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25th February 2018
03:29pm GMT

In a time when many kids don't get outdoors as much as we'd like, this is heartening news.
It also shows that parents needn't spend big for everyone to enjoy their day.
"We didn’t hear anything about the extravagant birthday gift or the marquee with the 100 people in garden for the Communion party. It was that we built forts with cushions in living rooms," Dr Colman Noctor, a child psychotherapist who helped conduct the study, told the Independent.
"Instead of sitting down in a posh restaurant where they have to be quiet, it’s about parents getting down to the children’s level. Going out on the bikes in the park is much more enjoyable for them."
Spending time together as a family is hugely beneficial for kids, he said, and so should be a priority.
"The child can go to their parents when they’re in crisis, and for this to happen, this closeness is something that is built over years, it’s not something that can be just created at the moment of crisis itself."
The research was conducted for Center Parcs Ireland.