Parenting Hacks For A Chill Vacation With The Kids From Mumpreneur Michelle Hon

Parents, what’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a chill vacation? One without the kids? Getting the nanny to tag along? Or is a staycation your best solution? After all, staycays are fast turning into a national pastime. According to a recent Expedia study, 64 per cent of Singapore residents have been on a staycay jaunt at least once this past year.

Among them is Michelle Hon, founder of parenting blog The Chill Mom and author of a motherhood guide of the same name, who’d dispensed invaluable advice at an Expedia press con on just how to keep kids occupied on staycay. We find out more about travel habits of the 38-year-old mumfluencer who’s married to a 40-year-old country manager at a start-up and has three kids, aged, two, four and six. Yup, you bet this Chill Mom knows a thing or two about minimising hassle and maximising chill time on family holidays.

1/6

1/6

Going on staycation? These are the facilities you should look out for.

Pic: The whole family on staycation at Shangri-La this year.
“If I’m going on staycation, I’ll usually look out for a pool and kids facilities such as a kids club where I can dump the kids there and have some alone time for two hours," says Michelle. "[If there’s nothing to occupy them], they’ll be bored out of their wits in the room. So make sure there are enough facilities within the hotel for them. We usually have breakfast, then let them go play, have lunch, have a nap, then they’ll get more playtime or we head to the pool. After that, it’s an early dinner and then bed time. Then it’s Mummy and Daddy’s time to go to the lounge or the bar! (Laughs) I’m okay with leaving my kids alone in the room since I pack the baby monitor. This way, while I’m at the hotel bar, I know what they’re doing and that they’re okay upstairs.”
2/6

2/6

This is the sort of accommodation you should book.

Pic: In Phuket in May this year.
“I’ll opt for a suite or connecting rooms. My kids go to bed quite early — they sleep at 8.30pm and wake up at 7.30am. So once they go to bed, at least my husband and I still have space to do our own things. If it’s just a regular room, once the kids are asleep, there’s nothing else you can do.”
3/6

3/6

Genius ways to manage the kiddos on a flight.

Pic: In Sydney in Jan.
“Although families with young kids get seated first during boarding, I don’t bring the kids on until the very last minute. My husband will board first with all the stuff we need to put in the overhead compartment. I’ll only board the plane with the kids at the very last minute. You don’t want to strap them in for an hour before the plane takes off because they get restless. To keep kids occupied on a flight, make sure you have enough snacks, books and the iPad for videos, which I use as a last resort. If it’s a long flight, I like to take the night flight so that they can sleep on the plane. Because my kids have an early bedtime in their regular routine, I know that if the flight is at 10pm, for example, they’ll be pretty sleepy by then. So I’ll just give them some milk and they’ll sleep onboard.”
4/6

4/6

Plan your daily itinerary around the kids’ schedules.

Pic: Michelle in Hongkong on her own with her two daughters.
“That way, there’ll be a lot less crying and breakdowns. And even if they do break down, we know it’s due to tiredness, and not a behavioral problem. My kids wake up very early so we do the more active stuff in the morning. Just before lunch time, we make sure we are already seated at the restaurant. We try not to delay it because that’s when they get really cranky. If I know I’m still going to be out beyond the naptime of my two-year-old, I’ll either bring a stroller or the baby carrier so he can sleep for a bit. And while he’s sleeping, we’ll try to go for a not-so-active activity, something where I can sit down and the other kids can play.”
5/6

5/6

Leave your own stroller at home in Singapore.

Pic: In Hongkong last November.
“Just bring along the carrier. It’s a lot easier to handle than a stroller, which is bulky. And not a lot of countries are as child-friendly as Singapore — a lot of places don’t even have sidewalks. In the event you do need a stroller, a lot of the better hotels have strollers that you can borrow.”
6/6

6/6

Don’t pack your day with too many activities.

Pic: On a cruise last March.
“Target one or two, at the maximum, attractions for the day. That way, you have more time to move around [between locations], and have spare time in case you can’t find a restaurant, or have a toilet emergency.”
Photos: Michelle Hon
More info about Expedia's Staycation Study at https://travelblog.expedia.com.sg, and The Chill Mom at https://www.thechillmom.com/.