The most expensive investment in a vacation…family

Children do not remember the number of trips as much as they remember who was present with them on them.

With the end of the school year and the beginning of the summer vacation, a beautiful invitation is renewed, issued by His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, when he said: “Let us give the family a greater share of our time.” It is an invitation that goes beyond the vacation, to remind us that the most valuable thing we can give our children is not a luxurious trip, nor a precious gift, but rather sincere time in which they feel that they are a priority in our lives.

A child does not measure love by what we spend on him, but by what we spend with him. He may forget many of the toys, but he will never forget a laughing family session, a warm conversation with his parents, or a situation in which he felt heard and loved.

In the hustle and bustle of life, we get busy creating the future of our children, and we forget that their memories are created in the small details that we experience with them today. Vacation is not only an opportunity to fill time, but also an opportunity to rebuild bridges within the family, and restore dialogues that were stolen by the speed of days.

Perhaps the most beautiful thing we do this summer is to give our children what cannot be bought: time, attention, and real presence. Family is not part of our agenda, but rather it is life that deserves to have the largest share of our time.

Dr. Fatima Al Marashdeh

Expert in innovative education and community learning methods.