(CNN) -- There's the fantasy of family vacations: happy children playing games, contented parents, doting grandparents, smooth roads, short lines, easy-to-schedule bathroom breaks -- and all reasonably priced, sturdily educational and wonderfully fulfilling.
And then, there's the reality.
Those adorable kids? Fighting in the back seat. Mom is weary, dad upset. The car, loaded down with luggage, electronics, junk food, cheap paperbacks and undisposed trash, feels smaller than an '64 Beetle and smells like a rest-stop bathroom. The airport is an endless hassle. And vacations, to be enjoyed by the whole family, turn into maddeningly hellish experiences.
But he suggests four steps that can help:
Have a family conference in which everyone participates in planning where to go and what to do.
Have some sort of rotation on the vacation decision-making. Some of the time the parents decide, some of the time the kids decide (and within that option, there can be some turn-taking among the children).
Cater to the adults for part of the trip, and cater to the children's wishes for another portion of the vacation.
Allow each child to invite a friend along.
Still, there are no guarantees, Bodin says.
Bovenstaande vier stappen hebben we niet doorlopen en de slotconclusie is ook al niet hoopgevend: 'still, there are no guarantees'.
Desalnietemin hopen we op een fijne tijd in nederland......soms moet je 'hopen tegen beter weten in', nietwaar?!
Nog een familie-kiekje, gemaakt door Ewien. Ik laat 'de interpretatie' aan de lezer....
