Month someplace with 7yo boy to help anxiety

Hi, my wife and I have 3 great little kids- 7, 5 and 3 years old.

Before marriage and kids we traveled a bunch together- Central America, Southeast Asia, India. I'll hold off on the drama but now, we are caught up in the hustle and bustle of North American city-life and challenging careers and have drifted from each other and our oldest is having major issues at school with discipline, which seems generally tied back to anxiety and stress. We have professionals telling us that he needs therapy, extra tutoring, a private school, etc but I wonder if he just needs some time away with his dad. And, his dad needs some time away-- I am now looking at leaving work for 6-12 weeks. I'm still unsure if it's just me and 7yo or the 5 of us.
So, questions for my friends in the the forum:
- does anybody know a place to travel with a 7yo where we could together do a yoga and/or meditation course or courses for awhile, to help him (and me) think through ways to control stress / chill out? A beach would be great, but it can really be anywhere.
(years ago I traveled to Varkala with his mom, but I think April-June doesn't really work for there.)
- any ideas for how a family of 5 could just go and hang out someplace, off the radar, simple and on the cheap?
Thanks all! - Concerned Dad/Husband.

Rather than going some place far away, how about trying a different life experience - A while back I joined an organic life/farming program as an escape from the stress of my life. I had a great time getting my hands dirty digging vegetables, feeding chickens, seeing where the food we eat comes from etc.

Something different, a new experience, learning together could be a good idea.

Sincere best wishes to all five of you.

PNG

Hi,
Try Holbox, Mexico. Intimate, slow, very family oriented. We loved it. Renting a house on Roatan would be great too. I've spent time with husband and kids on both in rental properties.

I'd recommend somewhere warm, beachy and not busy. We've taken our twins (now 7 1/2) to Langkawi (1hr flight from Kuala Lumpur) three times now, and it's so so relaxing! Not bustling at all, and aside from the touristy things (cable car to the top of the island, aquarium, island hopping/snorkelling etc) we find ourselves doing relatively little... the kids have daily banana boat rides ($15 for 4 of us), and spend the rest of their days reading books on the beach, collecting shells, swimming in the calm water. We stay on the beach, and the small resorts have restaurants on the beach, happy hours, etc.

It's not the hustle and bustle of places like Phuket, and it might be just the thing for your son. We always return home renewed and relaxed.

Another place we have had a similar experience is Sri Lanka - the beach areas to the South are relatively untouched, the people incredibly friendly. In Tangalle the kids did much the same as they do in Langkawi, but also helped the fishermen pull in their big net each afternoon and go through their catch. It's humbling too, to see simpler ways of life in other less developed countries. Sri Lanka is however very good when it comes to hygiene/food, and English is widely spoken so it's easy to travel around. A trip up to the hills is worth doing too, stunning scenery.

Also, Mae Hong Son in the North of Thailand... lots of jungle trekking your older son might enjoy, and rice paddies to run around for your other two if they come aswell. We took our twins here when they were 4 and we loved it. The Fern Resort is the place that we liked a lot.

Have you considered Fiji? It's renowned for locals that adore children, and your three will be treated with great affection and kindness. Which could be good for your son, provided he can handle attention and the odd head pat, etc.

Good luck to you all, I'm sure things will look up soon, and a holiday is probably just the thing!

Edited by: jjtravelbug

Hi,

I would suggest you talk to the boy about it! Not necessarily on where to go, but what would he like to do if you two were to do this together. To include him in the process could in itself be very rewarding I think, as you would get some quality time together right there. If he has no real clue on what he would like to do you could give general suggestions, like would he want to see ruins, temples etc, are national parks and wildlife interesting, is beach essential, what about the idea of going on a farm stay as mentioned in an earlier post. Based on his ideas you can start narrowing down your options and include him in the process as you feel suits you the best.
There are lots of great places to go off and hang out for some time, several has already been mentioned in the other answers to the post. We've successfully brought kids to Argentina, Cambodia, Malaysia and India, and also on several shorter trips in Europe. Our kids are now 3,5 and 5,5 years old, and they enjoy a visit to an archeological site as much as a trip to a playground. It all comes down to how we as adults handle it, and including them up front has proven very successful for us. By reading up on Taj Mahal before going there this turned out to be one of the highlights of our resent trip to India - even for the little people!

Good luck on your project, I hope you will be able to go through with it. And that you find it possible to include the entire family, as it would probably be a huge benefit for all of you. Happy travels, whatever you decide on:-)

Edited by: LadyLuna

Hi there

Great story hearing that you want to do the right thing for/with your son/children and family.

Please hear this with the gentleness that is intended, but your son doesn't want to go away on holiday, your son wants you. He loves you, you love him and sometimes all the busyness of life gets in the way. Whilst I am not going to offer unsolicited advice, I imagine that he wouldn't care if you camped in the backyard, providing he got to spend time with you, when you are relaxed, engaged, funny and honest. Going away does however disconnect you from distractions if you are unable or unwilling to do this at home and I understand the pressures of our world are multi faceted.

He doesn't want to do a course. He doesn't want to see stuff. He doesn't want to be taken to places. He wants you. He needs you. Warts and all. He could probably articulate your frailties and failings better than you, but he doesn't care about them. He may enjoy all of the above, but what he wants is tickles on the bed, reading together, playing together, clear boundaries and accountability set by you and lots of fun, lots of lying around talking about everything and nothing, lots of running together, biking together, swimming together with love, laughter and crazy shenanigans with you.

Anxiety and stress in anyone is best managed together in a loving environment with space and time. It would be great if you could do whatever you choose to do all together as well.

Plan your next family holidays after these ones too, so you all can see ahead with excitement to the joy of being together. You don't need to "think through ways to reduce stress" on your time away. You need to relax, love being together, have fun, reconnect, turn off everything electrical (maybe not the toaster).

Distance of the heart is not reduced by the distance we journey and your son is only young once.

Thanks for being so vulnerable and sharing your story :)

I highly recommend Esalen, it is one of the most amazingly healing places on the planet. You'd all love it and the food is fabulous and it's gorgeous.

http://www.esalen.org/

They have great things for families and just being in this heavenly spot is the ultimate in healing and getting renewed.

http://www.esalen.org/search/node/family

Sounds like his problems are a big wake up call for the whole family to heal...use it to your advantage and you may see it is a blessing in disguise.

Good luck and big hugs of comfort!

If you really want to disconnect and get away from it all - go to Borneo. We took our 9 yr old twins there during our RTW trip and it was their favorite place = walking through the jungles with mommy and baby orangoutangs, rafting up river in a houseboat drifting through clouds of fireflies, eating fish caught fresh off the boat, swimming with sea turtles and dolphins.. You can read more about it on our blog dixons.tumblr,com

If that is too remote, for that time of year the best beach weather would be in Bali which has a wonderful combination of serenity (stay away from Kuta) and activities. Stay on the beaches in the north and spend at least two weeks in Ubud where there are plenty of yoga and meditation classes suitable for families. My kids learned to paint batik, carve watermelon flowers, make silver rings and carve wooden geckos all next to rice fields.