How to Enjoy the School Holidays With Your Kids (Backed by Research)

School holidays often come with a mix of excitement and dread. The kids are keen for freedom, parents are trying to keep everyone entertained (and sane), and it's tempting to fill every day with activities to avoid boredom. But the research on child development suggests the opposite approach tends to work better: less structure, more connection.

1. Let boredom happen, then step back. It feels counterintuitive, but researchers are consistent on this one. Unstructured, child-led play, the kind without predetermined rules or a set outcome, is linked to important health and developmental benefits for children, including social health, emotional health, physical health, learning and attention at school. One useful way to encourage it over the holidays is to deliberately leave a couple of days free of any scheduled activities, so kids have room to explore playgrounds, read, or simply potter about. play research infographic e +2

2. Get them outside, without a plan. A lot of the developmental benefit of play is tied specifically to the unstructured, outdoor, adult-free kind. Reviews of the evidence point to outdoor unstructured play, not led by an adult, as having the most health benefits for children compared with other forms of play. It doesn't need to be fancy: cardboard boxes, paint and water, or a patch of dirt and some seeds are enough to get the benefits going. growingup

3. Expect some risky play, and let it happen anyway. Skinned knees and slightly hair-raising moments on the trampoline are doing more than you'd think. Research suggests that when children experience the uncertainty of challenging or risky play, they develop emotional reactions, physical capabilities and coping skills that expand their capacity to manage adversity, and these skills matter for resilience and good mental health in childhood and into adolescence. pcpc

4. Keep a loose routine, especially around meals and bedtime. Holidays are a good time to ease off the school-term schedule, but total chaos tends to backfire. Family routines, such as consistent meals, bedtimes, and recreation, are an important part of helping children cope and manage their feelings throughout the day. Even something as simple as sharing consistent mealtimes together can help a family improve communication and spend quality time with each other. You don't need military precision, just a few anchors in the day. umdumd

5. Prioritise time together over big-ticket outings. It's easy to think holidays mean expensive days out, but the research doesn't back that up. What predicts wellbeing is the togetherness itself. One study found that parents who engaged in shared activities with their children at least once a week reported higher wellbeing that month, a pattern that held consistently over time. A board game, a walk, or cooking dinner together counts just as much as a day trip. gallup

6. Notice when screens are replacing connection, not enabling it. Screens aren't the enemy, but they're easy to over-rely on. Surveyed families themselves seem to sense this: 58 percent of parents in one UK study named spending more quality time over screen time as their top family resolution, and the large majority believed shared, activity-based time together helps children feel happier and more confident. The point isn't to ban devices, it's to make sure they're not quietly eating the time that would otherwise go to play or connection. monmouthshirebeaconmonmouthshirebeacon

The takeaway

None of this requires a Pinterest-worthy holiday programme. The research keeps pointing the same direction: give kids room for unstructured play, especially outdoors, hold a loose routine around food and sleep, and prioritise being together over being entertained. The holidays that kids remember fondly are rarely the most organised ones.