Bit out there, but does it really matter what his motives to travel are?
Ultimately, you’re not going to regret spending 7 months with your family are you? Even if it brings things to a head and forces you to confront what you’re avoiding then it will be time well spent. I don’t know OP’s personal situation, but sometimes it can be good to spend time away from it.
I took a couple of months of unpaid leave to travel with my family (GrahamS off here told me about unpaid parental leave. I’m in his debt if he ever decides to collect!) so I”m definitely biased. It did help me realise how much work my wife did, how demanding childcare is, how I could help and how quickly children grow up.
If you’re worried about what he’s missed at school you could always catch him up once he’s back. There are so many resources out there these days. If you could save up for 7 months of travelling then I’m sure once you’re back and working you can put some money towards tutoring for your son if you absolutely had to.
Re limited datasets and all that. First, it’s not about me, it’s about OP. Ultimately, he’ll have to decide what’s right for his family. Second, I don’t have access to information about what happens when you take a child out of school for an arbitrary amount of time, so I hope anecdotes will suffice. If either geetee or aa have evidence then please feel free to share!