Springing for a family vacation might not sound like the cheapest Christmas gift, but research shows that it could actually be what’s best for your kids.
Professor Jaak Panksepp, a neuroscientist at Washington State University, discovered that family holidays can enhance brain development in children. Playing and exploring, two activities that are not part of the daily routine of school and work, lead to brain growth that is linked to “cognitive functioning, social intelligence and well-focused, goal-directed behaviours,” explains British child psychologist Dr. Margot Sunderland for The Telegraph. Not only that, but playing and exploring together release well-being neurochemicals, including opioids, oxytocin, and dopamine, which reduce stress and activate warm feelings toward one another in both adults and children.