Why Family Vacations Are More Stressful For Parents

By definition family vacations are supposed to be fun for everyone, but a new survey says something else entirely different. Parents are reporting that they actually need to time to recover from them because of all the stress that goes into them. What is going on?

We talked about this on the air today and came up with what we think the answer could be. Parents are trying to hard to make everything perfect for the family. Some plan out every detail of the trip down to the minute. Whether it's high stress vacation, like flying to a destination like a theme park or hopping on a ship for a cruise, parents are planning more than ever.

What ever happened to the days of loading up the family car with tents, sleeping bags and the camping essentials and heading off to a state park for a week? The only planning you needed to do was making sure you had everything you needed as far as cooking and the other camping essentials, like hot dog grilling forks and the ingredients for s'mores.

That was pretty much the only type of vacation that I used to take back when I was a kid. We would pack up the station wagon and head North to Baxter State Park in Maine and spend a glorious week of camping, swimming, boating and grilling. We would bring our fishing poles, an inflatable raft or boat and a good book to read. The only outside communication we had was a transistor radio for news and the latest hits.

There was no such thing as the internet and wi-fi, which meant that kids had to quite literally entertain themselves.

It takes parents an average of 2.4 days to recover from the stress of a typical family trip. A survey of 2,000 parents found that one in three families lose their peace within an hour when traveling together. Faced with tantrums, 26% of parents resort to unlimited screen time, while 70% seek non-digital entertainment like audio content and games. To maintain order, some bribe with candy (30%) or buy toys (28%), while others invent songs (19%) and stories (16%). Over 60% use audio players, recognizing their calming effects. Yet the pressure to create a perfect trip leads 64% to feel the weight of making every moment magical, with 71% needing a vacation to recover. (Talkerresearch)

Maybe it's time we get back to the basics when it comes to family vacations. Instead of all the stress of airports and long lines at theme parks, why not trying a camping weekend where families can actually reconnect with each other? That's what vacations are really about, right?