The Ultimate Skip-Gen Vacation

Create lasting memories with your grandchildren with a special vacation that emphasizes multi-generational bonding time. Bring on the fun!

As a grandparent, the bond you have with your grandchildren is one of the most cherished. However, many grandparents face the challenge of living far away from their grandchildren, and as a result, don’t get to nourish those relationships as often as they’d like. One way they’re aiming to bridge the distance gap is by going on vacation with their grandkids.

According to the results of a “Grandparents Today” survey released by AARP in spring 2019, 40% of grandparents took trips with their grandkids in the past 12 months, and that number is expected to rise in the coming year. Known as skip-gen travel (grandparents and grandchildren traveling without the middle generation) or multi-generational travel (three or more generations traveling together), it’s a trend that Indy grandparents are hopping onto, as well.

“We have noticed an increase in multi-generational travel among family groups,” says Alex Kutin, owner of Travel Leaders Indy (indytravelleaders. com), an Indianapolis-based travel agency. “Families, which are normally headed by the grandparents, are coming to us to book many aspects of travel. It is always fun and rewarding for our agents to work on these requests because we know that this is building memories for everyone.”

Although travel agencies like this are booking multigenerational trips to places like Disney, Mexico and Hawaii, trips don’t necessarily have to be big or expensive in order to connect with your grandchildren.

“Everyone knows what their grandchildren are really capable of, keeping in mind their interests,” Kutin says. By keeping the basics at the forefront of your mind, trip-planning will be much easier and more fruitful for everyone.

Make a Budget According to AARP, grandparents spent an average of $1,746 on travel with grandchildren. This may be above or below what you are able to spend, but knowing your expected budget at the start of planning will help you identify your travel options.

Identify Your Goal Is your goal to share something special with a certain grandchild or plan a trip the whole family can enjoy? Knowing what you hope to achieve through travel will help you manage your expectations and make the trip as enjoyable as possible for everyone.

Understand Your Limitations Planning a trip to an amusement park for those who don't like rides or a fishing trip for those bothered by mosquitoes could be a bust. Talk to your grandchildren about their interests before getting into the nitty-gritty details. Parents may also have varying degrees of comfort about suitable travel for their children, so touching base with them early about your plans will ensure they’re on board.

When in Doubt, Seek Help While it's possible to plan entire trips on your own online, it can quickly get overwhelming. Travel agents are skilled at helping you identify trips best suited to you and your travel partners, often at little extra cost.

Embrace Your Travel Style No two travelers are quite alike. By identifying the type of travel that makes you and your grandchildren happy, you can plan a trip full of the special memories you’re seeking. Here are some ideas to get you started:

For Culture Seekers Sharing something important to you — whether it be your love of music, art or history — can be deeply meaningful for your grandchild. For a trip with a cultural bend, think of places where you can enjoy that interest together. Maybe you want to take them on a tour of Civil War battle sites, to a museum that highlights your love of modern art, or a city with a beloved jazz festival. Use this destination as the focal point of your trip, and plan the rest of your time together around that.

For Outdoor Adventurers If you and your grandchildren love the outdoors, setting your sights on a national or state park could be the driving force of your vacation. The park finder at FindYourPark.com can help you narrow down your national park options based on preferred activities and area of the country you want to visit, and you’ll also want to research best times of year for travel to your selected park, as well as entrance fees and lodging options.

To stay closer to home, seeking out a state park near your grandchildren’s hometown could also provide a valuable experience. State park websites often list activities that each park offers, as well as park lodging options.

For the All-Inclusive Experience All-inclusive resorts, where everyone’s lodging and food are covered under one cost, can be ideal for large groups where you want to make sure everyone is taken care of without having to manage a bunch of bills. Guided tours can also be convenient for those who want to cover a lot of ground without having to plan out an itinerary. Road Scholars, a nonprofit travel company, has 166 trips around the world geared specifically toward skip-gen travel: roadscholar.org/collections/ grandparent

For Weekend Warriors An overnight or weekend trip can provide great bonding experiences, particularly for younger children who will be traveling without their parents for the first time. Destinations like water parks, zoos and children’s museums within a three-hour drive make for a short but special getaway. Visitors bureaus (such as Visit Fort Wayne: visitfortwayne.com) put all of the local attractions, events, restaurants and accommodations into one central location, making your travel planning a breeze. Check in with the visitor’s bureau in the area where your grandchildren live for more ideas.

Although distance can be a challenge, it no longer has to be a barrier to spending quality time with your grandchildren. Get started planning a skip-gen vacation, and you’ll be on your way to making memories that will last a lifetime.

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Museums are a Grand Place to Bond

As more families struggle to find quality childcare with both parents working, grandparents’ roles are becoming even more important in today’s world. The older generation finds themselves helping out by taking or picking the kids up from school or extracurricular activities, spending weekends with them and hosting play dates. Grandma and grandpa can embrace the extra time they have with their little ones by taking them on adventures and showing them many of the possibilities that exist out in the real world.

Toy manufacturer Mattel recently launched the “Dream Gap Project,” an initiative to raise awareness about stereotypes that can limit girls. This is a big deal for little girls between the ages of 6 and 7 who are starting to doubt themselves and their abilities, which can in turn can severely limit their dreams. An upcoming exhibit at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, Barbie™: You Can Be Anything™ is intended to help children realize that Barbie had more than 200 careers because she was inquisitive, adventurous, creative, liked to nurture and desired to be a leader. Grandparents can use exhibits and play opportunities like this as

teachable moments to share their own life experiences with their grandkids, and encourage them to experiment with role play so they may become the men and women they want to be when they grow up.

Educators say it’s important to let grandkids know it is OK to make mistakes, because that’s the way we learn. “Through shared experiences and learning, a young child sees that you are never too old to learn,” says Susan Michal, director of preschool at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. “Sharing new experiences and learning alongside grandchildren at museums fosters a strong sense of worth, value and sense of empowerment knowing they are important in the eyes of their grandparent.” Children learn that they can be a leader in exploration as an archaeologist at The Children’s Museum in Treasures of the Earth, a leader in paleontology and dinosaur discovery in Dinosphere and a leader in space exploration at Beyond Spaceship Earth. From hundreds of thousands of years ago to the future, all of these experiences and careers that go along with these studies show children that anything is possible if they work hard and believe in themselves. As adults, we can share stories about our first job or how we transitioned to a new job.

Museums are also helpful for grandparents who have a tough time relating to their little ones and need conversation starters. Grandparents can ask their grandchildren to teach them something about what they see. Dinosphere is a great example. I brought home a stuffed Brachiosaur for my grandsons and to my astonishment, the 5-yearold said, “That’s a Brachiosaur!” I couldn’t believe he knew what it was and asked him about it. He went on to tell me he knew that because it had a long neck to eat leaves out of trees — just like giraffes. That simple exchange led to a much deeper, richer conversation about dinosaurs and what it was like when they roamed the earth. Now, we chat about dinosaurs from time to time as that became our commonality.

Grandparents may also want to initiate a game if their youngster isn’t communicating. While you are at the park, the store or the museum, ask them “What if?” What if you were an astronaut, what would you look for in space? What if you were an archaeologist, where would you want to dig and what kind of treasures do you think you would discover? What if you were a chef: What kind of recipe would you create and who would you feed it to? These kinds of questions get kids thinking about possibilities. As the grownup, you can help share hints about how they can accomplish it.