![\"McCarthyClaire_dsc0463\"](\"http:\/\/childrenshospitalblog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/McCarthyClaire_dsc0463-300x198.jpg\" "\\"McCarthyClaire_dsc0463\\"")
It\u2019s nearly school vacation time\u2014and you\u2019re probably making plans (or will, once your shopping is finished) for things that will keep the kids busy during their time off. Museums, concerts, playdates\u2014whatever fills the days in a useful, educational way. Because you can\u2019t leave the days blank, right?<\/p>\n
Actually, you can. And sometimes leaving them blank is exactly what children (and families) need.<\/span><\/p>\n Don\u2019t get me wrong: if there\u2019s some really cool exhibit you\u2019ve been waiting to see (my family wants to see the Harry Potter<\/em> exhibit at the Museum of Science), or Christmas wouldn\u2019t be the same without a trip to The Nutcracker<\/em>, go for it. And if that one kid your daughter has been dying to play with is finally free over vacation, by all means set up a playdate.<\/p>\n But sometimes it\u2019s important to remember the real meaning of vacation, which comes from the Latin vacare<\/em>: to be empty, free. Children need this, especially these days when being scheduled (sometimes highly scheduled) is the norm. They are so scheduled that in 2006 the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) issued a report entitled \u201cThe Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds<\/a>.\u201d It\u2019s sad when the AAP has to remind parents to let their kids play.<\/em><\/p>\n The thing is, unstructured play is important. It\u2019s particularly important for child development, because it\u2019s through imaginary play that children explore the world, practice decision-making skills, learn to work in groups and learn to share. It\u2019s also how they learn how to entertain Families need downtime, too. With everybody running every which way, we miss chances for connecting with and enjoying each other. Not to mention the stress on the parents who do all the scheduling\u2014and the drop-offs and pickups and snack- and gym bag-packing.<\/p>\n So how about using vacation as a relaxation and reconnection time? Here are some suggestions:<\/p>\n If you approach the vacation this way, you just may find that when it\u2019s over, everyone will be not just rested but happier. You might even find yourselves wanting to spend more time this way. Which would be really wonderful\u2014for everyone.<\/p>\n Built any good forts lately? Ever made origami animals out of used holiday wrapping paper? What does your family like to do together during vacation time?<\/strong><\/p>\n Related posts:<\/p>\n It\u2019s nearly school vacation time\u2014and you\u2019re probably making plans (or will, once your shopping is finished) for things that will keep the kids busy during their time off. Museums, concerts, playdates\u2014whatever fills the days in a useful, educational way. Because you can\u2019t leave the days blank, right? Actually, you can. And sometimes leaving them blank […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":503,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-86436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/503"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86436"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86436\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"stockphotopro_502628QHA_no_title\"](\"http:\/\/childrenshospitalblog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/stockphotopro_502628QHA_no_title-300x199.jpg\" "\\"stockphotopro_502628QHA_no_title\\"")
themselves without the aid of an electronic device, and how they practice self-control. Unstructured time is important for mental health, because it gives kids a chance to decompress and relax; without this, there\u2019s a higher risk of stress and depression.\u00a0 And it can be good for physical health, especially when that unstructured time involves physical activity.<\/p>\n\n
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