Family Vacations Have Long-Lasting Impact on Kids' Happiness

(Photo : pexels)

Returning from an amazing family vacation may not be easy, but it is always worth it. According to experts, it is better for parents to spend their money on vacations than spend it on toys, because kids are often bored with them after a few weeks. Instead of games or toys, a lot of parents should now choose to put their money towards things like annual passes to a local attraction, road trips, family vacations and other activities that help the family to spend time with each other, as experts say this can have a great benefit for children. 

A family vacation is more valued by kids

Psychologist and best-selling author Oliver James said that family holidays are valued by children, both in the moment and for long afterward in their memory. It is all about talking nonsense with your parents, eating out, sharing ice cream and moments of time in which your interests are taken into account. So if you are going to spend money on something, it is clear which option is better. 

Also, traveling with your kids can be beneficial to their brain development. Child psychotherapist, Dr. Margot Sunderland said that an enriched environment offers new experiences that are strong in combined physical, social, cognitive and sensory interaction. You can think of it as a family together in the pool, walking together through the forest, camping, touching plants and grass, eating together and roasting marshmallows, hanging out together under the sun and playing with the sand on the beach. 

These kinds of experiences can turn on the genetic expression of key brain fertilizers in the frontal lobes, according to Dr. Sunderland. It can enhance the executive functions like attention, stress regulation, concentration, the ability to learn and good planning and it can also improve mental and physical health. She said that the brain fertilizers triggered in enriched environments are also linked to higher IQ in children. Spend time exploring together in a new space, and you are making your child smarter. 

Benefits of going on family vacations

Family vacations can act as happiness anchors too. According to research conducted by the Family Holiday Association in 2015, the happiest memory of 49% of those surveyed was on vacation with their family. A third of the participants said that they can still remember their childhood family vacations vividly, and a quarter of them copped to using such memories in order to get them through tough times. 

Director of the Family Holiday Association, John McDonald, said that reflecting on our happiest memories of joyful time spent together as a family can be very powerful in bringing relief when we are faced with the darker times that life can bring. By using these memories as an anchor to take us back to more cheerful moments, we are often able to approach problems with a fresh sense of perspective. 

According to Cindy Chan, one of the authors of the study, an experiential gift elicits a strong emotional response when a recipient consumes it, like the fear and awe of a road trip or a safari adventure, the excitement of hiking, camping or going to a concert or the calmness of fishing by the lake or going to a spa, they are more intensely emotional than a material possession. 

Going on a walk in your neighborhood, playing outside regularly or visiting a local museum or library all have the same benefit as an expensive family vacation. The most important thing is that you are actively spending time with your child and you engage with them in a new environment.  

ALSO READ: Top 13 Best Family Summer Vacation Must-Haves