Most Children Deemed to Be ‘Well Behaved’ when They Go on Holidays Abroad

A new piece of research has revealed the impact of vacations and holidays on the way children behave. Most parents said that their children were generally ‘well behaved’ when they went on their yearly holiday abroad. Those children that were described as ‘badly behaved’ either did not go on any abroad holidays, or go on holiday at least three times per year. Additionally, it showed theta most parents who took their children on vacation during term time felt that there was no negative impact on their children’s educational outcomes.

It seems that children who have at least one holiday abroad each year tend to be better behaved than children who have a different type of holiday pattern. This has come out of a new piece of research by a UK based online travel agency. They also found that those who had holidays during term time fared better academically than those who did not.
Sunshine.co.uk, an online travel agency, has been studying British holiday makers’ experiences and habits. They surveyed some 2,107 individuals for this piece of research. Each of the respondents had at least one school in either primary or secondary school. The focus was specifically on their holiday habits and on the behavior of their children.
People taking part in the study were first asked: ‘How would you describe your child’s general behavior?’ A number of possible answers were provided, which lead to the following top descriptions:

1. 34% of people classed their child as ‘badly behaved’.
2. 57% of people classed their child as ‘well behaved’.
3. 11% of people classed their child behavior as ‘very mixed’.

Next, they were asked how often they would take their children on a vacation abroad. This enabled the research team to determine whether there was a correlation between behavior and vacationing abroad. People who had chosen ‘well behaved’ to describe their children vacationed abroad once a year in 68% of cases. In 12% of cases, two holidays a year were noted, and 15% of people went on holidays abroad three times per year. Finally, 5% said they never took their children on vacations abroad.
The team then got to analyzing the group of people who described their children as ‘badly behaved’. What they found was that:

• 55% of people didn’t go on any holidays abroad at all.
• 23% of people too k their children on holiday three times per year.
• 19% took their children on vacation every other year.
• 2% of people said they took their children away once per year.
• 1% of people took their children on holiday twice each year.

The research revealed some other interesting things, including:

• 38% of people took their children on vacation during term time, 62% of people did not.
• 67% of respondents who did take their children outside during term time described their children’s overall grades as ‘excellent’. Yet parents who did not take their children out during term time mainly (in 55% of cases) said their children had ‘average’ grades.

Further research may need to be completed on how behavior, grades, and vacations are correlated.
Chris Clarkson, Managing Director of sunshine.co.uk, said the following:
"These results were really intriguing. If it's true that there's a pattern between how often you take your kids on holiday and how well behaved they are, surely all parents will want to take note! What I found interesting was the fine line between holidaying often - such as once annually - and holidaying more frequently - such as three times a year - and the difference in behavior. Perhaps less is often more! Who knows?" ​

(Photo by ironrodart via Flickr)

Article written by Veselina