Why don't people take their kids on holiday?

That's good to hear.
Sadly there's many children that have travelled all over the world but have never been to their nearest UK seaside town, city or historic buildings etc.

Wow! This is so condescending! Kids aren't all the same, people with ASD are not all the same.
From the outside, people probably think we can afford holidays abroad, but we generally can't. We holiday in the UK every year and do other things that "broaden our kids' horizons", but we just can't afford holidays abroad. Last year I saved up for a year and we managed to go to Crete. It was wonderful, we all absolutely loved it, and one of the really amazing things was how appreciative our girls were. They were so grateful for our little sacrifices through the year that helped us save. They took absolutely nothing for granted and were excited about every minute. I'm not saying your kids don't appreciate it - I'm sure they do, and I would never presume to know what other children are like. Several holidays all over the world each year would be amazing and yes, we probably would if we could afford it, but you should never judge others for not doing what you consider to be valuable. Guaranteed there will be some families who regularly holiday abroad who are less cultured than some who rarely leave the country, because people learn and experience in different ways, depending on what their circumstances allow.

I’m not sure about this. My parents never took me on holiday as a kid (abroad or UK) they don’t even have passports. They’re poor, which is the main reason, but they’re also very risk averse, uncurious and frankly boring. They, my mum in particular, think the idea of getting a bus to the next town over is scary let alone going away. As soon as I was in a financial position as an adult to travel I did and I’ve now been to over 50 countries and have plans in motion to move abroad. It’s weird my parents are the way they are because they’re both children of immigrants. Definitely not genetic here!

Are you generally happy in your day-to-day life?

I find that the obsession with holidays comes at the stage when something is missing in every day life. Then a person tries subconsciously to escape from reality, and then claiming that it is for kids experiences and broaden the horizons. I've been through this stage personally.

Then there is the question of affordability. There are always competing priorities for the money, no matter what income is, and this depends on the priorities. At my current stage in life and outlook I'd prefer £5k+ in cash then a week somewhere abroad. But I am quite happy with day-to-day life and the amount of enriching activities one can actually do locally.

For example, our plan for this weekend: horseriding, swimming, looking at seals colonies and their newborns at the nature reserve, Cinderella ballet. Do tell me that it is less enriching for kids than your average AI in Spain/Turkey.

Haven't been abroad in five years+, family income 170k.

You need to speak for yourself here, though. And/or your friends.

So this year we've been to:

• Budapest (the last trip). With DD13. Went to see the Museum of Terror (amazing museum), the underground WW2 hospital in the rock, visited the Hungarian Parliament building and did a tour, did a walking tour in the Jewish quarter with a guide, and visited Dohany street Synagogue. And other things, too many to write.
• Venice - the carnival, La Basilica di San Marco, Palazzo Ducale, Jewish Ghetto tour, etc
• Krakow: obviously Auschwitz, Wawel castle tour, Wielyczka salt mines, etc
• Prague: underground WW2 bunker tour, Communism museum, Art Noveau and Cubism tour, etc
• Paris: various galleries, museums, also Versailles and yes, also Disney
• Japan (different cities) - different cultural objects and museums, to many to mention.

Going to visit Nice, Cannes and the surrounding towns in two weeks. Don't have an itinerary yet, but will be visiting Cathedrale Saint-Nicholas, Matisse museum and I'll plan the rest later.

Next year's trips are to a few European countries and one or two further afield. We both are into history, museums and (to a lesser extent) art.

We've never been to an all-inclusive drink all you can and pig out 'sun-hol' and not planning to.

We used to travel loads pre COVID, pre Brexit and pre school. The combination of those 3 things has made travel much more expensive, difficult and lower quality so we don’t travel half as much. I’m also a “housework in a different country isn’t a holiday” person so there’s no chance you’ll get me self catering in an AirBnB no matter how amazing the location is!
We also have significant commitments to animals and sports which take precedent over holidays, often we haven’t got enough of a gap to make getting on a plane worthwhile. UK holidays often don’t seem worth it, the quality of accommodation on offer is so low for the price it’s feels like being robbed!

