Children and teens must observe healthy family relationships built on trust, openness, and understanding.
Maintaining a healthy relationship with family can help everyone feel safer and more loved. An emotionally and physically safe home can be one of the best gifts a parent can give a child, allowing them to flourish, become fulfilled and productive members of the society, and have healthy family relationships. Some of the most critical factors in creating healthy family relationships are open lines of communication, spending quality time together, showing gratitude, being kind to one another, and working together.
The Importance of Family Camps
Camping together as a family has many positive effects. During family camp, members of the family work and live together in an unfamiliar environment, strengthening healthy family relationships. Family members can better listen to one another and have meaningful conversations when freed from the usual distractions of home life.
One study found that families that attended family camp had several beneficial outcomes, such as being positively impacted by camp staff, having fun individually and together, reinforcing their parenting skills, and strengthening their relationships. In many accounts, the campers’ impressions of the event were enhanced by the staff’s helpfulness or friendliness. Taking the kids and the parents camping together is a great way to build bonds and teach them valuable lessons later in life.
Connect with Family, Disconnect Virtually
Putting down the phones and computers allows for more quality time spent conversing with loved ones in person, something that is often neglected in today’s technologically-focused households. A 2016 research by the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that the typical family only spends 31 minutes each day providing care for one another. Thankfully, camping is an excellent way for parents to spend quality time with their kids in a natural setting.
By removing everyday distractions in their home surroundings, family members are more likely to concentrate on and listen to each other, considerably boosting their interaction and communication as a family. Spending more time in nature as a family might also help lower stress levels. According to research published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, the stress hormone cortisol is reduced by engaging in these activities in a natural setting.
Family camps can be a welcome respite from the stresses of modern life by providing us with purposefully planned activities for discipleship. These retreats have been shown to improve attention span, promote healthy habits, strengthen families, and even extend and enhance human lifespans.
Final Thoughts
Family camping trips allow members of the same household to spend quality time together in the great outdoors. The act of moving outside into the fresh air and natural surroundings encourages family members to reconnect with one another in a manner reminiscent of simpler times. By leaving the conveniences of home and venturing into the great outdoors, families who camp must work together to ensure everyone’s well-being. The act of relying on one another and building relationships while camping is a great way to have a healthy relationship with family.