Family Holidays Where Kids Explore Are the Best Gifts for Children, Experts Say

best gift for children Family vacations Family Holiday bonding time Dr. Margot Sunderland limbic area oxytocin and dopamine University of Toronto Cindy Chan experiential gift happiness anchor

By Lilian Scott , Parent Herald Dec 18, 05:22 pm

Parents who have not yet finished their Christmas shopping should stop checking retail or online stores for the best gifts for children. Instead, they should plan a great holiday where the kids can explore and make memories with their mother, father and siblings.

Experts have long professed that vacations with family provide children many developmental benefits as they swim in the water, hike in the forest, visit the neighborhood shops, or observe and even make friends with the locals. The trip will also develop their brain as they explore and discover new things.

Child psychologist Dr. Margot Sunderland said that vacations wake up "ingrained systems deep in the brain's limbic area" which aren't usually activated when the kids are staying in their routines at home. Parents who support their kids' drive to explore are setting their children to succeed in life because these activities are essential in adulthood as well.

Kids Develop Better When Exposed to Different Environments

Sunderland said that vacations offer enrichment in ways that the children will not learn from school. Trips with their families will improve their sensory interaction, their social skills, physical fitness, as well as cognitive abilities.

People may not realize it but a trip to a new place can help the neurochemicals in their brain produce more oxytocin and dopamine if they are continually activated when children experience different, exciting things for the first time. These biological reactions also reduce stress levels and trigger warm and happy feelings. Thus, vacations enable the family to feel more connected, which becomes far more priceless than any other material gift.

According to researchers, the attention span of kids also improves if they are given an additional 20 minutes to enjoy the outdoors. Parents with children diagnosed with ADHD or similar conditions should keep this in mind when they are planning their holiday trip and thinking about what to include in their activities.

Kids Learn Innumerable Lessons When Bonding

Precious family time during a trip with their parents and siblings offers children innumerable lessons on how to deal with various situations. If they don't have these experiences, kids can become lost because they do not have any positive family values to connect and hold on to.

Kids who have little bonding time with their parents are likely to engage in risky behaviors or dangerous activities over time, especially in the crucial adolescent years when they become more independent.

Kids Love Vacations

Though it's not likely on their wish list for Santa, most children love going on vacations with their families. This is because the happiness of a vacation lingers longer in children, according to experts from the University of Toronto.

Lead study Cindy Chan author wrote that "experiential gifts" draw out stronger emotional responses than material gifts. The moments family members share with each other also make them feel closer to their parents and siblings, no matter how lavish or simple is the getaway.

For some, these trips serve as their happiness anchor when they are going through a rough patch in their lives as adults. According to the experts, a lot of adults often consider outing with their parents as some of their happiest memories in life.