Summer is coming! The season many parents both covet and dread.
What can I do with the kids that is worthwhile? How do I keep them entertained and engaged? Fret not, the answer is quite simple. Think back to your own childhood and what stands out in your mind as the best part of your summer break. Maybe you lived in a neighborhood where your summer was spent house hopping with the neighbor kids, and building forts in the backyard. Maybe you attended an awesome summer camp. Maybe it was that summer your parents rented a tiny beach shack and you spent a week chasing fireflies, playing hide and seek, taking photos with a disposable Kodak camera, and baking cookies with your mom. Or perhaps your family took you to India and you saw an elaborate elephant festival, learned how to play Kabaddi, and fell in love with Henna tattoos. If you were fortunate enough to be raised in a family that took family vacations we would bet those memories stand out vividly in your mind as some of the best and most influential moments of your childhood. The time spent as a family on vacation most oftenly consists of experiences that are both unique and also rare. Whether your trying something for the first time, or spending quality time bonding over common interests, vacations give parents and children alike the opportunities to interact together on a level that isn’t always possible on a day to day basis. It is in these moments that traditions are born, bonds are formed, and the most priceless memories are made.
Vacations are exciting, an emotion that as a child imprints in your memory and is NEVER forgotten. It is in those unfamiliar environments that we learn to overcome insecurities common during early stages of childhood when we instinctively develop fears of the unknown. These new experiences educate us, they challenge us, they change us, and as a result they ultimately help us grow.
So this summer instead of allowing your children to grow closer to their electronic devices, give them a taste of what you valued most about your childhood. Before we learned everything from computer screens and t.v. shows, back when parents let their kids get dirty and if you were bored it was your own lack of creativity and imagination. Inspire your kids to be inquisitive, and adventurous, and actively contribute to your family experiences. After all even children need a break from routine, a stress free environment to thrive in, and most importantly a irreplaceable bond with their family that will nourish their souls. Remember, youth is indeed fleeting and before you know it your little ones will be grown with hectic schedules and responsibilities of their own. However, they will likely always make time for the family, the laughter, the excitement that they still vividly remember from all those years ago. So take the trip, spend the money. Vacations are better than gifts. Experiences are better than toys.
