'Do we both need to be here?' Couple's secret to 'me time' on vacay

"Family hols don't have to mean ALL of us together every second of the day."

They might call it a holiday, but it’s honestly just parenting with sand in your shoes.

But one mum has cracked the code for actually getting to enjoy time away with the kids. 

Mother of three, Rachael, shared footage of her setup by the water alongside the hack that led her to be able to do it.

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"It's been game changing" 

“My husband and I started the 30 on, 30 off rule on vacation so we could actually relax and it’s been game changing,” she wrote. 

The couple landed on the idea after both her and her husband were struggling to enjoy themselves. 

“At one point on vacation I looked at him and was like ‘do we both really need to be here?’”  

So they split the holiday into shifts for some of the day. 

“One of us got to hang, read, chill, whatever we wanted and the other was with the kids. We’d do 30 minutes on then switch,” she explained. 

However, she did have a few notes for parents looking to try it out themselves. Firstly, she points out location plays a really important role. 

“Doing three kids to one adult at a pool doesn’t feel safe to us at this stage, so we would do pool time all together. 

“And depending on ages and stages, 30 mins may feel too long or too short! Sometimes my toddler would get upset and want to come find me before my time was up, so my husband would make sure I got another break later. 

“Instead of 30 on /30 off, a couple of mornings we may do a longer shift each so the other person can have a spa treatment or go work out.” 

Image: Instagram/heysleepybaby

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"I can foresee the kid in therapy in the future" 

Most of her comment section saw the genius behind the idea. 

“This is awesome!” one parent rejoiced. 

“Could have used this idea last month!” another shared. 

However, there were also several sceptics. 

“Sounds like a simple enough idea at first, but I can foresee the kid in therapy in the future working through their attachment wounds,” one commenter wrote. 

Another joked: “People will have kids and then be surprised how exhausting they are.” 

One parents shared how they are already applying the idea to everyday scenarios: “We have done this at parties! You are on kid duty for 30 minutes and then we would switch and the other could socialise." 

“My husband and I each get a weekend day off in the morning, and it’s been a game changer!” another revealed. 

Rachael believes breaking the holiday into shifts made everything more enjoyable. 

“We knew we had built in “breaks” to look forward to!” Rachael said.

“Traveling with kids is so fun but can be a lot, too, and when we each feel like we’re getting some time to chill and reset we’re less likely to snap at one another.”

Originally published as 'Do we both need to be here?' Couple's secret to 'me time' on vacay