Tell me about your kid being an ungrateful wretch on holiday

[MorrisZapp]

My son is 8 and we have just taken him on an amazing short break to London. Entire thing planned round him. Harry Potter tour, amazing lego shop, chain restaurants to satisfy his boring palate. We've had a great time but now heading home in hideous mood due to him being rude and ghastly in the last few hours of our trip.

I've just spent the last part of this holiday standing in Hyde Park in beautiful autumn sun having a three way raging row with DS and DP.

I never got given anything like this when I was a kid but I know my mum tore her hair out at our ingratitude and moaning when we did go on trips.

I'm not looking for advice, DS will grow up and become human, as I did.

I just want someone to say they've felt this frustration too, and maybe get some free gin or something... A AAAAAAAARGH

I am reading these and hoping this won’t be me next August. We are booked for a week long Disney Cruise. My 11 yr old is already asking “ but what will we do on a ship for 7 whole days?”........

It doesn't get worse in the manhandling sense, they can do most things for themselves. And with decent WiFi and a fair wind, you can relax on the train or plane.

It's the endless bloody WHINGING that grates. Kids want the good stuff with literally no hassle at all. So yes take me to Harry Potter studio tour but OMG HOW LONG DOES THIS QUEUE TAKE I HATE QUEUES HOW MANY MINUTES MUM MUM I SAID HOW MANY MINUTES CAN I HAVE A SANDWICH NO NOT THAT ONE OR THAT ONE LITERALLY ANY SANDWICH EXCEPT THE ONES THEY SELL HERE

That sounds like a lovely break OP but I think I would have been exhausted. Doesn't mean he should be badly behaved though, I think most of us have been there at some time.

Yip, I'm all about the field. We're abandoning Majorca next year for a French campsite. In all honesty I'm considering abandoning that too.

We did a week at a french campsite (with pool etc etc) at the beginning of this summer. DS wouldn't join in any activities because "it's in french" despite there being ppl of all nationalities, including English, happily joining in. Had a face like a slapped arse on a lot of the excursions we went on and lived on croque monsieurs coz the food was all wrong so we didn't get to eat in even 1 decent restaurant!

Saved up for ages to take DS to Prague for Christmas a few years back. Moaned the entire time. Wanted to just hang out in the hotel room, and play on the tablet. I was gutted.

He moans all the fucking time right now. It is utterly headbangingly frustrating. Drives me mad.

My friend has just experienced two holidays like this with her fiance. His children have been really good so far with her and it had been going well in general. The holidays (one shorter 3 day, one a week) have put her off and she is considering putting off the wedding because she found their behaviour unbearable and dreads it appearing in their normal life.

Croque monsieur! I dream of DS eating croque monsieur! I'm sure it has some kind of sauce or flavour in it? What, are you trying to poison him? Gah!

Forewarned is forearmed or something, tell your friend to bin her otherwise lovely handsome millionaire. She'll thank me when she strolls through Kensington Gardens with the sun in her face, idly wondering if a cold beer might hit the spot.

We had a few dodgy moments but the phrase "look, it's just French for a cheese & ham toasty and there's nothing else you like, eat it or starve " got us through...Just...

Yep been there too, I have four kids so they take turns whinging and moaning or they just all give it a go where I leave them to it until they realise they are being little shits and they’d rather be out and about than stuck in a room or house with nothing to do. Have had some whoppers in Disney Paris and Orlando too, I’ve taken them all over but makes you wonder why you bother when you get the crabbit shits moaning at you after you’ve spent thousands to make them happy. They’d be as happy in a caravan I bet

Relevant.

www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/society/new-theme-park-exclusively-devoted-to-angrily-bollocking-children-20150730100644

Weirdly, some of the grumpiest trips we have are now remembered fondly by ds1. Contrary little soul that he is...

It's a standing joke in our house that every outing is peppered with moans and groans about how awful it is, how bored he is, asking how many more minutes until we go home.

Then we travel home and on the way the little bastard pipes up from the backseat that it was the best day EVER.

My dad has an actual caravan. DS moans there too but it has the benefit of being free.

That Daily Mash link is priceless!!

Ah, Morris, I feel your pain. I would share my war stories to ease your aching heart, but thanks to copious quantities of gin I’ve managed to block all the truly thrillingly bad stories that would make you feel better, and, quite frankly, cannot afford therapy / wine / additional gin required if I were to rake them all back up again.

I believe it gets better with time. That said, we are planning a holiday with my dps, my dcs, my DS and her dc next year....10 days in a villa with my parents, I fully expect to revert to stroppy teenagerdom at some point myself, so maybe some things don’t change....!

DS in Disney - "it's a bit dull once you've done the good rides"

Me -

We went to Center Parcs for the third time last month and DS (3 1/2) kept piping up "I want to go home!" The minute we got in the car to go home it was "I want to stay on my holiday! I don't want to go home!" Gaaahhhh!!!

This will be me next week when I take my 2 out of the country for the first time.

Omg, thank you op!! I'm so glad it's not just my ds (also 8)! He is genuinely lovely most of the time but we have at least one day each holiday when he is just awful.

I have tried to understand why.... Overwhelmed? Tired? Really badly brought up? Out of routine? Very real preference to just be in our local park? In the end I usually give up and drink wine. So this is for you

Twenty odd years ago a friend of mine took her then two teenagers on a 6 week trip around North Africa. One of them moaned the entire holiday, earphones clamped on at all times and was generally a total pita - often choosing to spend the entire day stropping in their campervan instead of seeing stuff.
He now refers to that holiday as his best memory of growing up/life-changing etc etc & thanks his parents for taking him. So I think (hope) the experience does filter into their tiny minds.
Meanwhile I asked my 9 year old what she thought of Manhattan this summer - ‘whatevs’ apparently.

Sent ds + friend.
His dm was camping a few miles from our home town and refused to meet her ds off the plane. My mil picked them up and kept them til she /we returned.
Never spoke to friend again after she told people we sent them home for refusing to babysit our younger dc!!!

Fed up doing all the planning and then getting no enthusiasm (I'm looking at you too DH) last year so scrapped holiday plans this summer, spent the money on sports camps for DS instead at home. Happier all round and leaves me with some actual leave to take for the rest of the year!

This gives me the rage just reading about it...I haven't taken mine abroad yet (4 and 6) and this isn't an encouraging me! I'm all for a day trip me....

Bird, you are my new hero. I'm not even going to mention DP in all of this. Its a door I can't face opening and anyway, I need him to do half the bedtimes etc so I'm fucked.

Older DS better but had his moments especially the only eat pizza or burgers phase. He is more involved in planning now. Husband and younger DS (14) both miserable fuckers so I'm going on my own next year and saving for a new kitchen instead.