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3 reasons why family vacations are worth the time and money
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Family vacations can help bond a family together and show kids the vastness of the world, Erin Stewart writes. - photo by Erin Stewart
Its that time of year again: Tulips are blooming, and kids cant sit still in class. Thats right: Spring!

Its also the time when moms and dads are looking ahead to summer vacation and wondering how theyre going to spend the time off. If youre like me, I would jam the whole summer full of trips if I had the time and money. I love going somewhere new and having dedicated family time away from the to-do list that haunts me at home. I even love the planning for the trip almost as much as the trip itself. Looking forward to the time away makes the excitement last longer than the actual vacation.

My husband, however, is a bit of a curmudgeon when it comes to family vacations. Hed be just as happy staying home, maybe getting wild and eating at a buffet and then letting the kids run through the sprinklers all summer. He hates the idea of shelling out money for a trip that is over in a week, leaving you with only a smaller bank account and a bunch of laundry.

So, if youre in my boat and you have a significant other that gives the old family vacation a big, unenthusiastic thumbs-down, here are the reasons why I refuse to give up on at least one family vacation each summer.

1. New experiences bond people. The same old routine is comfortable, yes. But experiencing new, exciting and maybe slightly uncomfortable things together bonds a family. You share a moment and an emotion and are closer because of it.

2. New places breed learning. Our kids read about places in school but there is something so much more tangible and magical about actually seeing these places. Hiking up to Delicate Arch is going to stick in their memory better than seeing a picture. Traveling to Civil War sites makes history come alive, especially if youre like my parents who always made us charge across the battlefields in a mini re-enactment. And nothing can teach kids about the simultaneous vastness and oneness of the earth like standing on the shore of an ocean, feet sinking into the sand and salty air whipping through their hair.

3. New people foster empathy. We want our children to develop empathy for people who have different backgrounds and life experiences, but thats pretty difficult to do unless you actually meet these people and appreciate their way of life. This could be anything from visiting a different country to even just seeing a different type of neighborhood. The more we expose our kids to different types of people, the less different they seem.

So, yes, when we get home from our vacation this summer, we will be a little poorer. We may be nursing sunburns, and we may be shaking sand out of our suitcases for months.

But well also be bringing home memories, renewed relationships, tall tales and views of the world you can only get by venturing out into it.
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How to avoid 'sharenting' and other paparazzi parenting habits
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A recent study revealed parents often spend up to two hours staging a single photo of his or her child to post online. - photo by Amy Iverson
Before having kids, some people just dont appreciate their friends baby posts. But after having a child of their own, three fourths of new parents jump right on the parental social media bandwagon. If you have become a member of this group, there are some rules to follow for posting responsibly.

Much of a parents worry is how to teach their children to use social media responsibly. We talk with our kids about privacy, oversharing, and setting restrictions on their devices to keep them safe. But parents themselves need to look in the digital mirror once in a while. Before having children, it doesnt take as much effort to think about what to post online. Its up to us to decide what we share about our own lives. But once you become a parent, there are many questions to think about regarding what is appropriate to post about your kids on social media.

In a recent survey, kids clothing subscription company Mac and Mia surveyed 2000 new parents to find out how they are documenting their kids lives on social media, and what concerns they may have.

First of all, people without children seem to feel a bit differently about the onslaught of baby pictures online than those who are parents. 18 percent of people say before they had kids, they were annoyed by their friends baby posts. But after having children of their own, 73 percent admit they post progress pictures of their little ones every single month.

Not only are new parents letting the world know each time their baby is a month older, but they are posting about their kids every few days or so. Men and women report they post 6-7 times per month about their baby.

And while 70 percent of new parents say the benefit of using social media is how easy it is to help family and friends feel involved, there are some downsides. Here are a few tips to avoid the pitfall of becoming paparazzi parents.

Dont miss the moment

In the Mac and Mia survey, some parents admitted to spending up to two hours to get the perfect shot of their baby. That seems a little extreme. New and old parents alike should be careful about spending so much time taking pictures and videos that they dont enjoy the moment. Years ago, I decided to never live an experience through my phone. A study by Linda Henkel, a psychology professor at Fairfield University in Connecticut, found that when people took pictures of objects in an art museum, they didnt remember the objects as well as if they simply observed them.

This photo-taking impairment effect can happen to parents as well. If we are so consumed by getting the perfect photo, we can miss out on the moment all together, and our memory of it will suffer.

Dont forget about privacy

60 percent of couples say they have discussed rules and boundaries for posting their babys photos, according to the Mac and Mia survey. Even so, men are 34 percent more likely to publish baby posts on public accounts. If parents are concerned about their childrens privacy, keeping photos off of public accounts is a given.

In the Washington Post, Stacey Steinberg, a legal skills professor at the University of Florida, and Bahareh Keith, a Portland pediatrician, wrote that sharing too much information about kids online puts them at risk. They write that all that sharenting can make it easier for data thieves to target out kids for identity theft. Check that your privacy settings are where they should be and never share identifying information like full names and birth dates.

Dont be paparazzi parents

36 percent of parents say they take issue when their childs photo is posted online by someone else. Responsible social media users will always ask permission before posting a photo of another child. But parents should also think about whether their own children will take issue with their own posted photos a few years down the road.

When parents are constantly snapping pictures and throwing them on social media, it can be easy to forget to pause and make sure the post is appropriate. I always use the billboard example with my kids. I ask them to picture whatever they are posting going up on a billboard in our neighborhood. If they are okay with that, then their post is probably fine. Parents should ask themselves this same question when posting about their children. But they should also ask themselves if their child would be OK with this post on a billboard in 15 years. If it would cause embarrassment or humiliation, it might be best to keep it private.

Once children reach an appropriate age, parents should include them in the process of deciding what pictures are OK to post. Researchers at the University of Michigan surveyed 10- to 17-year-olds and found children believe their parents should ask permission more than parents think they should. The kids in the survey said sharing happy family moments, or accomplishments in sports, school and hobbies is fine. But when the post is negative (like when a child is disciplined) or embarrassing (think naked baby pictures or messy hair), kids say to keep it off social media.
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