I am sure you have seen or heard those stories about families going on road trips and other vacations, but did you know these vacations are incredibly beneficial for family dynamics and overall happiness?
These trips break the family from the mundane routine and allow members to experience culture in another geographical location, including food, entertainment, and people.
Psychologists and other experts agree that families that vacation together build lifelong bonds that can be shared in stories and photos and revisited by future generations.
What is the Value of a Family Vacation?
There will be more to the value of these family trips than in monetary terms, but more psychologically, spiritually, and emotionally. Let us be honest; being around family can always wear on some people, especially when cooped up in the house.
Taking children out of their comfort zone, and adults as well, and placing them into a new and fun place to explore can liberate them from the mental prison cells, allow family members to learn about each other, and create lifelong bonds.
Priceless to many working to have a close-knit family.
Are Family Vacations great for Improving Relationships between the Members?
As we discussed earlier in the article, these vacation trips will be an invaluable opportunity for family members to bond, learn, and play together. The idea is to take the family and place them somewhere safe to explore and enjoy life together.
The ideal trip will provide a memorable, positive, and fun experience for everyone involved, possibly activities for father-son, father-daughter, mother-son, mother-daughter, and the kids to play, laugh and create memories together.
In short, these trips are rare chances for families to become closer, develop chemistry at activities and events, and develop new co-passions, to name a few.
For how long should Family Vacations last?
There will be many different ideas on this topic, and some will vote against the idea of vacations, preferring to bear down and enjoy a more miniature world.
However, even these family members can enjoy a ‘stay-cation’ within their place. A day at the shops or movies might provide enough bonding and memory-making.
Many other families crave exploring the world, to some degree, and will need a weekend or week long stay to get a quick reprieve or to see an event to get away from it all and learn about a new place with the family.
Can Family Vacations have a negative effect?
In some situations, having too many vacations can dispel the notion of home and create a need to be elsewhere in some people. There is always that family in school that brags about their family vacations, which gives them a popularity boost and a stroking of the ego.
These are just two examples of how family vacations can be misused; the point would be to create memories and moments for bonding between members.
Another will be when something goes wrong on vacation, something potentially emotionally scarring, creating a PTSD-type reaction to vacations in some people, the opposite effect desired.
Avoid These Mistakes on Family Vacations:
- Engaging in Physical Activities too advanced for the family – it can seem like a dream to go to the beach, rent jet skis, and go surfing, but those members that are not athletically inclined might feel something other than happiness.
- Rushing members around – do not overbook a vacation; there is nothing worse than having a stressful vacation that the family will need.
- Under Budgeting – This can be avoided by carefully planning the vacation, saving even more than is needed for the trip, and ensuring extra funds in an emergency. You do not want to get stranded at the vacation spot.
Final Thoughts on What is the Effect of Family Vacations on Family Relationships
Family vacations bring a sense of togetherness to a family, hopefully creating enjoyable experiences and memories to be cherished.
If done correctly or as close as possible, it will benefit the family and all its members by giving them chances to create bonds through activities and experiences.
The best vacations will have a common interest aspect for everyone in the family. For example, outdoorsy families will enjoy National Parks and camping trips, and planning a trip to raft down the Grand Canyon does the trick.
This is only an example of what you can do with your family, even if the only thing you have in common is the love of tasty foods.