I have stayed home with my children since they were born. While I know my oldest, 5-year-old son is ready for kindergarten next fall, it feels like the end of chapter. The 24/7 mothering at home and being their primary teacher and caregiver will be over. While it has been some of the hardest years, it has also been the most rewarding.
My husband and I decided to take a Disney trip with just our oldest son before he enters the world of all-day school. As a huge Disney fan myself who grew up going to Disney World, I could think of no other place I wanted to take him.
Disney Magic
As cheesy as it sounds, it was as magical as I imagined it would be. I loved going to Disney as a child, but it was even better watching my son experience it.
His eyes lit up whenever he saw characters. While I thought he may be too old for character experiences, his young, innocent heart shown through as he waved and smiled with excitement at every character.
He loved the rides that took us through different worlds, like “Under the Sea,” “It’s a Small World,” “Peter Pan,” and “Winnie the Pooh.”
He had our full attention, and we got to enjoy those moments with him without the stress of juggling three kids’ needs. He picked out everything from where we ate to what rides we rode to when we went back to the resort to swim.
Even in the quiet, mundane moments when we played Uno in our room or just snuggled together at night, I got to soak in that time with just him.
He is our oldest and sometimes I forget that he’s still so young. This trip gave me the opportunity to enjoy my son as the young, innocent, playful, goofy child he is.
Plan the One-on-One Time
As a parent of multiple children, I have found that day to day life is often busy juggling the everyday chaos and making sure everyone’s needs are met. I rarely get one-on-one time with each kid. Getting my son alone without siblings allowed us to see and experience his true self. We had conversations without distractions and held hands and laughed. Yes, we still had meltdowns (Disney isn’t that magical), but we could even approach those with more patience as our full attention was on him.
I am so glad we took this trip, and I am already looking forward to that individual time with our two younger kids when they each turn five. I am not saying it takes a trip to Disney to experience these moments, but I highly recommend taking time to find one-on-one time with each kid. Whether you take them on a date alone in your own town or you plan a trip, you will never regret that special time spent with them.