Kids Will Be Kids, Even On Holiday!
Unless you haven’t been following me for very long, you’ll know that we have just had the holiday of a lifetime in Florida (I may have mentioned it once or twice!) I’ve been on Instagram sharing my brilliant photos, I’ve popped some albums up on my personal Facebook page and I’ve even written a few blogs in the couple of weeks since coming home but there was something that wasn’t documented, there were things I didn’t want to take photos of and there were memories I am going to block out forever. Yes, my kids still acted like kids!
I know, right?!
I mean we took them all the way to frickin’ Florida, we showed them amazing beaches, took them on boat trips and even spent a week at Disney World and guess what? They still managed to squeeze in tantrums, moans, screaming and demands.
Well. I. Never…
Ok, ok, I am messing here (sense the tone), of course they did all these things, why wouldn’t they? No, so I didn’t want to share those moments on social media and no I certainly didn’t want to let on that there were quite a number of meltdowns (daily, they were daily…sigh)
It didn’t ruin the holiday, it was just, er, slightly testing at times but then that’s just life– life with kids. And you guys got that too! Because when I did put a little statement about this on my stories, I was inundated with messages.
Your kids also throw themselves on the floor, they too scream bloody murder until you feed them, they also don’t go to sleep on holiday because the routine has gone out the window and they have no fooking clue what the time is and they have also said to you ‘this is boring’ at the most inappropriate time (yes, I am looking at you Jake in the middle of Magic Kingdom!)
At the time it stings. In that moment it winds you up and you have to walk away before you ring their necks but it is reality as a parent and with social media ‘perfection’ happening far too much, we feel as though we shouldn’t have children who strop on holiday, we think they should enjoy every damn minute because we’ve taken them away and we certainly shy away from saying ‘today I lost my shit’. But when I told you all that I got angry and stormed off, you sympathised, you shared your moments, you congratulated me for saying it as it is which is exactly why I needed to put it down into a blog post.
Just one photo Jake, I just want one photo with you and your brother!
Kids are kids no matter where in the world you are. They can’t help it. Their little minds cannot cope with the changes, with the new sights, the lack of sleep, the extra walking, the heat, it’s all overwhelming and they can’t just grab a cuppa or glass of wine to feel better. Nope, they throw their whole body down on the floor and kick and scream it all out. And do you know what? I bet it feels pretty damn good afterwards!
Just keep smiling!
There is soooo much pressure to be the perfect parent and I must admit that this is something I battled with a lot after I had Jake. I have relaxed far more since having William but every now and then that Insta picture will hit me and I’ll think ‘oh I need to do better’. BUT NO! That is just a snapshot and behind that camera, the story is just as real as yours and mine.
One child has probably just thrown sand in their sibling’s eyes. Their child has also had a meltdown over breakfast because they were given a blue cup and not a red one. Their children will also get more wound up the hungrier they become and they’ll also have kids bouncing off the walls when they are overtired. It’s unavoidable, we just don’t divulge those parts quite so much, do we?
One overwhelmed Jake and one tired William
So, yes, we took our children all the way to Disney World and they still had their moments, but guess what? We got through it. We had a great time in spite of those meltdowns and it won’t stop us ever doing it all again just next time I think I will get pictures just so I can show them when they’re 18!!
Pin for later:
If you enjoyed this post you can follow more of our life, opinions and antics over on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram. Plus feel free to come and join in with my parenting group ‘From One Parent to Another’ on Facebook.
If you’d like to contact me you can either leave me a comment or drop me a line via my contact me page.
For other topics similar to this one check out these suggestions below…