Eyes of the Children, Wide Open: Kids en La Playa

by Monica Dean

For our 20th wedding anniversary, my husband surprised me with a trip to Panic en La Playa. I had never been, mostly because I felt guilty leaving my husband and 9 year old daughter at home while I enjoyed a beach vacation. I have loved Panic longer than I have loved my husband. He has been to shows, but it was never his thing, so I was worried he would be bored. I was nervous that my daughter was too young to go to this wild party. But this was one of the last check boxes on my panic bucket list. I thought maybe it could be like a family vacation that just happened to have a show at the end of the night. I’m sure my friends thought I was crazy.

Sofia, Rich and Monica enjoying a Cenote in Cancun

Playa was kid friendly from the moment we walked in. There were games to play while we waited to check in, food, and Mexican dancers. The family side of the hotel had a pool with a slide and lots of children to play with. There was a kiddie pool and a kid’s club. The lagoon was surrounded by rocks, keeping the waves out and creating an easy place for children to swim. There were fun pool side activities like water gun fights, hamster water wheels and even a station where you could dip your hand in wax and make a souvenir to take home. There was never anything I wouldn’t have wanted her to see. There was just great people and lots of fun.

My husband doesn’t really like to go to any concert. For Playa, this worked perfectly. We would spend the day together as a family and before the show started, my husband and our daughter would go to the pool or back to our courtyard room. From the balcony, they could watch the show or play inside. I did see several kids at the show, including one on the rail, but being more into Taylor Swift than Panic, my daughter was perfectly happy to skip the show. Most people who go to Playa would probably want to see the show up close, in which case, you could take turns watching from the balcony or hire a babysitter through the Hard Rock resort.

Taking a child to Playa is a wonderful way to make memories, to teach them about the world and history, and to bring to life what they learn at school. We joined with Positive Legacy on a day of service excursion to the village of Dos Palmas and interacted with the Mayan children. We painted, helped improve their school, and we shared stickers and smiles. We also went to the ruins of Tulum. Seeing history for yourself leaves a much bigger impact than just reading about it in a book at school.. My daughter made a photo slide show when we got home and presented the video in her spanish class. Travel offers wonderful teaching opportunities. It’s the perfect chance for a child to learn and practice a new language, to see how children from other cultures are raised and where they go to school. When you travel with your kids, they learn respect for other cultures and different ways of life.

Monica and Sofia giving back during Positive Legacy day of Service

Playa also offers children an opportunity to try new things. There are activities like yoga (while eating an ice cream cone), kayaking, lots of new foods to try, a rope bridge to conquer, room service to order, and all kind of excursions. There are sunset shows for dancing and new friends to make. My daughter loved decorating the balcony and taking part in the theme nights. She brought costumes to wear and fun things to pass out to the people she met. She got more swag than I did! She would hang on the rail with me hours before show time and danced to the house music. “Why are panic people so nice?” she asked me. I was so proud. At nine she sees it. She gets it. I’m so glad we brought her. It makes me happy to have her meet our panic family. Now when I leave her at home to see a show, she knows I am with the good people and she got to see for herself what makes me happy.