Family Trips And Back-To-School Chaos: A Parent’s Survival Guide

By Malkie Gordon Hirsch Magence

I’m sitting by a pool at a Sheraton in New Jersey—the farthest my car-sensitive kids will allow us to travel for that special bein hazmanim bonding stretch, when there’s no camp and no school.

The truth is, they want an “exotic” destination that’s no more than an hour away.

And honestly?

It’s a great lesson in gratitude: a clean pool, a football, and these final fading days of summer (just like our suntans) are more than enough.

There are levels to the phenomenon we call “the family trip,” but one rule stands firm: never call it a “vacation.”

It’s anything but.

The key ingredients of a family trip (depending on your family) are simple: activities that entertain the kids without you putting in much effort.

That way, they praise you for being the “fun parent,” while you blissfully sit still, waving excitedly occasionally but contributing little more than your presence.

Meanwhile, as I sit here writing my unofficial thesis on “the family trip,” my inbox is exploding with reminders of the next parental gauntlet: back-to-school prep.

Bein hazmanim is magical like that—no camp, no school, and just enough devices for each child to text me while I’m at the supermarket restocking all the snacks they inhaled that morning:

“Where are you?”

“What’s for breakfast/snack/lunch/snack/dinner/snack?”

“I’m bored—what are we doing today?”

“Can we make a lemonade stand where you make the lemonade and cookies?”

“My friends and I need a ride to the mall. No one else’s parents can, so I told them you would.”

And then comes my all-time favorite tradition: the night before school starts.

After weeks of begging my kids to check their closets and make a list of what they actually need, they swear they’re “all set.” Twelve hours before the first bell, someone shakes me awake in a panic, wearing last year’s pants—which now look like capris.

Cue the mad dash:

Four hundred sharpened pencils? Check.

A Costco-sized pack of tissues? If you need that many, maybe just stay home.

Folders in every color of the rainbow? Naturally.

Parents who missed the school supply pre-order find themselves wandering the ghost town that used to be Target, where not even a glue stick remains.

And the extras? Knapsacks bigger than your second grader. Sneakers with the “right” color sole. Personalized lunch boxes destined for the lost-and-found by day 2. A teenage haircut gone wrong courtesy of a camp buddy with scissors.

All this while juggling the other joys of parenting: signing kids up for summer camp 2026 (sadly, not a joke), ordering school supplies online that we couldn’t find in stores—knowing full well they’ll stay unopened at the bottom of a backpack most of the year—and renovating my 11-year-old’s room because apparently Dr. Seuss murals are “for babies.” (Dr. Seuss is timeless; I don’t care what he says.)

The truth is, as much as we complain, the summer wouldn’t feel as sweet if it lasted forever.

So we pack up the sunscreen, sharpen the pencils, and send them off.

Older friends assure me I’ll miss this stage someday. Most days, I’m not convinced—but maybe they’re right. For now, just the administration of parenting—signups, deposits, lice checks, orientations, lunch menus—is enough to make anyone’s head spin.

So here’s my survival tip: after that first school drop-off, do yourself a favor. Get a coffee, sit in your car, and enjoy one blissfully quiet hour.

Because before you know it, someone will text: “What’s for dinner?” 

Malkie Gordon Hirsch Magence is a native of the Five Towns community, a mom of five, a writer, and a social media influencer.