Binkies and Briefcases

SUBSCRIBE

  • About
    • Work With Me!
      • Blog & Small Business Consulting
    • Disclosures
  • Popular Posts
  • Adoption & Special Needs
  • Saving Money
  • Recipes
    • Breads
    • Breakfasts
    • Sides
    • Soups
    • Entrées
    • Desserts
  • For the Home
    • For the Home
    • Beauty
    • Crafts
      • For Kids
  • My Books

How to Prepare Foster or Adopted Children for Vacation

July 17, 2018 By: Stephanie4 Comments

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my Email Newsletter. Thanks for visiting!

Welcome back! Be sure to check out my Email Newsletter. Thanks for visiting!

I would like to thank Dutch Wonderland for inviting our family to their kid-friendly amusement and water park in Lancaster, PA this summer. We had an amazing time! 

Vacation tips for foster and adoptive families. Learn how to make your trip easier on your kids.I love Dutch Wonderland because of its manageable size, family-friendly environment, and because they really do have something there that EVERY member of the family can enjoy. (My personal favorite is the diving shows.) Plus, can we talk about all the shade trees all around the property? That alone makes such a difference when you are outside in 90+ degree weather in July.  And I love that the water park area, Duke’s Lagoon, is included in the cost of your ticket. 

I think Penny might have been a little excited about the merry-go-round. 

Dutch Wonderland merry go round

But there was plenty to do for everyone else as well. 

Dutch Wonderland family vacation

pony rides at Dutch Wonderland

rides at Dutch Wonderland

Obviously, I highly recommend Dutch Wonderland. But getting ready to go on a family vacation, whether it is for a whole week or even for just one day, as a foster family does present some unique challenges. Today I want to share a few tips that worked for us on our visit to Dutch Wonderland and some things I wish we would have thought to do in advance. Some of these tips are specific to foster families, but many of them apply to biological families as well. 

  1. Reach out. If you are spending the night anywhere but your own home or leaving the state, make sure you let your caseworker know in advance. Our trip to Dutch Wonderland was a day trip and we stayed in our own state. This day trip was close to home and good practice for future longer vacations. 
  2. Prepare the kids in advance. We wrote our trip on the kitchen calendar a few weeks in advance and looked up pictures of the amusement park online so the kids would have an idea of what to expect. If a child has never been to an amusement park before, the new sights and sounds can be overwhelming. The morning of our trip we sat down and had a family meeting to establish our expectations. We talked about the park rules and ran through our schedule for the day. Having clear guidelines for what to expect can help kids feel safe and prepared in new situations. 
  3. Acknowledge their fears. Crowded places like amusement parks and water parks can be a little bit nerve-wracking for kids who have experienced involuntary separations from caregivers in the past. They might be worried about losing you. Dutch Wonderland was fabulous because it was not so crowded as to be overwhelming. We were there on a Saturday in peak season, but never waited in lines that were longer than ten minutes, and the staff is very friendly and approachable. It might also help to wear matching shirts so you are easy to see and find if a child loses sight of you for a minute. And I highly recommend establishing a family meeting place for the day. 
  4. Think about what they don’t know. If a child has only been with your family for a short period of time, then it’s possible they might not remember your last name or phone number if they were to get separated. Just like you might do for a younger child, you might want to think about getting temporary tattoos or bracelets to provide your contact information. (You can order SafetyTats through my Amazon affiliate link here.) 
  5. Check out the resources available. If your child has special needs, then many places like amusement parks now offer accommodations. Dutch Wonderland has a wonderful program that we used for Nicholas while we were there. My friend Meredith over at Mom of the Year has a great post on her blog explaining the program and its benefits! 

Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster, PA

visiting Dutch Wonderland

I feel very grateful that we got to share the magic of Dutch Wonderland with all of the kiddos in our care this summer. I have such special memories of going to this amusement park every year when I was a little girl, and my dad talks about his own visits there as well. It’s a third generation tradition for us! It was such a special gift to have a day there this summer with the new kids living in our home. 

vacation as a foster family

visit Dutch Wonderland this summer

I have a present for you!

Dutch Wonderland is a great vacation spot for families with kids of all ages. We have been taking our children here since they were toddlers, and each year they find that the park grows with them. They love the older vintage rides and they love being able to experience new things like the roller coasters as they get older. Guess what? Dutch Wonderland also generously has a special gift for all of you this summer. If you purchase your Dutch Wonderland tickets online, just enter the code summerblog18 and you will receive a discount on your order!  

