School Holiday - Common Practices and Effects

Common Practices and Effects

Summer holidays for most children are a time to relax, enjoy themselves, and catch up on studies, or to spend time with family or relatives. Many families travel together on school holidays. The old purpose of the summer break, to free children to help with the harvest, is now relevant only in a minority of farming and rural families in most countries.

School holidays have many effects on a country, ranging from the price of travel and holiday accommodation, which increase as demand increases while children are off school, to a change in crime rate: Example UK crime rate monthly figures. Traffic congestion and heavy passenger loads on public transport on school run routes may be worse on school days during term time. The number of families taking holidays away from urban areas can reduce traffic and use of public transport in cities while loading long-distance highways and means of transport.

In some countries, including Germany, France and Australia, where many families travel to their holiday destinations, the start and end dates of school holidays in different regions are staggered to reduce the heavy traffic and pressure on means of transport that would otherwise occur on these dates.