Family TravelPhases - Sometimes Age Matters on Vacation.  For a successful family vacation the ages and stages of children will matter because some destinations and certainly some activities are age sensitive. What thrills a three-year-old child will not tempt a 10 year old and will most certainly bore a teen.

 
In my family vacation dream world everyone (not just the kids) has fun which can sometimes be tricky. When refining choices for any family vacation or adventure, the age of your children does matter. A year or two may make a huge difference in the lowering the stress, raising the fun factor and maximizing the money spent. One common thread of truth applies to any family vacation irrespective of the age mix - doing less will actually result in more fun.

Merriam-Webster defines vacation as a time of respite from something, a recess, an intermission and directly relates to freedom from something which in any modern day family means school and work. The point of any vacation with kids is to maximize the gift of freedom and to have fun together.  For most parents the perfect family vacation includes more laughter more, more sleep time, and easy paced family time without the stress of money or schedules. Kingsley Pines family camp in Maine and ACE Adventure Resort in southern West Virginia both offer families carefree, uniquely American, family vacations complete with free time, activities,  laughter, and the chance to create memories.  

 
Here is the scoop.  The vacation tips below are organized by the Family TravelPhases. The breakdown includes six distinct family travel groups. Don’t worry about overlaps, in many cases the same points are repeated because phrase less is more fits every group.

 
The TravelPhases I have outlined correlate with research published by child development experts at the Gesell Institute of Human Development. Age group needs are very well defined in an excellent series of books published by the Gesell.  The book series begins with Your One-Year-Old and concludes with Your 10 to 14-Year-Old. 

While the Gesell series does not have family vacation suggestions at the back of each book, the needs of children in a particular development stage are very specific. The chapters are helpful when trying to figure out what to expect next with your kids and useful in planning a successful family vacation. Match your child's development phases with your vacation needs, it's just that easy. 

Family TravelPhases descriptive divisions include: 
New Beginnings – Travel with babies, toddlers and children less than six years of age. 
School Rules – Great family vacations and adventures with children six through 12 years of age. 
What's in It for Me (WIIFM) – Best vacation ideas for families with teens ages 13 through 18.  
Transition Years – Travel destinations and ideas for families with 20-something children. They are adults but still your kids.  
Generation Bond – Family vacations and day adventures for grandparents and grandkids, single parent travel and one-on-one parent child getaways.  
TravelPhase Mix – Best family vacations for three or more generations.

 
Content researched and posted by Nancy Nelson-Duac, Curator of the Good Stuff for the Family Travel Files. Images from ACE Adventure Resort, Kingsley Pines Family Camp and Family Travel Files stock. Copyright 2018.