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

Spent £6k last year taking the teenage stepchildren away (both teenagers)

As a surprise I booked LA. Responses were "the pool looks really small" "hotel looks dodgy" "is the Wi-fi free" "it doesn't look as hot as Tenerife". I nearly had a shit-fit then and cancelled it. They've ONLY ever been to Spain before.

When we got there they didn't stop fighting. I mean to the level where we had to separate them. DSS spent all his time watching fort nite videos he'd downloaded on YouTube every time we got in an Uber "don't want to look out of the window, I want to watch this"

DSD spent 3 hours every day getting ready to go out and instagramming selfies "selfie in the bathroom" "selfie on Venice beach" "selfie in the restaurant" if she wasn't taking selfies she was using an editing app on her phone to make her tan darker and lips bigger.

I think on the third day I went for a walk on my own and came back telling the other half I'd get a seat in my own on the flight back. He begged me not to.

When we got back they declared it the "best holiday ever". I've blanked it from memory

We went to a lovely holiday park in France with pool complex, slides, teen clubs, karaoke, talent shows, football tables, mini golf and big fun fair nearby etc. I was looking forward to my 14 yo making some friends, and buggering off having a super time, leaving me sunbathing with my book. She sat in the mobile home most days on her phone, only getting dressed to go out to eat. I could have booked a naice villa for the same money. I asked what she fancied doing next year, as obviously it was not a huge success, and she says she wants to go to Auschwitz

Greece with DS3 was hellish.
DS1 and DH literally refused to get on a plane with him again.

He didn’t like a single thing food/pool/beach/kids club/sailing, all intolerable.

He totally ruined it for everyone, was miserable, screaming or crying the entire time.

As soon as we got home, he couldn’t stop raving about it and begging to go again.
He still cites it as his second best ever holiday.
Good thing he’s at school right now. I could throttle him just thinking about it.

These are making me laugh so much.
I must add that as a child with a sister 5 years younger, I hated family holidays. My parents were very generous and we went to Disney several times and all round the stars and saw amazing things. Stayed with family (who had no children) and did all the big stuff in New York, tickets to Yankee games etc. Or had luxury villas in Portugal and such places. I remember being taken to see starlight Express in a London and to the rock circus followed by hard rock cafe for my 10th birthday. (Lucky me ).
And TBH it was wasted on me. I didn’t understand what a big deal it was as had no comparison, I missed my friends and animals. I didnt really have much fun with my sister as she was to young and so never had anyone on my wavelength and it was all about behaving well in public etc.
I look back and feel bad because mum and dad clearly wanted us to have all these special holidays they never would have had. But I hated all the travelling and just remember feeling really lonely. I wasn’t unpleasant (parents wouldn’t allow it), but just remember always dreading it and counting down the days until home.
My best ever holiday was when we went with another family who had 2 children my age, in a holiday cottage in the lake district. So much fun. I am now findful that DD doesn’t want exspensive trips away. She wants to play and play and be free, and not to have to rush here there and everywhere. So we have decided to ditch holidays for a few years and buy camper and just go to campsites with out families where we can drink wine under the awning whilst she is free to safely play and enjoy her freedom.

I took my two DC away for a weekend - just me and them, so it was totally child-oriented - amazing park to visit, easy transport links so no waiting around, buffet food so they could have exactly what they wanted...DS (7) was a dream, loved it all, got loads out of it. DD (4) whinged it was boring, whinged she wanted to be at home, whinged she was tired, hot, didn't like everyone speaking a different language, she didn't want to walk...and then cried her bloody eyes out when we were about to get in the car to go home because she "never wanted to leave".

To be fair to DD(10), she has made it clear that she doesn't want to go on holidays. She wants to stay at home and have sleepovers with friends and watch tv and make slime and do Hallowe'en things or Christmassy things or whatever else is going on. When we go away, it's really for me and my fond parenting fantasies rather than for her. I think that takes the pressure off, because I'm not looking for her to be grateful, just reasonably respectful of the fact that I'm allowed to do things I want too.

Watching

Reading this thread has made me feel MUCH better about the holiday we are currently on.

We have a 5 yo and a 1yo and has lots of plans - take big one horse riding, day trips to here there and everywhere. As it is we were all unwell right up to coming and then the flight was hideously delayed meaning we didn’t get in until the early hours of the morning. The consequent ‘jet lag’ had meant a couple of days of long lies, iPad time and pootling about doing very little. I was genuinely feeling like a failure. But now I wonder if actually this is the best idea anyway.

On the other hand, a have led a couple of month long expeditions for teens to developing world countries. On my first we cave dived, trekked through cloud forest, climbed a mountain, saw the most amazing world famous festival and participated in a local project before a couple of days of beach-based R&R. Proper life-affirming stuff. Stuff which had taken 2 years of planning and fundraising.

During the first one the group did not stop complaining about food. Like ever. They trekked through the forest regaling each other of their favourite fast food and what they would order when they got one. When they got to the top of the mountain they literally all sat down at once and started playing a game of cards they had been most reluctant to stop before the climb.

