POLL: For those of you who have adult children (over age 18), do you still regularly schedule family vacations together?

[HitchHiker71]

Our family is currently debating the finer points of coordinating and funding family vacations, and my wife is surmising that most people with adult children no longer take family vacations due to a variety of reasons. She informally polled many of her co-workers and supposedly the consensus was that family vacations with adult children are solidly in the minority, so I figured I would create a poll to ask the audience.

 

[Rolltydr]

Our family is currently debating the finer points of coordinating and funding family vacations, and my wife is surmising that most people with adult children no longer take family vacations due to a variety of reasons. She informally polled many of her co-workers and supposedly the consensus was that family vacations with adult children are solidly in the minority, so I figured I would create a poll to ask the audience.

We have a single adult daughter. She regularly takes vacations with us. In fact, she does most of the planning for trips she takes with us.


Harry

 

[cbyrne1174]

I vacation with my parents, but it's me (at 30) bringing them (at 60). Isn't that how it is the majority of cases? My sister does the same thing. At what point do the children take the parents? I feel like most people who post on here are close to my parents age, but I'm the one with the family and they're the empty nesters.

 

[goaliedave]

18 is an adult in most countries, time to make their own life seperate from their parents. Of course some parents prefer to collect snowflakes.

If your kids live in different cities or countries, ts are good for an annual gettogether. Mostly though it only lasts a short while due to work schedules and grandkids activities. The circle of life.

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[capital city]

I voted yes to once a year but that's because we vacation about 5-7 times a year. If it was only once I would probably not take them (22&18) because they simply don't enjoy or appreciate what we do. We took our first vacation without kids about 8 years ago and as much as i love my kids that felt like our first ever "vacation"

 

[HitchHiker71]

I voted yes to once a year but that's because we vacation about 5-7 times a year. If it was only once I would probably not take them (22&18) because they simply don't enjoy or appreciate what we do. We took our first vacation without kids about 8 years ago and as much as i love my kids that felt like our first ever "vacation"

We are very similar. We take several couples vacations per year, but usually only one family vacation with our adult children ages 25, 22 and 20.


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[asreiter]

Our kids are 29, 21, and 19 and we have 2 grandsons who are 5 and 3. We take several trips a year and only 1 of those is by ourselves. Our children love to travel as much as we do and we enjoy taking trips together. Maybe we're the minority though.

 

[Braindead]

We are blessed by doing it all.
We take several couples vacations a year.
We take at least one vacation a year with both of our kids[ 37&36 ] & grandkids [10, 8, 5 & 18 months]
At least one trip a year with just us & the 2 older grandkids. Plan on including the 2 younger grandkids on future trips. These are oh so special trips!!
Each of our kids take their family trips every year without us also.

 

[Rolltydr]

18 is an adult in most countries, time to make their own life seperate from their parents. Of course some parents prefer to collect snowflakes.


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I lost a son when he was 18. I will go on a trip with my daughter anytime I please. She isn’t a “snowflake”. She’s a daughter who still loves spending time with her parents.


Harry

 

[Cyrus24]

A few years back we started doing a beach week every other year in a large oceanfront house for our 3 married adult 'kids' and the 4 grands. We all live in different locales, so the idea is to get everyone together somewhere on the East coast. It's been moderately successful as work schedules can present problems. We've tried to work with all the schedules in the past but have decided that in '21, we'll pick the week, the location, and just book a house per the family consensus criteria. Book it 9 months in advance, communicate the dates, and then hope that they will adjust schedules and make the vacation work. We pay for it and give lots of notice, so, if you snooze you lose.

 

[jjking42]

Kids 24,23, and 19. We try to vacation together but it’s tough to get all 5 of us together . Sometime it’s just me with one or two kids. I am starting to let the kids use timeshares without me. We want to do a full family vacation once a year if possible. My wife and I go off alone at least once a year.


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[geist1223]

Have kids 39, (Seattle), 35 (Chicago), and 32 (NewPort, RI) Only 1 is currently married. Grandkids 4, 2, and 1. We have vacationed once with 39 year old on Kaua'i when he was married a few years ago. Once with 35 year old when just 2 Grandkids at Yellowstone. 32 year Daughter has never expressed an interest. We also offer each kid one free week by themselves with their family or friends. They two oldest have taken us up on that but have ended up cancelling every time due to scheduling issues. So we have given up and just schedule our travels when and where we want.

 

[Jan M.]

Our family is currently debating the finer points of coordinating and funding family vacations, and my wife is surmising that most people with adult children no longer take family vacations due to a variety of reasons. She informally polled many of her co-workers and supposedly the consensus was that family vacations with adult children are solidly in the minority, so I figured I would create a poll to ask the audience.

I expect that your poll is going to get very different results than your wife's because you are polling timeshare people. The pool of people she is polling is most likely comprised of a large percentage of people who don't have timeshares. For most of us here on TUG our children and grandchildren either did or currently are growing up taking timeshare vacations. Even as our families grow and things keep changing it's still much easier and less expensive too to take family vacations when you have the timeshares.

It was a great idea to add the too much family drama answer. Even with the timeshares sometimes there are family dynamics with a certain family member or their spouse that makes family vacations with them or everyone at once no longer happen. I've heard a lot of people in our age group and older say they like the two bedroom lock off units so they can have their own space even when it's family they have excellent relationships with.

