https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sun, 12 Jul 2026 08:41:37 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/terrible-twos-while-on-vacation#post-2479315 Mon, 29 Feb 2016 23:31:47 +0000 Sapphiresun 2479315@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We're off to Disneyland in 6 weeks with our 2.5 year old and this is pretty much how I assume it will go down. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/terrible-twos-while-on-vacation#post-2478804 Mon, 29 Feb 2016 15:58:58 +0000 cat620 2478804@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Thanks for the replies! I totally agree that a place like Disney World can be overwhelming for a toddler, and my son was off his regular routine, but we did a lot to try to make the trip fun for him. After he didn't want to go to the sit-down restaurant, we cancelled all our dinner reservations and only ate at quick service for the rest of our trip. We took lots of breaks during the day, and we let him have time to run around and explore at his own pace. We tried to balance what we wanted to do with what he wanted and not put pressure on ourselves to do it all during our trip. I expected he would still throw tantrums, which he did. I just wanted to know that I wasn't the only parent who had to deal with a screaming toddler while on vacation lol. I swear there were some parents that would give me the stink eye whenever he got mad, so I began to wonder if it was just our family. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/terrible-twos-while-on-vacation#post-2478117 Mon, 29 Feb 2016 08:47:07 +0000 Revel 2478117@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My LO always acts not herself on vacation, clingy and more tantrums, so that sounds totally normal. I think it's like @JoJoGirl: about routine. Isn't there a saying that once you have kids, you don't get "vacations" anymore, you just take "trips?" </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/terrible-twos-while-on-vacation#post-2478103 Mon, 29 Feb 2016 08:36:40 +0000 JoJoGirl 2478103@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>In all honesty, here's what I learned about vacations with a kid that age: kids are SLAVES to routine so literally just being out of the house is going to throw them off. We did our best to make as much familiar to her as we could - food, her sleep comfort objects (yes, we packed a blanket, pillow, puppy, duck, and lovey), and "stuff" like a playground that she would normally do. Even so, she was so easily overwhelmed that we just sort of resigned ourselves to daily massive tantrums. But going forward, if we do travel again, we'll be sure to plan it differently (more kid-friendly activities, availability of a kid's club/center with a playground, maybe a pool, buffet as an option instead of just restaurants, lots of snacks on hand ALL THE TIME, and no 'all day' activities). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/terrible-twos-while-on-vacation#post-2478099 Mon, 29 Feb 2016 08:33:38 +0000 illumina 2478099@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>This sounds like a normal day with my 2.5yr old :crying: She hates being in her pushchair and would rather get soaked than have the raincover on! Though we're taking her on vacation in May so we'll see how that goes! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/terrible-twos-while-on-vacation#post-2478092 Mon, 29 Feb 2016 08:30:05 +0000 JoJoGirl 2478092@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yes, we took our 2.5 year old to Costa Rica this past Thanksgiving and vowed to never travel with her again.</p> <p>I'm not kidding. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/terrible-twos-while-on-vacation#post-2478088 Mon, 29 Feb 2016 08:27:42 +0000 looch 2478088@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Awww, Disney is overwhelming. I can't tell you how many times I have seen parents pulling their OLDER kids to the side and saying things like "this trip is expensive, so you had better change your attitude." It's long days, lots of people, hot weather, lol...everyone struggles. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/terrible-twos-while-on-vacation#post-2478080 Mon, 29 Feb 2016 08:22:18 +0000 Anagram 2478080@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think for 2.5 year olds, those "big, exciting days" can be overwhelming for them, and they tend to act out. They are out of their usual comfort zone, surrounded by a million people and sights and sounds. Nothing is familiar. They are expected to do a lot more sitting and waiting than they normally would (in a stroller, in a line, on a ride, in a restaurant).</p> <p>We as adults think we're doing them this giant favor by taking them fun places, but then they repay us by tantrumming--but it's the only way they have to express that they are overwhelmed.</p> <p>I took my 2.5 year old to see Elmo Live last weekend, and it involved going into the city and eating lunch and she had a giant, major, HUGE meltdown on the way home. And my first instinct was to be mad and think she's being a brat and not appreciating what I planned for her. But then I realized how stimulated she'd been for hours, and we were an hour past nap time, and I learned the lesson that sometimes, these "fun" things are not as fun for our kiddos as we'd like them to be. So now I've really changed my expectations. It's not that you can't do big trips, but I think you have to try doing fewer things at a slower pace, and having a lot more downtime, etc. And even with all the downtime, they might still be overwhelmed. They are just 2.5, so you just have to chalk it up to the fact that they are learning and aren't very good at change. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/terrible-twos-while-on-vacation#post-2478079 Mon, 29 Feb 2016 08:20:02 +0000 hilsy85 2478079@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>yep! We went to San Diego for a wedding and then Seattle to visit family when LO was 2.5. It was a REALLY challenging trip==you know it's bad when the flights were actually the best/easiest part of the trip! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/terrible-twos-while-on-vacation#post-2478074 Mon, 29 Feb 2016 08:17:49 +0000 Charm54 2478074@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Haha this makes me nervous, we are taking our 2.5 year old to Disney in 2 weeks. We're leaving our 6 month old at home with her grandparents, but maybe I should be taking her instead LOL </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/terrible-twos-while-on-vacation#post-2478069 Mon, 29 Feb 2016 08:15:12 +0000 cat620 2478069@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We went to Disney World last week with our 2.5 year old and our 6 month old baby. The baby was great! He sat quietly in his stroller most of the time and enjoyed looking around. However, my 2.5 year old definitely had his moments. </p> <p>Things he did on our trip:</p> <p>Scream anytime we wanted to eat at a sit-down restaurant. He only wanted quick service eating, since he didn't have the patience for long meals.</p> <p>Yell no whenever an employee offered him a sticker. I still don't get this one</p> <p>Throw a tantrum when we wouldn't take him on a ride that had an hour or longer wait</p> <p>Kick and scream when we made him sit in his stroller when the parks were very crowded, because we didn't want him to get stepped on</p> <p>Yell no when I tried to put the sun shade down on his stroller. He preferred to be in the direct sun at all times.</p> <p>Throw a tantrum when we wouldn't let him spend the entire day shooting guns at Tom Sawyer's fort, because we had already been there an hour</p> <p>Overall, we had a nice trip, but man, toddlers can be tough. Anyone else go through this while vacationing with a two year old? </p>