Age gaps and holidays

[newtolineofduty]

Hi everyone! I was just wondering how people manage day to day family life and holidays with larger age gaps between siblings. So, if you went on holiday and there were activities suitable for/geared towards the youngest but not the oldest, how do you manage it? Split as parents for the day etc? And days out on a weekend-if there's some stuff the older ones can do but the smaller ones can't do it etc-does one parent stay home with the little one/do something else whilst the other does the activity with the older ones? Really interested in others experiences! Thank you x

We have almost 8 year gap. It’s a mix. Cinema - used to split films, one parent in with each DS, try to get similar start or finish times. Swimming and walking - all together. Go Ape etc , older DS with DH doing it, me and DS2 playing on nearby play equipment or pushing DS in buggy nearby for sleep when younger. Alton Towers - me in CBeebies bit with DS2 in Years gone by. Now all together. Disney - split up to do different sections/ rides for some of it, all together for others. Take the necessary kit with you. Took old buggy to Disneyland Paris, pushed it round all day as storage , then DS2 when aged 4 could more or less still get in it with the back flat down and fall asleep in pyjamas so rest of us could stay for fireworks. Other days I took him back to accommodation earlier and DH and DS1 stayed on. You work it out - it’s not how I thought family life would be but we’ve made it work.

Thanks so much @Maray1967 x it upsets my partner that we can't ALL do everything together (he feels guilty as eldest two are not with us all the time), but I said that other families have these dilemmas too and figure them out! Xx

You’re welcome. It gets easier when they’re older in some respects. We used to have family film night with DS1 when DS2 was in bed. Now we all watch together. We managed a skiing holiday as well when DS1 was 14 and DS2 was 6. DS1 in with other teens and picked it up quickly and loved it. DH off skiing. Me hanging around nursery slope area with DS2 with DH swapping a couple of times in the week which was enough for me.

My DSD is 9 years older DD and 12 years older DS so these days it’s hard to find things for all to enjoy; we do a mixture of things for the younger ones and take DSD out to do stuff for her often just her as things like shopping would not be enjoyable with two under 5s. We try to make up for it in the evening too when the younger ones are in bed by having film nights

Thank you @Hsjdb7483939 x you are right it's so hard pleasing everyone! I've accepted that it's impossible but my partner struggles x

Yes, I’d agree. There has to be some give and take during the day, although some treats surely most would enjoy eg zoo (my niece has just been with us to the zoo and she is a student) . Later on, put kids to bed and have film night, quiz/game night etc with the older ones. Younger one(s) firmly put back to bed if they get up and try to gate crash ...