Yes that sort of holiday sounds dreadful and I can absolutely understand you never wanting a repeat! AI-resort based holidays are absolutely not my cup of tea.

Conversely this year we spent a little under that for 12 days in 2 US cities - would have been a lot less if one of one of the cities hadn't been New York. Next summer we'll spend a lot less on a road trip to the Alps and back.

Totally fine if holidays aren't your cup of tea of course! But there are better and cheaper alternatives for those of us who hate the overpriced resort holiday.

It's funny to see the differences, no hate at all, plenty people don't like that stuff.

As a family we are like :
booking a holiday - love
Packing - love
Lists - LOVE!
Airport delays - meh very rarely happens
Travel to hotel - look out the window wide eyed at the different scenery
Boiling hot- love

We're all different, I'll happily sit on a 14 hour flight to get me to a magical destination. I best come off here before I start checking booking.com!

I hate holidays. Each to their own.

You do you and leave others to their own lives.

Tourist travel isn't exactly culturally enriching.

I think that it has a lot to do with people’s interests. My brother and I have the same parents, are close in age and were given equal opportunities to develop hobbies and interests, yet he and my sister in law very rarely go away. It has nothing to do with there finances, as they both have very well paying jobs. It’s purely because they don’t really think about it. When my niece was 4 she was looking at the holiday pictures of mine and kept saying she wanted to go on holiday, so I invited them to come away with my partner and I.
They came and we all had a fab tine, together and separately and they even had a few child free evenings. However when they returned and my Mum asked them if they’d like to try somewhere else, they very much felt like they’d done holidays and that was it! They’ve been away a couple of times since, but it’s not their thing. I’m not complaining though as my niece is now 9 and loves seeing new things and new places, and they’ve allowed me to take her away with me.

Going on holiday is a waste of money for us.

5k for a week holiday abroad for 4 of us, I could do so much more with that money that we would get the benefit out of for more than a week.

also it’s very stressful going on holiday, all the booking it, packing, lists, delays at the airport, taking ages to get from the airport to the hotel, whinging children, moaning about applying sunscreen, kids fussy with foreign food, cringy hotel entertainment, boiling hot.

no thanks!

I can’t understand why people would want to go on holiday, it was nothing but a hassle for me the last time we went away (was the first time in 10 years) and when I got back I felt like I’d pissed 5k up the wall.

Maybe you just 'plan better'?

Really??

Yes loads, we travel in the UK and abroad, we love them both but without a doubt travel in other countries is so much better.
No need to " " the crappy town bit...it is literally crappy, I'm not just dissing it for no reason 🤣

A lot of people aren't bothered about holidays and some actively dislike them. Or at least the additional expense and hassle of taking children tips it into "not really worth it". And some people just can't afford it but don't want to say.

I love holidays and travel and it's a real priority for our family (we all feel the same way) but we aren't everyone

Hardly ever went on holiday as a child as my dad hated being away from home (probably on the spectrum). The odd time we did go he would only go somewhere he'd been before in case he didn't like a new place and even then mum would have to talk him into it "for the children". I'm making up for lost time now.

When my kids were little I couldn't face holidays for a couple of years as I found baby/toddler wrangling such hard work and funds would have been tight and not a good investment for the limited enjoyment. I remember a friend saying "oh just go for a short UK break" and thinking "I'd rather save up for a sunshine holiday abroad in a couple of years".

We do know a couple who seem to have loads of couple-holidays abroad each year and never take their daughter, though she's always seemed so lovely and well behaved. They have a cursory week in Devon or Cornwall with her and the rest of the time she was left with grandma (now at uni). I have to say i did find that rather odd and selfish. I get that it is nice to have a couple holiday now and again but they are a very extreme version. I would be gutted in her place if my parents had gone to Thailand, Mexico, Italy and France in a year and I didn't get to come along to any of them.

