The family unit is as tight as ever despite the financial hardship many have suffered under the recession.<\/p>\n
When it comes to choosing who to spend precious free leisure time with, 51 per cent of people in the UK chose their extended family.<\/p>\n
Though\u00a0money is tight for many, relatives are still getting\u00a0together regularly, with\u00a0extended families becoming increasingly cash savvy looking for value for money days out.<\/p>\n
The research from Merlin Entertainments Group Fun Days found larger families even clubbing together to take advantage of group discount offers.<\/p>\n
Though a lucky 14 per cent say the recession hasn’t hit their lifestyle at all, a whopping 60 per cent now admit to being ‘really careful’ to look for real value for money.<\/p>\n
Psychologist Cary Cooper finds the results encouraging, believing them to dispel the commonly held belief that the family unit doesn’t play the central role it once did.<\/p>\n
Cary says:\u00a0 \u201cIn difficult economic times, it is great to see that the family still plays an important role in meeting people\u2019s social needs, and that people want to spend more time with their family members. This is extremely important, because when times get rough, your investment in your family, through shared experiences and activities
\ntogether, mean you have an important social support system available to provide psychological support, counsel and help.\u00a0 With tough times still ahead, people will need the support of the family, relatives and close friends, so spending time with them now will pay off in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The family unit is as tight as ever despite the financial hardship many have suffered under the recession. When it<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bristol-news"],"yoast_head":"\n