The silent pressure of families in summer

BarcelonaWhen summer arrives, it seems like we all have to do something extraordinary. Social media fills up with paradisiacal beaches, family trips, activities, unique experiences, and calendars so full that they even need a break.

And without realizing it, many families begin to feel a silent pressure. The feeling that, if we cannot offer certain experiences to our children, we are depriving them of a valuable summer.But what if we are confusing entertainment with well-being?Let's imagine that inside the brain lives a small messenger. Her name is Oxytocin. She doesn't carry suitcases, doesn't book hotels, or buy plane tickets. Her job is something else: to create bond, trust, empathy, and love.She appears when we hug, when we laugh together, when we feel accepted or when someone looks at us and sees a lot of possibilities within us. Mrs. Oxytocin is one of the main people responsible for us feeling connected with others.And the good news is that it doesn't require big budgets! It doesn't know if we are on a Caribbean beach, in a village, or on the terrace at home. It doesn't understand money or destinations, only relationships. In fact, there are families that spend a lot and connect little. And there are families that spend little and create memories that last a lifetime.

Sometimes we forget that a brain also needs rest. During the school year, we live at a fast pace: schedules, screens, extracurricular activities, homework, rushing. And when summer arrives, instead of slowing down, we sometimes swap one activity for another, as if we were afraid of being still. But our brain is not designed to live permanently busy. It needs empty spaces, moments without objectives, and, from time to time, boredom! Yes, that emotion so necessary because when a child says "I'm bored" they are opening the door to creativity, imagination, and autonomy. It is that moment when the brain stops consuming stimuli and begins to create them.Perhaps an afternoon without plans is doing more educational work than three organized activities. And a card game, an improvised water fight on the terrace, or preparing dinner together is training skills that will not appear in any idyllic photograph, but that will help build self-esteem, connection, and emotional security.

The most important journey

It is also important to remember that a family's dignity is not measured by what they can afford. No child should feel that their family is less valuable because there are no cruises, hotels, or trips this summer. What they need is to see adults who do not live ashamed of what they do not have because their home is enough, their family is enough, and they themselves are enough.

And since children learn more from what they observe than from what we tell them, if we live constantly comparing ourselves, they will too. And if we live with gratitude, they will learn gratitude. And if we transmit that happiness is always outside, that's where they will go looking for it.There is no more important journey than growing up feeling that, where we are, with the people we love, we actually already have enough to enjoy life.