could. That layout allowed the children (and us!) to have some privacy in their own rooms. At the same, it did not separate the family in the way that multiple hotel rooms might.

Plan Ahead for Approval

If you are raising someone else’s child, then there is always someone else who has to sign off on your plans. Extended trips with foster kids usually require permission from their case worker. Stepchildren under 14 cannot get a passport without both parents’ signature, and many court orders require both biological parents to agree to out-of-state travel. Get these details pinned down early, before anyone gets their hopes up.

Cheap Can Also Be Entertaining

Not every vacation has to involve Disney World. Some of my strongest childhood memories are roadside picnics. The food was our usual fare, but changing its location to a concrete table in a park was magical. A “staycation” with day trips to nearby public parks or national recreation areas can be just as entertaining for your children as an expensive getaway. You probably have several free parks or reasonably-priced attractions nearby that you haven’t taken the time to visit. Once you start looking, you likely will be surprised at what you can see in a day trip.

Plan Some Down Time

Our final suggestion may be the most important—don’t commit all of your time. Leave plenty of time for rest or spur-of-the-moment visits. Leave plenty of time for afternoon naps or unstructured time.

There are plenty of other techniques that can work for your family; these are simply ones that we've turned to most often. Just remember that the point of a family vacation is for the entire family, including you, to have a break, and for the family to build stronger relationships.

About the Author

Debbie Ausburn is a social worker, foster parent, criminal prosecutor, and civil trial attorney. She blogs about parenting issues at www.otherpeopleschildren.org

Raising Other People's Children ($15.00 paperback)
Written by Debbie Ausburn
Foreword by Natalie Ford, PhD
Published by Hatherleigh Press.
Distributed through Penguin Random House.

To learn more, visit - www.hatherleighpress.com