Let me know if you have any other tips to keep kids safe and feeling comfortable when you travel as a new family. 

Thank you again to Dutch Wonderland for sponsoring this post. All opinions are my own.

As always, I so appreciate your pins and shares. 

How to make your vacation as smooth as possible as a foster family

If you liked this post, you might also like: 

Why words matter to adoptive families

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Comments

  1. Cassidy says

    May 12, 2019 at 12:20 am

    We used a sharpie and wrote our cell phone number on the kids arm so if they were lost, we were not to hard to be contacted.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Where to Find a Great Family Vacation Spot in Lancaster, PA • Binkies and Briefcases says:
    July 31, 2018 at 1:42 pm

    […] How to Prepare Foster or Adopted Children for Vacation […]

    Reply
  2. How You Can Help Foster Families • Binkies and Briefcases says:
    September 21, 2018 at 1:34 pm

    […] How to Prepare Foster or Adopted Children for Vacation […]

    Reply
  3. Using the Accessibility Pass at Dutch Wonderland's Happy Hauntings • Binkies and Briefcases says:
    October 21, 2018 at 10:11 am

    […] told you about our trip over the summer to this fabulous kid-friendly amusement park located less than an hour from our house in Lancaster, […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Welcome! I’m Steph.

This is a little corner of the internet we like to fill with honesty, heart, and humor. Read More…

Cover for Binkies and Briefcases with Stephanie Giese
19,483
Binkies and Briefcases with Stephanie Giese

Binkies and Briefcases with Stephanie Giese

Stephanie Giese is an indie author based in Florida. She writes stories about realistic problems with humor, heart, and sass. Her work has a strong focus on mental health and consent. Her North Bay small-town romance series is set for release in 2025.

Binkies and Briefcases with Stephanie Giese

2 months ago

Binkies and Briefcases with Stephanie Giese
This one's on me, Bookworms! Grab your FREE book ... See MoreSee Less

Hello My Radiant RomCom Readers,

wix.to

I have fun news! For a limited time, as a special gift from me to you, the eBook version of Out of Left Field is totally FREE this week to download from Amazon. That's right, you don't even have to be...
View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

Binkies and Briefcases with Stephanie Giese

2 months ago

Binkies and Briefcases with Stephanie Giese
Hello My Brilliant Bookworms ... See MoreSee Less

Hello My Brilliant Bookworms,

wix.to

I'm checking in from the pits of work-still-in-progress despair. (Book 3 is actually going pretty well, but I'm feeling dramatic today.) Way Off Base, Book 3 in my North Bay series, is set to go to th...
View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

Reader’s Choice

Image HTML map generator

Follow Me on Pinterest

featured-on

What You’re Saying

  • 28 Best Stone Fireplace Ideas And Designs - Perfect Decor Place on DIY Stone Fireplace with AirStone
  • Kevin Hicks on How to Budget for Building Your Own Home
  • Amy on DIY Stone Fireplace with AirStone
  • Gendered clothing - GenderEd on A Target Intervention on Behalf of My Daughters
  • Wellshop Store on Dressing Our Daughters: How Target Responded to My Last Blog Post

Latest Posts

ALL I Never Knowed: The Book Is Here!

It’s finally here, in my hands. It has been a loooong time in the making, but our book, All I Never Knowed: Mental Illness, a Mother’s Love, and a Broken System, is available now. The official launch date is next Tuesday, Oct. 5th. But starting now, you can order from all major retailers. Here’s where […]

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Save Money with Fetch

Hey everyone! This is Chelsea, Steph’s asistant, back with the simplest app for getting cash back on things you’re already buying! We’ve covered Ibotta, Shopkick, Coupons.com, Swagbucks and we’re all saving hundreds of dollars by now, right? RIGHT!? I’m really hoping you guys have jumped on the rebate app savings train because it’s just so […]

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Splendid Spoon Review

I was excited to receive a box of products to try from Splendid Spoon this summer! They invited me to try their line of plant-based, ready-to-eat foods and delivered them right to my door. Check one in the pro column for convenience. I did receive these products free of charge in order to rate them […]

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

My Networks

#BlogHer15: Experts Among Us Voices of the Year Honoree