For your family’s health, consider a Spring Break staycation
A “spring break” for your family’s health
It’s spring break for many students, and even if you can't get off from work, afford a trip, or your trip has been cancelled, don't let that discourage you from taking a break with your children. Psychotherapist Mary Jo Rapini shares some daily experiences we can enjoy with our children.
It’s Spring Break and, even if you can’t get off from work, afford a trip, or your trip has been cancelled, don’t let that discourage you from taking a break with your children. A week with the children at home is an opportunity for families to improve communication, teamwork, and unity. The family is the first and most important place to learn compassion, confidence, responsibility, and trust. Taking time away from your busy life to focus on your family is an investment in the emotional and physical well-being of the whole family.
Below are daily experiences you can enjoy with your children that encourage and promote family bonding and fun. Families that take time to play together stay together!
- A trip to the beach. We’re lucky in Houston because we have Galveston so close by. While you’re there, you can camp overnight in one of their many campgrounds. Camping builds teamwork out of necessity.
- A visit to a park with a picnic lunch. Being surrounded by nature and hiking trails helps kids disconnect from their digital world. It also cultivates calmness. Conversation comes easily when you’re relaxed and not fretting about who’s texting or circumstances beyond your control.
- An undisclosed destination. Plan this trip the night before during dinner. Take a map out (a real map works best) and have the kids help plan a place to visit within a specific mile range. For example, you can decide you have time to explore a place 30 miles away. Look online and see what possible sights you’d like to see. You’d be surprised how adventurous this trip is. For example, the rodeo in Houston is a fun and exciting destination.
- Explore exotic cuisine and countries by visiting a food truck. This works best for teens and tweens. Have them study a country and its most famous dish. From there, find a food truck that hosts the country’s cuisine. Your family learns a wealth of information about the culture, tastes, and geography of people in other countries. This teaches acceptance and appreciation for diversity. If you had a vacation planned to a destination and it was cancelled due to health concerns with the COVID-19, sampling a food truck that specializes in foods from that particular destination can be a fun substitute.
- Pick one activity you will all participate in. The best way to mentor fairness and teamwork is to play a game with your children. Family games such as Monopoly, Uno, or Twister work great if you’re staying home. If you want to go out, try family bowling or an escape room. What you play doesn’t matter; what matters is the children seeing mom and dad playing with them. Teach them good sportsmanship if you lose and share some laughs.
Families are the most precious of all relationships. They thrive on togetherness, play, and teamwork. Spring Break offers you an opportunity to experience and mentor all of these. Show your kids you value time with them by taking a break!