Holidaying With Kids? Try The 30 On/30 Off Rule To Give Yourself A Break
Holidays with children aren't exactly relaxing. One parent has shared how they find time to chill out on theirs.If you’ve ever been on holiday with kids, you’ll know it’s not always the most relaxing of experiences.Enter, the 30 on/30 off rule. Content creator Rachael Shepard-Ohta opened up about using the “game changing” rule on her family holiday – and parents who have partners are giving it a resounding thumbs up. The sleep consultant and mum-of-three took to Instagram to share how she was on holiday with her husband and their kids when she realised they could take it in turns to have some time away to themselves. “We decided to start doing ‘shifts’ for one half of the day, usually morning, where we took turns being on kid duty,” she said.“One of us got to go hang, read, chill, whatever we wanted – and the other was with the kids. We’d do 30 minutes ‘on’ then switch!“Sometimes we don’t even go anywhere, we just get to sit back and relax and not be the default parent for a while. My favourite is to just sit and read while watching them play.”The benefits of the 30 on/30 off ruleThe content creator said they had noticed it was easier to adopt the rule on a beach, in a playground, during indoor play or nap time, whereas around the pool it didn’t feel safe to do it. She added that for some parents, 30 minutes might feel too long or too short – so you could even try a couple of hours on/off if you wanted to explore spa treatments or go and do a workout.The sleep expert added that the rule “helped us so much because we knew we had built in ‘breaks’ to look forward to” and when they were able to have these periods to reset, they were “less likely to snap at one another”.It doesn’t work for everyoneIn the comments section, one parent noted that this rule is only really suitable for parents who are in relationships or travelling with relatives. “Not having the ability to do something like this without getting outside help is absolutely the hardest part of being a solo parent for me,” they said.You can apply it at home, tooFor those who are coupled up, one mum said she had been implementing alternating sleep-in weekend days with her husband for the last 2-3 years.“It’s a gem! On Saturdays he sleeps in and Sundays I sleep in. The parent who doesn’t sleep in does breakfast and the morning cleaning etc and the ‘sleep-in parent’ can sleep, work, do a workout/go grab coffee with a friend etc!”Another added: “Hubby and I do this too even on weekends but we only have one child so it’s a little easier – such a game changer knowing how soon you’ll get a brain rest.”People are also adopting the rule on weekday evenings. Another parent in the comments section explained: “We also do ‘primary parent nights’ where from 5:30- bed time we switch who is ‘on duty’ and who gets to do self care projects.”Love that.Related...'I Have A Confession, I Love Sleeping In Bed With My Kid. Is This Terrible?'I've Got 2 Young Kids And Keep Hearing These 3 Words – We Need To Talk About ThemI Wish I’d Known This About 'Gentle Parenting' Before I Used It With My Son
