According to a new survey we now put our kids first on holidays.
Sponsored by Sea-Band® travel bands, the survey of over 7,000 mums, shows that over 70% of mums value family time on holidays above all the challenges that family holidays inevitably bring. In general, mums feel that the planning and organising of a holiday, cost, stress and the unpredictability of today’s travel are all outweighed by the bonus 'family time'.
Once on holiday, other factors made the experience haphazard and challenging: children misbehaving ranked highest (82%), followed by illness (47%), with tummy-related problems (47%), colds (45%) and travel sickness (34%) among the top health problems likely to spoil carefully-planned activities.
On the subject of which parenting strategy worked best, mums were split along two schools of thought. Half of all mums think that the precise planning and organizing of every detail is paramount, whereas for the others chilling and going with the flow is the way forward.
Holidays are most definitely for the whole family to enjoy, not just the kids OR just the mums and dads. So that means getting the balance right. Choosing a holiday that suits the whole family! The deserted Caribbean beach may have been perfect for your honeymoon but it's far from ideal when it comes to little babies and teenagers. Babies burn and teenagers ger bored!
The survey also revealed that many mums and dads like to take grandparents on holidays so that they can get a bit of 'us-time'.
Important Things To Take On Holidays
 Bring along your sense of humour
Plan for travel sickness, carry carrier bags and wet wipes with you and always pack travel sickness wrist bands (Sea-Band®)
Divide and conquer, use strategic seating to keep the kids apart
Travel at night, or plan travel around their sleep time
Pack a few surprise treats
Get the kids to pack their own rucksack with things they like, and keep their stuff separate from adults for ease of access!
Bribery always works
And finally, don't worry about fellow passengers who “tut, tut” while you are in the middle of a crisis. You're on holiday, they're over-excited - don't stress!!
May 2008
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ABOUT SEA-BANDS.
Sea-Band® is the travel sickness remedy choice of one-third of the people who responded to the survey. These acupressure wristbands are drug-free, don't cause drowsiness or interfere with other medications, and are suitable for everyone 3 and up. Nausea is reduced within five minutes of putting the Sea-Band® wristbands on and they may be used before or after the onset of nausea.
Borrowing from the ancient Chinese principle of acupuncture, Sea-Band® works by exerting a constant, gentle pressure on a point on the inner wrist called the Pericardium 6 (P6) acupressure point, long known to relieve feelings of nausea.
Acupuncture is one of the oldest, most commonly used medical procedures in the world. When acupuncture points are stimulated, the nervous system releases chemicals into the muscles, spinal cord and brain. These chemicals either change the experience of pain or trigger the release of other chemicals and hormones that influence the body’s internal regulating system. The biochemical changes may stimulate the body’s natural healing abilities and promote physical and emotional well being. Clinical trials have shown that acupressure is also effective in other conditions that induce nausea such as morning sickness or chemotherapy.
The Sea-Band® “Travellers’ Tales” survey was conducted in January 2008.
Editor's note: As a matter of interest, my 18 year old daughter Helena has been using acupressure wristbands since she was a toddler. She swears by them!
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