Vacationing at home

My son wants to know when we are going on vacation again. It is a subject he is highly interested in as of late. It may be because we've had some really memorable ones as a family and he wants to recreate the adventure, but my guess is that he just wants a break from school.

Pictured: Not our home

Vacations are inherently stressful: There is the planning, the details, the sense of failure if something goes wrong, and that pressure of spending quality time together.

So, many researchers are now saying that families should just stay at home. Evidently, staying at home and participating in the activities that everyone genuinely enjoys, like playing board games or going hiking through some woods or spending a day at an arcade, can create more genuine moments of intimacy than a fancy trip to another country could.

I understand all of that. I, for one, am a big proponent of making sure that during vacations we spend time together and apart - just as we do in our every day lives. But I also think that it is important to get out into the world a little and explore.

So, my advice is to take the family vacation that your family wants to take - that means all of you - whether it is at home or elsewhere. Just make sure you don't force your family to spend all your time together. This way, you'll all have something different to share over the dinner table.

Where does your family love to go on vacation? Tell me in the comments.