When families have kids going to multiple schools/districts/colleges, I often hear, “I hope they have the same spring break week!” For most people, I’m sure it’s nice to have all the kids together at the same time enjoying each other’s company at home or on a trip.
But I guess I’m a total weirdo because for this next school year, when my oldest goes off to college, I hope my kids have DIFFERENT spring break weeks. School calendars haven’t yet been released for the next school year, so it’s too early to make plans. But, within the next few weeks, I should know how the calendars will shake out.
I’m crossing my fingers and toes that my kids’ spring breaks don’t line up. Hear me out (and I hope this doesn’t create the same uproar as my McDonald’s post).
Why Different Spring Break Weeks
My oldest son is going out-of-state to college. His plan is to travel home 1-2 times a semester at most. Of course, we plan to visit him once a semester as well.
But when he comes home, he wants to be at home cuddling his dog and seeing his friends that stayed near home for college or are on their own college spring breaks. He’s talked with me about this. And I get it, I do.
So, if his college spring break aligns with my younger kids’ spring break, obviously we won’t go on vacation without him and leave him at home alone all week. BUT…on the other hand, my husband and I firmly agree that our family should not revolve around the oldest kid. We’re both the youngest in our own families, which I guess is why we feel so strongly about it.
Why should we stop traveling for spring break after the first kid goes off to college? How is that fair to the younger kids? Should we wait around at home all day in the hopes that he will spend dinner with us instead of with his friends? And what about summer time…if my son gets an internship? Will we not travel during the summer since he can’t go with us? No!
Two Scenarios
Scenario 1: Spring break weeks align. If this happens, I plan on taking a short 3-4 day trip with my younger kids at the beginning or end of the week. That way, we get a little bit of sunshine and a change of scenery but also get to see big brother for half to the week. A little bit of both worlds. My husband would stay home the entire week.
Scenario 2: Spring break weeks don’t align. In this scenario, my family of 4 (with my younger kids) would travel during most or all of spring break week. We would have more options since we’d have more time. Then, during my oldest son’s spring break week, we would all be around in the evenings to have family time (when he’s not out with friends–ha ha!). This scenario is a win-win for all of us.
Final Thoughts
I do hope that my family of five can all travel together at least once a year after my kids fly the coop. But, I know it might not work out that way. My oldest will soon have opportunities of his own (like study abroad, for example) that the rest of us won’t be doing. And that’s ok.
It’s tricky navigating these types of scenarios with older kids, and there isn’t one right answer for everyone. For families with college kids, how have you handled spring break?
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