They were funny and good company but 15. When we got home my now dh was late to pick me up and I stood in the school car park with a bottle of wine at my feet breathing in the peace and the solitude. When I came home from my second he was late then as well. One of the parents said “oh dear. Will you be ok on your own!” Another parent literally pulled her away by the arm saying “alright? She has been in the same room as our kids for a month. She will love this!” And I did.

So this means we should carry on doing these holidays?

What sort of holidays wizzy?

Been there, hissed at the kids.

I think though that as adults we forget that sometimes less is more. We try to create what we think will be the perfect day/ holiday and when our expectations aren’t met or shared it makes us stressed. Disney is a prime example, costs a fortune so you want to get your monies worth and try to do to much causing stress.
A trip to the science museum is knackering enough for one day and has resulted in melt downs before bed and we only live a 20 train ride from London.
If you crammed all that into one day it was probably way too much for everyone!

These godawful family holidays where your kids just moan and moan

Ach sack them off.

I say that now. Maybe in another few years I will be standing in a queue in Disney sobbing

We have just taken our two (adult) children on holiday to celebrate our silver wedding

I'd like to say it cancelled out all the previous family "holidays" that were ruined by entitled whinging bollocks

But it didn't

So many Disney stories 😂 so much for the happiest place on earth.

Mine is also a Disney one. We go to Paris every year and the first year we took all 3 kids was the worst 5 days of my life. My middle child acted like a feral beast the entire time. At one point I ended up bawling my eyes out in Frontierland because he had thrown himself on the ground screaming "Don't hit me again" over and over...because I told him he couldn't get a €60 men's xl sweatshirt (he was 6). For the record I've never lifted a finger to him. I ended up leaving my mum with him and I walked away before I exploded.
I'm attempting Florida on my own with the 3 kids next year...god help me.

Yep, I have a teen and preteen now. We have a special one off family holiday booked at Christmas to celebrate DH's 50th. DC1 has already whinged about not spending Christmas at home and having to miss the cadets' Christmas activity (ten pin bowling). He'd rather do that than go ziplining in a cloudforest apparently. Grrr!

We did a (relatively) cheap and basic week in Swanage in a hostel and dc loved it - same last few years in other UK coastal resorts. Sea, sand, other kids to play with, an occasional ice cream and extra attention from their parents is all most kids need to be happy on holiday from my experience (talking under 12s).

This thread has kind of cheered me up. Which amazing lego shop?

I can totally identify with these!

In the summer we had 10 days in Spain. Kids would have been happy to stay in the pool all day with their mates. How DARE we go out to lovely beaches, how CRINGEY that we made them try a different restaurant every night. Every trip out STARTED with them asking when we'd be back at the apartment. Everything we suggested or did was met with eye-rolling and sighing from the teenager and tearful dramatics from the youngest. They were constantly moaning, bickering or being uncooperative.

I had one foreign holiday as a child, aged ten. Apparently my brother and I behaved so badly my parents took to drinking a bottle of cheap Rioja on the balcony every night and swore never to take us abroad again! They didn't!

Agree that at some point they'll turn into decent human beings... until then...

I've not left island since November last year (live on island in the Caribbean) and we're taking DSs (7&4) for a short mid term break to Miami this Sunday just to get off the rock.

As excited as I am not to think about anything much, I am, as evidenced by our holiday to Tampa last August, fully prepared for it to be a shit show, complete with stroppy kids.

I think I'm going to create bored kid bingo, so DH and I can at least have some fun. Things like:

"Are we nearly there yet?"
"I want the window seat!"
"I'm bored!"
"I miss my friends!"
"I don't want to go home from the zoo!"
"I want that toy in the gift shop!"

And so on.

Which amazing Lego shop? Oh only the biggest Lego shop in the world, which happens to be in Leicester Square! Two huge floors of mind boggling Lego amazingness. Two hot, frantic, seething, bewilderingly expensive floors.

It was a joy, a joy I tell you compared to the shop next door. You ready for this?

A
four
Storey
Multi
Level
Noisy
Busy
Shop
Selling

M&Ms. If you think I'm joking, I beg you to examine the empty valium packet under my Tracy Eminesque bed. I'm still in it.

We're taking our youngest three teenagers (aged 14-16) to Pompeii / Herculaneum / Naples in a couple of weeks. Having mixed feelings about it after reading this thread... 😆

As a reward a few months ago I suggested Nando’s as a treat. DC1 who was 3 at the time whinged & said he wanted Pizza Express, bloody cheek! He also told me he doesn’t want to come on holiday with us & happy to stay with grandma.

Another holiday which wasn’t a disaster but annoying was summer 2017 when we rented a villa with private pool in Mallorca. DC were super excited about having their own pool and the first week they were never out of it. However, by the second week the novelty had worn off and it was “too hot” and so they wanted to spend the whole day inside in the airconditioning in their iPads.

Utter waste. DH and I had a great time -swimming, wandering into town, eating out etc while the miserable buggers blasted the air on while glued to their screens. A bonus was that we had planned a rather expensive holiday in 2019 to St Lucia where we had honeymooned for our 20th wedding anniversary. We realised it would be an utter waste of money to bring the DC so they are no longer invited

M&M world is madness in a shop. Bizarre place. Dc love it. Porcelain M&M figurines for £200+ 

(I may have a large bag of black m&m's downstairs).