08-08-2025
Why Type C Parenting Might Be the Secret to Better Family Vacations
One mom explains why embracing the chaos made her family vacation much more enjoyable.
I had all the hallmarks of a Type A parent, particularly when it came to vacationing with my family.
I spent the morning baking frittatas that conveniently wouldn't require refrigeration on the flight. I created bespoke travel packs for our children, individually wrapped 'lucky dips' to relieve moments of boredom, and, naturally, prepared an iron-clad itinerary. I also insisted the cab driver take us to the airport four hours early.
Yes, I had everything a mom could need for a first family trip abroad, along with steadfast determination to keep things on track. The only thing missing was the wriggle room.
I'm not talking about legroom in economy (clearly airlines weren't designed with parents' comfort in mind). I mean the type of emotional wriggle room needed to not only facilitate a quick pivot when life doesn't go to plan, but to embrace it.
What I needed was to tap into a Type C parenting mentality.
A Much-Needed Balance in Parenting
Labeling parenting archetypes isn't a new phenomenon. Over the years, we've been introduced to koala moms, helicopter parents, and free-range caregivers. But one of the latest to join the social cohort is the Type C parent, and this might just be the sweet spot we all need—especially on vacation.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Type C follows two already established parenting personalities, Type A and Type B. Where As are rigid in structure and routine, Bs are laid-back, spontaneous, and often disorganized. Cs are somewhere in the middle.
Type C parenting has come under the spotlight lately thanks to social media creator Ashleigh Surratt. In her videos, Surratt shows how Type Cs are offering their children clean rooms and learning opportunities, among the chaos they're not bothered by.
This type of parenting is having a moment. In a new Skylight survey of over 3,000 parents, 35% of them say they embrace Type C tactics, including loosening up on screen time limits, using shortcuts and bribery, and winging it.
On my month-long trip away, it's inadvertently where I ended up—among a mess I'd learned to love, or at least feel less bothered by.
How Type C Parenting Saved My Vacation
The cracks began to show early. Somewhere about 35,000 feet above the Atlantic, I looked over at my 4-year-old son. He sat cross-legged on his seat with a pair of earphones cushioned against the side of his head, giggling at a tablet we rarely let him hold, let alone operate. Every now and then he would enjoy a peek at the pillowy clouds beside his window and smile.
In between toddler marathons up and down the aisle, my 18-month-old daughter would climb across us for her own view. The look on her face was pure joy.
Meanwhile, the bespoke backpack I had filled with coloring sheets, stickers, Lego, magnetic tiles, and precut crafts lay neatly under their seat. They weren't exactly untouched, but they weren't—dare I say it—essential. The "lucky dips" had provided a five-minute distraction, while the fridge-free frittatas were licked once, and squashed back inside their snack bag.
This was my first aha moment. Sure, it was great to be prepared and know that I had all kinds of backups for every mess, mishap, and meltdown. But even before our plane had landed, I was starting to realize that so much detail wasn't going to be necessary. Working myself up over it was going to ruin the magic.
As the vacation progressed, I noticed more of this Type C approach taking hold. A couple of nights in, we managed to get the kids down at a respectably early bedtime considering their lingering jet lag. Both slept solidly until 4 a.m, but after a few drowsy bed snuggles, they were ready to start their day. 'Go back to sleep,' I initially said. But they had other plans. Instead, they asked: 'What's for breakfast mom?'
Now a Type A parent would insist that they go back to sleep, or they'd prepare sugar-free blueberry pancakes with a linen apron wrapped around their waist. A Type B might tell the kids to shuffle off to the next room and 'figure it out.'
But I wasn't about to do either. It was time to reintroduce Type C parenting. I reached for the local chips I'd bought the night before and poured them into a bowl. We snuggled back in bed having a 'chip party' talking about all the fun things we had planned for the day.
A few days later, rain foiled our plans for an outdoor beach walk with friends we hadn't seen in years. After a few sleepless nights, the Type A mom inside me wanted to shed some serious tears. Clothes were strewn across the floor, washing was already overflowing and our cupboards were bare.
Nevertheless, we invited everyone to our beachside apartment, popped down to the local shops for some crackers and dips, and decided to focus on people rather than plans. The laundry was shoved in a corner, and the once-carefully rolled clothes were dumped on top of our suitcases. And when the kids were done with Netflix and still up past their bedtimes, they curled up next to us and joined in the final moments of our conversations. Having no plan worked like a charm."It's great to have a schedule but there will always be time for routine back home. Rigid rules don't need to be part of your vacation survival kit if you don't need them to be."What My New Approach Taught Me
There's an overwhelm that comes with planning a family vacation. We can get so caught up in the idea of serenity and sunshine that, when we're away, we almost force ourselves to relax the way we imagined we would. Type C parenting welcomes a plan, but it gives us permission to break it, and to mindfully let the story unfold before us. As long as our children are warm, fed, healthy, and happy, we don't need much more.
If you're used to a strict routine, or on the flip side, entirely winging it, Type C parenting might feel a bit uncomfortable at first. It's great to have a schedule but there will always be time for routine back home. Rigid rules don't need to be part of your vacation survival kit if you don't need them to be.
By the end of my trip, I was grateful for the head start the weeks of planning had given me, but I was glad that I didn't forget it's also fine to throw out the rule book once in a while. I learned traveling with kids requires both preparation and flexibility and that's perfectly OK. In some ways, anything goes if it gets you safely and happily from A to C.
Read the original article on Parents
Solve the daily Crossword
