Between the bickering, whining and meltdowns that always seem to happen, traveling with kids can be stressful. Even when everything starts off going right, a new survey finds that a third of parents say it takes their family less than an hour before the peace is broken when they’re traveling as a family. And that’s true no matter whether they’re on a road trip, a plane or any other mode of transportation.
According to the poll of 2-thousand moms and dads with kids ages 12 and under:
- To calm the chaos of traveling parents go all in on creativity, some admit to bribing kids with candy (30%), buying them a toy mid-trip (28%), making up songs (19%) or stories (16%).
- In an effort to keep the kiddos happy during the journey, 26% of parents admit to giving them unlimited screen time.
- But some still try to get their youngsters to unplug, including 70% who say having non-screen entertainment is important while traveling.
- Nearly two-thirds (62%) of parents have used an audio player during a trip and 43% use music as a calming tool.
- A lot of parents feel pressure to make their family getaways perfect, as 64% admit they feel like they have to make every moment magical.
- In spite of their efforts, 30% report that their child regularly has meltdowns while traveling.
- This can take a major toll on moms and dads, so much so that 11% have faked a bathroom break just to breathe deeply or cry alone.
- So, it’s not surprising that 71% of parents often feel like they need another vacation to recover from their first one.
- The stress of the typical family trip doesn’t always end as soon as they get home. Parents say it takes an average of two and a half days to recover and fully feel like themselves again.
Source: Talker