Our son enjoys making me guess what people he knows say they spent on their vacations. Or asking me to come up with the approximate costs to compare with his estimate. We both get a kick out of calculating the approximate cost when someone's parents or grandparents take the whole family on big vacations. Usually it's a larger family group than just the six of us when we all go together. Sometimes the vacations are for a top of the line all inclusive resort with airfare included, staying at a Disney World resort with everything included, a cruise or renting a big house in the Outer Banks in the summer. I usually find myself saying something like "Whoa that's a lot of money! We are so spoiled!" I end up feeling so out of touch with what's normal outside of the timeshare world. Last week he told me that someone at the gym he goes to is staying in the Corolla Light Resort in the Outer Banks this summer with their family group so he looked up the house they are renting. That week is more than our maintenance fees on everything we own for an entire year and we have enough that we could live full time out of the timeshares! Before we bought our first timeshare points we went to the Outer Banks for 10 years sharing a house with two other families. We enjoyed staying in the Corolla Light Resort until the spring season rates no longer included the first week or two of June. He laughed when I told him that I'm glad he has good memories of staying there because $12,000 just for a house for the week isn't happening on my dime!

 

[Eric B]

I answered the poll because we take my parents with us on the occasional vacation. Don’t have my own kids, but they’ve been retired for a few decades and are kind of like “adult children” if you think about it....

Oh, they’re over 18, too.

 

[raygo123]

Too many. This year we have two weeks in pompano Beach with my wife's brother and wife. Then the last week of July we are taking our two daughters husband and four kids to Glacier Canyon for a week. In June my wife's other brother and wife to cape cod. I also booked Destin for spring break and Orlando for both girls and family. Lobster fest varies. Where we go to Newport for three days and bring back to the pocanos a dozen or so and family from Philly Pittsburgh and Columbus meet up. So I guess yes. We were upgraded from a one bedroom to a three bedroom at a 50% discount in National Harbor for cherry blossoms, the irony is nobody else can go. For Quebec City in September I don't know if anyone else Wii go.

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[louisianab]

I'm the child, but every summer we (me, DH and two kids) take my siblings, their families and my mom and stepdad for a 4 day trip.

 

[Tank]

We hope to be able to go places with our kids , as they are creating families on there own. Getting along and dealing with the other half time will tell. We work hard at not causing any waves.

Buying our timeshare forced us to vacation and I'm not sorry we bought. With a young family the cost of a yearly vacation was a challenge.

Now I am in a position to help them vacation and ease the burden. Getting them to plan ahead is another story.

We have always vacationed together before marriage , we hope to be included once in a while.

I know we could not vacation with my mom, or my wife's dad, now gone. Time will tell.
I already set them up on a trip with my sons inlaws. So I know that they are not against extended family adventures.

I think it's important for those that "help" others vacation even if you want to give them the stay to make them pay something non refundable when booking the vacation. This will get the commitment to go on that vacation and make it work. If you think about it , forcing them to make the memories. It doesn't take much.
When someone has no skin in the game it's easy to back out, sticking the other if it's a vacation or tickets to an event.

Dave

 

[goaliedave]

I vacation with my parents, but it's me (at 30) bringing them (at 60). Isn't that how it is the majority of cases? My sister does the same thing. At what point do the children take the parents? I feel like most people who post on here are close to my parents age, but I'm the one with the family and they're the empty nesters.

Exactly , congrats on being a successful adult.

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[VAlegacy]

18 is an adult in most countries, time to make their own life seperate from their parents. Of course some parents prefer to collect snowflakes.

I am confused by this comment. The poll doesn't ask "How many parents still pay for their children's vacations into adulthood". It doesn't even suggest that.
Do you hold a grudge for families that like to vacation together into adulthood?

 

[HitchHiker71]

I am confused by this comment. The poll doesn't ask "How many parents still pay for their children's vacations into adulthood". It doesn't even suggest that.
Do you hold a grudge for families that like to vacation together into adulthood?

I purposefully avoided any reference to money as how people spend their money and for what reasons has almost infinite variations. As easy as it is to say what the commenter said (I’m all for personal responsibility in life), I’m also keenly aware through many friendships with people from other cultures that has taught me that there is no one answer in life - and making blanket value judgments is seldom useful as a result.


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[raygo123]

I am confused by this comment. The poll doesn't ask "How many parents still pay for their children's vacations into adulthood". It doesn't even suggest that.
Do you hold a grudge for families that like to vacation together into adulthood?

I see his point, but if he owned a timeshare for over 30 years It is nice to know you have a nice vacation to look forward to. I never felt forced to go on vacation. He's assuming all owners who go on vacation with their kids are overbearing parents. It is like saying all Democrats are communist.

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[tschwa2]

I have invited my son who will be 19 this summer to vacation with us but expect him to turn us down as he did last year because he only gets one week off in the summer and would rather do his own thing. My other son is 14 so space requirements are the same.

 

[goaliedave]

Lol social media is always entertaining

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[Rolltydr]

Lol social media is always entertaining

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Sorry, I will no longer entertain you or your obtuse statements. You’re ignored.


Harry

 

[TheHolleys87]

When the stars (i.e., their work and school schedules) align, we like to schedule family trips. Sometimes it's with one child (and that child's family) and other times it's with the other one, and once every few years we manage to get them all together for a really big family trip. Last big family trip was January 2014 and the next one is scheduled for this coming Christmas; in between we've had three or four with just one of them.