Vacation time can be many things to many people. Many want their vacation to give them the rest and relaxation they lack at home because of work schedules, children’s school schedules and after school activities, appointments and errands. On the other hand, families with children often look forward to spending time doing what will make the kids happiest, sharing in activities that they can look back on for years to come. However, with today’s society so wrapped up in the busyness of daily life, a family vacation filled with one activity after another is not always a first choice.
Fortunately, there are ways to spend vacation time at a pace that can include exciting family attractions without a lot of stressful running and planning. Statistics show that 57% of people asked consider the trip to and from an airport at vacation time to be very stressful. In addition, half of people surveyed feel that deciding where to go for vacation is very stressful. 74% of women report that planning a family vacation is stressful as well. A vacation away from home generally will last one to two weeks, and everything from soup to nuts, so to speak, has to be locked in before ever leaving home. The expense and the planning can be overwhelming!
When planning a family vacation, the best way to go would be to plan it well in advance, making sure to add that precious relaxation time in between visits to exciting family attractions. Plenty of family activities can be included that will provide wonderful memories for years to come, while still giving mom and dad the rest and relaxation they crave. Indoor and outdoor family adventures that include rock climbing, zip lines, giant slides, and more can be found almost anyplace where vacationing families choose to be. Exciting family attractions can include a trip to an adventure park where youngsters will be able to participate in many types of activities like a ropes course, a climbing wall, and tree houses, while their parents can either join in the fun, or sit back and watch.
Many vacation spots are exciting and fun by day, while still offering relaxing forms of entertainment for guests in the evenings. Childcare is even provided by certain hotels and resorts in an effort to provide parents with the time off they need from daytime activities with the children. All of this can add up to enjoyable times of relaxation if vacationers choose to take advantage of the opportunities.
Looking at vacationing from a different angle altogether, a consistent problem that arises often when people are away from work is cellphone usage. Not just ordinary cellphone usage, but employees keeping track of work while they are not on the job. Cellphones, tablets, laptops, and iPads, created for the convenience of the public, have also become a number one nuisance to families trying to spend quality time together. Because they are so readily available and easily transported, today’s electronic gadgets have found their way into every part of life. Of people asked, 61% admitted that, because of the easy availability of technology, they are able to continue working even while on vacation. Checking emails and voicemails is a little too easy to do, as well, and is another way people are pulled away from relaxation while vacationing with family.
Unfortunately, many jobs in the United States do not offer employees any paid vacation time. This is in direct contrast to countries like France, where employees are given 31 paid vacation days each year, Japan, where they get 10 each year, Italy, where 31 days is also the norm, and even Canada, where employees are given an average of 19 paid days off each year. Of workers here in the U.S. who are given paid time off for vacation, only 25% say they actually use all of those days.
People often decide to take a vacation without leaving home. Staycations have become increasingly popular over recent years; however, being at home does make it easier for workers to stay in touch with the job, and even to continue working through their vacation time. Setting down rules for a staycation will make it more enjoyable, and don’t forget to include some exciting family attractions!
