Tips for Traveling with Your Blended Family

Traveling with your blended family will become the new normal following a divorce. It can become a stressful situation, but if kids are involved, you’ll want to do everything in your power to make sure that their wellbeing and safety is your top priority. 

There are a lot of unknowns when traveling with a blended family which adds to the mixed feelings and uncertainty that come with a divorce. That’s why we created this blog post that includes helpful tips that blended families can lean on to help navigate travel during the holiday season and beyond. 

Communicate with One Another

Communication is crucial when it comes to traveling with a blended family. First and foremost, you want to effectively communicate with your ex and properly inform them of the plans and relevant details of the upcoming trip. Let them know where you’re going, how long you’re staying, where you’re staying, etc. You don’t have to share your plans for every minute of the trip, but you do need to put yourself in their shoes and realize that you would also want to know the high-level details of a trip that involves your kids. 

Have Patience

Even the Brady Bunch didn’t start off as one happy family! Although fictional, it lends itself to a larger lesson and that is that you need to manage your expectations and gradually blend your families. We recommend that you start slow and focus on building individual relationships first. You need to take your time and carve out time to spend with your partner’s kids.

If you’re already in a place of familiarity with your partner’s family and are planning your first trip together as a group, don’t start by planning a two-week backpacking trip across Europe. Consider a long weekend to get acclimated with traveling as a blended family first. 

Set Aside Time for Bonding

Bonding time is the most important time when traveling as a blended family. You want to take into consideration that all parties involved are adjusting to the new normal. This means that your biological kids might have a hard time sharing you.

With that in mind, make time to do an activity that you and your kids love. It could be mini-golf, walking on the beach, going out to breakfast, whatever it may be, take the time to do an activity that’s familiar and they love. 

While it’s important to give your kids some undivided attention, you don’t want to lean too heavily into that alone time. Just like with anything in life you need to strike a balance with spending time with your kids and the group as a whole so that you don’t perpetuate a sense of division between families. 

Do Activities EVERYONE Enjoys

Inclusion is paramount when traveling as a blended family. It’s already a bit awkward so you don’t want to add to it by doing activities that not everyone enjoys. To that point, consider mixing things up by taking the boys on an excursion while your wife takes the girls on a separate outing. 

Remember to not overlook the little things either because something as simple as a conversation can make everyone feel included. 

Speak with respect

Always, no matter what, speak respectfully about your ex and your partner’s ex. No matter how much you may not like them or disagree with them on certain things, that’s never an excuse to talk badly about them in front of the kids. 

At the end of the day, your exes are still the parents of your children so speak about them in a way that you would want them to speak about you in front of your kids. 

Blending families is tough for adults and children alike and if you’re planning a vacation this holiday season with your partner and their kids, keep these tips in mind.

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If you are looking for a Tampa family law attorney, look to Anton Garcia Law, a 2021 SuperLawyer “Best Attorney” award winner. Our goal is to provide our clients with the highest level of legal representation. Whether you are seeking representation for yourself or a family member, our determination, availability, experience, and knowledge can be put to work for you.

Our office is located near beautiful downtown Tampa, where we proudly serve clients from around the state of Florida.