Vacations with your kids build their brains

Updated 12/22/19

Escape!  The word conjures up visions of putting the stress, cares and responsibility away, even if just for a while.  But for children, it can be a time for intellectual growth and building a tighter family bond.

Child psychotherapist and director of London’s “Centre for Child Mental Health,” Dr. Margot Sunderland says there’s scientific evidence that vacation time can be a major period of a child’s mental development.

Writing in London’s “The Telegraph” Sunderland points out the research that says on a vacation you’re using your brain differently than you typically do at home.  She says that playing with your child, something that all-to-often is neglected at home, triggers something called the PLAY response in your brain.  Also, exploring new things exercises the brain’s SEEKING system.

A Washington State University neuroscientist, Jaak Panksepp, discovered those systems and found that when activated, they trigger chemicals in your brain, AND your child’s brain that reduce stress and create a sense of well-being.  They also activate warm feelings toward each other.

She says, “The brain’s PLAY system is exercised every time you bury your child’s feet in the sand, tickle them on the pool lounger, or take them for a ride on your back.”