No point in coming on holiday with children under 5

We’re currently on an all inclusive with our 2yr old. It’s been lovely! To be fair I think being one parent down is what’s made it really hard for you. Plus we just have one so easier to get a break. She’s loved every minute and it’s been really nice.

We always went to Majorca when our children were little. Self catering is the better option for the future OP . More living space and eat out in the evenings. I hope your holiday improves .X

Not really the point of the thread is it?

I booked mine last November for this August and it still came in a 5k. To be honest if it’s £2k all in it’s probably not a hotel or resort I would want to go anywhere near 🤣

I agree we did centre Parcs or Cornwall when our were little and have nothing but good memories of family holidays. Our first trip abroad they were 10 and 7 and was fabulous.

It's pretty ridiculous people spend this much money on a resort holiday. We book ours 6 months in advance on Black Friday (May half-term) and it's always under 1500 quid, food included, 2000 quid with flights.

It will improve when DH is able to be there too and you’re not outnumbered. Hope that is soon.

We have 3 kids. Went abroad with first loads. Since we had more than 1 we only go abroad if littlest 4+ for that reason. It’s just not worth the money vs expectation!

Now all our kids are 5+ we can go every year and it’s much more enjoyable. The big 2 swim really well so one of us can now be poolside having drink/ reading for a bit.

A good test we’ve found in past is a trip to center parcs!! If you can both enjoy being in pool with the kids then you’re ready. If not, leave it another year 😂!! You can get cheap term time weeks or cheaper weekends in winter at CP (comparatively as I know it’s lots in school hols).

We had lots UK hols when little ones are around and just budget to eat out so it’s a break from cooking!! I really enjoy these hols and so do the kids. Still do these now too.

Hope it picks up for you x

Lots of sympathies - holidays are hard with young children. I have found that the first couple of days are really difficult and then we settle in to a bit of a routine and it gets a bit better. Fingers crossed that happens for you. Hope your husband is feeling better soon too

Same for us. Both families live far away so we travelled with the kids from birth, multiple times a year so a 2.5 hour flight to Mallorca and a stay in an AI seemed easy in comparison to 12 hour flights that we also have to do regularly. Our kids are so used to jet lag, unfamiliar surroundings etc that it doesn’t phase them (now 2 and 4) but of course they can be a PITA on holiday just as they are at home sometimes. I realised once the first one started crawling that holidays would never be relaxing again for the next 10 years or so and try to manage my own expectations accordingly but I’d still rather be abroad in the sun on a beautiful beach than stuck on a grim beach or overpriced holiday park in the UK in the rain. My four year old has now been to around 20 countries and loves travelling and is able to talk about the places she’s been months later so I don’t think it’s a waste travelling with young kids even if it looks extremely different to pre kid travels.

You don’t pay it any attention. They soon learn the appropriate way to communicate.

A simple “I can’t understand you when you’re whinging. I’m looking forward to hearing what you’ve got to say when you can say it nicely.” Is all that’s needed.

Because they know whinging and moaning doesn’t get them anywhere it very rarely happens anymore, only tends to be when they’re ill.

Yerp. Same shit, different location but without your home comfort, toys, games and CBeebies to make it all easier.

We got a roof box and ended up doing UK breaks and taking virtually everything with us for a couple of years.

When the little one is 5ish you will start to reclaim a teeny, tiny bit of freedom as they can be observed slightly more than needing to be held & hovered over. By 10 you'll be back on your sunlounger as they run riot with big sis and a gaggle of mates.

The days are long but the years are short. This too will pass. Kumbaya.

I hope your DH feels better soon!

That’s tough, we had a similar trip, the out of character whinging ended up in chicken pox. Can you build a bit of downtime into the day, or would she play by the kids pool with some “new toys” from lost property?

