SUMMER 2011
celebratedliving.com
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leisureandrecreation,and
the familyvacationdips
under thishappyumbrella.
Ispentseveraldayswading
throughsomeof thisre-
search,enough toconclude
thatresearcherscanmake
even thehappiest topicbanal.
But ifyoucareabout thewell-
beingofyour familyoryouneed
to justifyspendinga largechunk
ofchangeona familyski trip to
Switzerland, theresearchmatters. I
know Iwasencouragedwhen Idis-
covered that familyvacationsnot
onlystrengthen individual families,
theystrengthensocietyasawhole.
Now Iknow thatwhen I’msurfingwith
mywifeand twosons inSanDiego, I’m
not justhaving fun, I’mstriving for thebetterment
ofsociety.
“Well, I
suppose
youcould thinkof it thatway,”says
SarahTaylorAgate,Ph.D., acertified family-lifeeduca-
torandconsultantwhohasstudied family leisure. “The
family thatenjoysvacations together isgoing tobea
stronger family.”
Thesegetawaysdon’thave tobe fancyor lengthy;
Agate isacase inpoint.Whensheandherhusband,
Joel (bothschooled in familystudiesandrecreation),
presentatconferences, theyoftenbring their4-year-old
daughteralong.When theconferenceends, the threeof
them tackona fewdaysof fun.Sinceshe’sahistory
buff, theyhavevisited theirshareofCivilWarsites.
Already, theyhaveastackof close-knit familymemo-
riesandan impressivecollectionofphotosof their
daughteratopcannons.
“A lotofpeople, especiallywith littlekids, think it’s
easier to juststayhome,”saysAgate,whonowbrings
their1-year-oldsonalong too. “It’snotalwayseasy, but
itgetseasier.Ourdaughterhasbecomeagood little
traveler. Justgo.”
Why?
Because familyvaca-
tionsprovidebenefits thatstretch
farbeyondvisitingCivilWarsites together.
Familiesengaged in the time-honored traditionof leav-
ing laundryand lethargybehindandheadingoff to
largelygoofaroundcansculpt themselves in important
ways.Behind theseemingly trivial curtainof frolic lies
increasedcommunicationskills, betterproblemsolving,
moreadaptability, elevated levelsof trustandsupport,
increasedaffectionandkindness, andanoverall im-
provedsatisfactionwith family life.
Allof this isbasedonsoundevidence, gleaned from
muchexpertstudy, but the fact is—and thismaybe the
truebeautyofvacations— the familyvacationoften
throws theexperts foragiddy loop too.Over theyears,
AlvinRosenfeld,MD,hiswife, and their threechildren
have traveled theglobe:Africa,Asia,Europe, theMiddle
East.Now theiryoungest is18, butRosenfeldremem-
bers, as if itwereyesterday, anexperienceat the
Louvre,when theiryoungestsonwasabout8.
“Hedidn’twant to leave,”saysRosenfeld, achild
andadolescentpsychiatristandco-authorof
TheOver-
ScheduledChild:Avoiding theHyper-ParentingTrap
.
“Hecouldn’tbelievewhathewasseeing,”Rosenfeld
chuckles. “Ineverwouldhavepredicted that.”
Here’sanothersurprise:Not longago,Rosenfeld
Familyvacationsnotonlystrengthen individual families, they
strengthensocietyasawhole.
TRAVEL
Ode to the Family Vacation
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