When was the last time you had a real family holiday? No not one where you went away for a lunch or a day visit, a proper long holiday where at the end of it you were sick of each other!!! Well I can honestly say that, as a family, we had not gone on one for over a year.

Yes shame on us, but what with a new baby, kids in various activities and a husband who works on the weekend, we’d probably find gold sooner before we get a few days to ourselves. But last weekend we threw caution to the wind, bottled up our qualms of spending a few hours with rambunctious kids in a car and hit the highway in the hopes that it will take us to our holiday destination quickly!!!

The holiday itself was bliss, I thoroughly enjoyed NOT having to wake up at the crack of dawn and begin my usual routine of meals and chartering kids around from activity to activity. It was a blessed release from the mundane existence of everyday life.

As adults, my husband and I welcomed the sun and sea and we enjoyed our time away, but it also made me realize after looking at the shiny happy sun kissed faces of my children that they had needed a holiday as well. Do kids really need a holiday? you ask.

They don’t have any worries or stresses, any pressures to survive everyday life. But in fact if you stop and observe your older children, they do in fact deserve a break once in a while. They need some time to be away from schedules and routines, from adults constantly dishing out orders and criticizing them. Even though they are children they are human and we all deserve a break sometime. Here are some benefits from children having a holiday.

-          Change of scenery- You might say why can’t children just holiday in their rooms. But as you are aware a change of scenery does wonders to anyone’s spirits. If you consider a child’s typical day it varies from school and then extracurricular activities and home. They are solely dependent on you to take them anywhere else. Their world revolves around home and school and a break from their usual routine will help re-energize any lethargic child.

-          Quality time - Going on a family holiday is a sure fire way to spend some quality time with your children. Get to know them and they in turn will get to know you. In a hotel faraway from home the distractions of T.V, studies and work are not there to get in between your time with your kids.

-          Happy Memories – Memories and especially happy family ones are ones that we look back in delight when we reminisce about our childhood. So why not make your own with your children. When I asked my daughter what her happiest moment was in our holiday, she said it was the time we spent all in bed watching a movie after dinner. Forget the fact that we were staying at a five star hotel with all the amenities and incredible food at our fingers tips. What she found most precious was movie time with all of us, watching the ‘Life of Pi’ at the end of a sunfilled day of activities.

-          Holidays are important – Going on holiday puts even the grumpiest of individuals in a good mood. Thus as we raise our children, these activities are also important in their process of growing up. To spend time with their family, to appreciate their siblings and their elders, to respect them for who they are and to learn and grow through them.

I agree that as a family we should have taken this holiday earlier, for we started the holiday grumpy, stressed and the older two constant squabbling with each other and we returned rejuvenated and more happier. Holidays just like everything else in a child’s life are important, to go through these experiences are crucial in their development.

It is another piece in the puzzle of life, and you as the parent hold the responsibility of making sure the pieces come together correctly. Pack a bag, strap the kids in, go on a family holiday!

By Mayuri Jayasinghe