Having a weekend away from kids is not always easy or practical. Due to logistical reasons, my husband and I generally only get 1 weekend each year away from our two children. But we look forward to those weekends. We look forward to having that special time together to recharge, reconnect and to sleep. And our kids look forward to having a weekend away with their grandparents who they love spending time with. And our whole family benefit from that time. So, please read our 5 Ways a Weekend Away from Kids is Important to find out some of the visible and invisible benefits of these weekends.
Read our weekend away from kids story here.
Drop the Parent Guilt – Why a Weekend Away from Kids is Good for Everyone
1. Your Kids Grow Relationships
Its easy as a parent to feel guilty on your weekend away from kids. To feel like you haven’t earned a break or a rest. There is so much pressure on parents to enjoy their “eighteen years” and be present and engaged for every second of them.
But this attitude can sometimes be an helpful blocking force to your children to be able to grow deep and lasting relationships with other safe adults. This could be grandparents, aunts, uncles, family friends, God-parents – the list goes on.
The relationship between child and grandparent (or grandparent-like safe adult) is unique. It’s special. It’s how kids learn about the generations, the stories of the past, the differences in how grown-ups think and act. A grandparent is beautiful mix of friend and parent. They can excessively dote on their children in a way that the responsibility of parenthood can inhibit.
It’s a relationship they will never forget.
2. Your Kids Grow Life-skills
By taking the time to have a weekend away from kids, you are actually offering your child a moment to develop more of their life-skills. By spending time away from you in a safe space, with grandparents or other safe adults, your child is given excellent opportunity to grow in their communication, social and emotional skills.
As parents you learn the language of your child quite quickly. You know what they mean when they ask for certain things. You know how to talk to them when they are sad or upset or angry. But when you are away from them, they have to step up. They need to learn how to communicate effectively with different adults. Older adults. And it’s excellent practice for the wider world.
Grandparents can also offer the opportunity for children to experience having to adjust their behaviour for an slower adult, or an adult who can’t hear as well. They can learn to be caring and helpful in a way that is just not fun when Mum or Dad asks them.
All these opportunities to grow life-skills grows a strong relationship built on trust, fun and love.
3. You Get to Be a Grown-Up Again (just for the weekend)
This is the best bit of your weekend away from kids. You get to be a grown-up again. Free from the responsibility, chaos, relentlessness of having kids – all the time.
You get to run to your own routine again. You can listen to your body and mind again and do what it needs you to do. And that might sound a really simple thing, but being able to sleep when you want and eat when and what you want (just for the weekend) is amazing!
You get to renew and reconnect with important relationships, whether that be your partner or close friends. Your focus, attention and energy can be on your husband, wife or partner again. Your attention doesn’t have to be divided as ‘normal’ life often requires. And as you strengthen your relationship, you are strengthening your whole family.
4. You All Get to Miss Each Other
This might seem like a bad thing, a downside of your weekend away from kids. And nobody wants their child to be distressed or unable to cope. It’s vital to agree a limit with your safe people of when they should get you and your child back together.
But if your child is happy, settled and emotionally capable of coping with missing you, it’s not a bad thing. It grows resilience and confidence for the future as they learn to leave you and how to reunite with you.
And as a parent, it can be easy to lose the fun of parenting, the joy of having a relationship with your child in the busyness and chaos of your daily lives. It can lead you to feel exhausted, frustrated and longing for the days before kids. But by taking a weekend away, you might find yourself missing them again. You can find yourself falling in love with your kids all over again.
5. Share Your Story
Not all parents have the opportunity to have a weekend away from kids. Not every family has grandparents or safe adults that their children can bond and have strong relationships with. Wider family dynamics can be a minefield for some families.
So when you share, when you talk, remember that not everyone will have the same support network as you. And if you do get to have weekends away from the kids, maybe you could become a grandparent-like adult for someone you know who doesn’t.
More Reasons Why a Weekend Away from Kids is Vital
The thought of taking a weekend away from kids might fill you with guilt, or you may be booking your holiday right now – but here are some more reasons why is might benefit your whole family.
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