For the age of your kids, it is definitely same shit, different place. Little children often don’t like being out of routine but once you get a bit more settled the rest of the week should get easier. With my 7 year old we still tend to have tears on night 1 (generally because she misses home) and tears for at least 3 days on return (because she misses the holiday). My 10 year old is generally easy when away but our arguments come at the packing stage.

We still tend to stick to a rough routine of busy mornings and more chilled out afternoons which feels like a hangover from nap time . My easiest holiday was an AI where we played on the pool in the morning with the kids, had lunch with them, they went to kids club giving us the afternoon off and then we played games and went to dinner. Everyone loved that pattern.

We didn’t go abroad until my DD was much older.

We just did the UK holiday parks. I couldn’t be doing all the faff of packing everything/airport etc with a young child especially as they don’t really care for that type of holiday at that age - they just want simple pleasures.

We’ve had some great hols in last few years with now 7yo and 4yo but we usually do Eurocamp, so separate bedrooms, loads on site, we have the car so can travel places, food is less stressful as I think eating ‘out’ even in the hotel can be tiring for little ones every single meal.

We are doing an AI for the first time this summer but I found somewhere with bungalows so we have our own bedrooms and a living space, as I think all being holed up in one hotel room is invariably a bit miserable at times. Plus both of ours are now old enough and keen enough to go into the kids club for an hour or two while I read a book on a sunlounger. Will see how we go!

It depends on the child. My two were relaxed kids who as long as I was there didn’t mind where they slept, what they did and didn’t moan. But I was strict about no winging or moaning unless they had an actual problem.

a holiday is a big change of routine but shouldn’t mean they just winge at you over everything

sit down and have a ‘big girl’ conversation with her about how she must be tired if she is using the winging voice all the time and moaning. And that if that carries on she will have to stay in the room and rest.

don’t just allow it to continue and ruin your holiday. Follow through on that threat if she carries it on as if you flew there in the last few days they probably are tired

That sounds awful. Holidays with toddlers can be tough.

We found that Eurocamp and P&O cruises were our most relaxing holidays when our DC were very young. The cruises were particularly good thanks to the amazing crèche and night nursery. The kids loved it and we got some nice relaxation time in the evenings.

We moved on to villas when they got older - so much more relaxing than a resort.

Agreed. We had a lovely holiday in Dorset on thr Jurassic Coast one Feb. Most days were clear and we had fun messing around on the beach and going for short walks. We knew it would be cold so dressed accordingly. In the evening we cosied up with the log fire.

My kids mention this holiday all the time as it was so memorable.

You have a threenager on your hands 😲hope you DH gets better soon so you're not alone in this!

how do you stop your children from whinging?

Abroad holidays are often a waste of time with such little children. Too hot, too overstimulating, too much change in routine and too much to plan. There are plenty of years ahead for this.

I think you need to try a more activity based holiday and don't expect to be relaxing! We are booking our first cruise later this year - I am most excited about being able to drop DS off at the kids club for a few hours every day and enjoy reading my book with a cocktail! We'll also be exploring/making our own plans on port days rather than booking any excursions which will be enjoyable and less stressful for all of us.

I find holidays with interesting day trips much easier to manage - and booking in the spring/autumn when the weather is cooler and it's less crowded rather than peak season.

totally agree with you OP. I realised when mine were young that holidays abroad with small children were stressful, not relaxing and therefore an utter waste of money.

We go on UK holidays and rent out holiday homes or go to places like Haven with indoor things to do. We've been lucky most times and had mostly dry days.

This year, my youngest is 9 and we're finally venturing abroad again.

If your child rarely talks and only whinges/moans/complains then that is something you need to address.

Of course some moaning and whinging is par for the course, but mine are 5 and 3 and I just wouldn’t allow that constantly.

You're not raising a little dictator, don’t let them control the mood of the family.

Is there a kids Club?
Hopefully your 3 year old will find some friends to play with which will take some pressure off.

IME little children don't like holidays. Days out are better. Take coats, drinks and snacks.