It’s smart to be intentional about making the most of spring break with your family for the best results. If you just coast through the time, it’ll quickly be over and you’ll wonder what happened.
Because of the daily school and work schedules of families, spring break is an excellent opportunity to step out of the normal routine and build some memories.
So, what are some ways to make this year’s spring break a memorable one? Here are a few ideas to get you started.
Schedule Time Off from Work If Possible
It’s not always an option but if you can, schedule some time off of work for spring break. It’s been quite a while now since the ups and downs of the holidays and you all could use a well-deserved break.
This can be a great time to catch up on how everyone’s doing and to spend meaningful time together. Even if you can’t take the entire week off, a few days can make a big difference to your significant other and children. It’s important to remember that unless you make the time, your spring break plans will fall flat.
If you can’t get off work, maybe you can still schedule some extra time with your significant other and kids when you’re “off the clock”.
Place Limits on Electronic Device Usage
Now that you’ve made the time to be with your family, you’ll need to make sure you’re available to each other. The distractions of electronic devices make it all too easy to tune everyone out. A little usage can actually be healthy as a way to unwind. Just don’t let it dominate your time as a family.
In the short term, it may seem easy for everyone to zone out with video games, Netflix, social media and iPhone surfing. However, if this happens too much, you’ll feel like your spring break was squandered.
Making the Most of Spring Break with Your Family: Get Active Together
Now that you’ve made time for each other and put away your electronic devices, this is an ideal opportunity to get active together. Take a hike, go for a swim, ride bikes, throw baseball or play tennis.
There are oodles of possible ways to break a sweat and a lot of benefits come from this. First, most Americans don’t get nearly enough exercise and this is a great way for you and your family to feel better mentally and physically. You’ll also build a fun experience to remember for years to come.
Talk About Meaningful Things as a Family
Lastly, and most importantly, spend time talking about important things as a family. You can share about your future goals, your fears, how your friendships are going and about school and work, for instance. This is also the perfect time to discuss your summer plans since it will be here before we know it.
If you simply attempt to sit down and talk about more than everyday things, it may feel awkward. That’s why it’s a good idea to exercise together, do an outdoor activity together or something else that allows conversations to happen more naturally.
It’s also important to spend time as an entire family, one-on-one with children as much as possible and, of course, to connect solely as a couple. Rob Pascale and Lou Primavera Ph.D. wrote about this very thing in their Psychology Today article entitled “Time Together and Time Apart”.
“We should also mention that a couple’s leisure time should be split between spouses-only versus time spent with children,” say Pascale and Primavera.
Summing Things Up
Sometimes, making the most of spring break with your family also means finding ways to improve your family relationships. We all can constantly get better at that. If you could use a little extra help from a trusted professional or things are especially tough right now, Valencia Relationship Institute is here for you. You can schedule an appointment with us at your convenience.