I travelled all over the world when younger but barely left the country for 5 years when DD was little. Just not worth it, didn’t see she’d particularly get much out of it, and instead explored the UK. We now do go abroad but am conscious of the environment so we try to limit things. This year we went to France by ferry and train and Holland by train. I do think it’s good for kids to experience new cultures etc, but it’s not the be all and end all. They do have plenty of time in their lives to see things. Plus lots of people go abroad and just sit round a pool, and eat British food, is that ‘better’ than my brother’s family who do activity holidays all over the UK?

@CoralOP but have you taken your child to other parts of the UK other than your "crappy town" ?

For us as a family, neither my DH or I particularly enjoy travelling overall.

We have had some lovely holidays over the years but neither of us feel the need for a big holiday every year. I'm autistic and find a lot of the aspects of travel quite stressful (particularly flying) and although I have enjoyed being away and seeing new places, it isn't a 100% positive experience.

Both of us are also relatively environmentally conscious and I just don't think flying all over the world every year is a responsible thing to do.

Having said that, we do go away in the UK. I feel we can have lovely holidays and happy memories without needing to go abroad. I only went abroad 2-3 times growing up (once to France with my parents and twice to the US with extended family/friends) and I definitely dont feel like I missed out.

DD is 6 and is quite excited about the idea of other countries, but if we're going to go to the expense (both financial and environmental) then I want her to be old enough to remember the trips so we've held off so far. I expect we'll go abroad maybe 3 times over her childhood/adolescence but we will also be looking at the Eurostar as an option.

Also my happiest memories as a child (and a lot of my adult memories) are when I am on holiday.
I guess if you never went on holiday as a child yourself or you didn't enjoy them you wouldn't see the attraction of taking your own kids.
...think I need to go and book a holiday 🤣

I think your friends are the anomaly. The vast majority of people I know with kids go on holiday regularly and most abroad. Out of all the people I have every known 3 stand out that haven’t. 1 family were very eco but did do group cottage weekend holidays in the UK with friends and their kids, 1 family mum very anxious and possible SEN but still do regular UK breaks, 1 family money issues but still have sporadic caravan breaks in the UK.

Some people avoid holidays with little kids and don’t book when planning the next kids but once they are over toddler age everyone I know holidays

I actually find it interesting, though, that more children today have travelled so little within their own country. There's a lot to see and do, here, yet I work with children who have never been to a medieval castle, or seen Hadrian's wall, or experienced the tower of London...

They have, however, been to all-inclusive resorts in a variety of different places - resorts owned by the same companies, offering the same food, etc. Ask those kids and they'll say they spent most of their time in the pool with the other English children, ate a lot of pizza and burgers, maybe went to the beach.

Going abroad is only really this big cultural experience on middle-class Mumsnet, to be honest, these days. Most people are taking the kids somewhere cheap, cheerful and, crucially, warmer than here. Somewhere where they can still get English food, they'll spend most of their time with other English people, might do an 'authentic' Greek/Spanish/Portuguese night, but won't come away having been steeped in culture.

And there's nothing wrong with that at all, but I think we do need to get off the trope that leaving one's country magically conveys broader experience. That really isn't true.

Sorry 20 metre radius !!

I live in a road in rural south West England where there are three generations living within a 20 mile radius. All of them rarely go out , either up the road to the village or to the local town. Many of my other neighbours stay within their houses or a 100m radius 98% of the time.
Some people don't have any wander just.
Some families can't afford it.
Some families are not able to cope with foreign travel ( as they have neuro diverse members).
There are lots of reasons I guess 🤔

I'd dread it if I had to go on holiday with kids.
It wouldn't be a holiday for me it would be hell, trying to relax chillout, have lay ins, etc.
And having kids run riot and ruin it.
No thanks I'll book adult only holidays.

Wow, how ignorant. Just because your child can go on holiday doesn't mean other children can cope with it. My child is absolutely miserable on holiday because the change is too much for them. They hate it and it affects them for a long time afterwards. Don't be so sure you know everything about everyone