Please share your stories of disastrous days out with kids

[Chaosx3x]

Please send solidarity. Just spent an eye-watering amount of money on a day out in London. Took three kids, one cried all the time, one got stuck in a tube station ticket barrier, trains were cancelled, it was insanely busy, had to haul a buggy up and down steps, everyone was thoroughly fed up. Never again! In hindsight it was probably overly ambitious and the DC with SEN was totally overwhelmed. I was really looking forward to it and just feel totally deflated now.

What have been your worst days out with kids? And what’s the most amount of money you’ve spent on a trip/activity that you subsequently feel you may as well have chucked on a bonfire?!

Oh god I’m so sorry but this made me howl 😂

Not my kids but a school residential to London. A mum said her daughter was really excited and had made herself sick, not to worry, we could cope. By the time the train arrived in London, two more were vomitting, by the time we arrived at the camp, another one had joined in. Over the next few days, one by one, the children went down with vomitting and diarrhoea, we had them sleeping on mattresses on the floor in the community area rather than in their dormitories so we could keep an eye on them all at once. As soon as one recovered, another one joined in.
On the day that most had recovered, one lad twisted his knee, we ended up in accident and emergency where there was then a bomb scare.
We went home a day early!

Goodness where to start!? Been so many 😂seem I’m a slow learner!

• taking kids to expensive theme park and DS, 6 at the time, refusing to try a single ride as he suddenly got nervous - he had a ticket for unlimited rides too! Spent the whole time trying to gently convince him/coerce him (ashamed) into trying even little bumper cars..

• zoo where all the kids focused on where the pigeons

• forcing kids to go to the national gallery and Trafalgar Square on a scorching day, ended up with a total meltdown and I couldn’t take anymore so just went ok, let’s go to Hamlyes and you can each choose a toy for 20 and then we’re going home!

simple does it, I think! Or if expensive, make sure it’s something they really like and which are on their terms. I don’t mind fighting them for a hike in the forest or other free wholesome activities, but fighting them to try amusement park rides!?

I’m sorry you’ve also experienced disasters but these are making me chuckle and also see the funny side of yesterday. At home my DH asked DD2 if she’d had a nice time to which she replied “yes, I laughed, I cried and I fell over” which summarises it quite nicely tbh.

I am on the verge of doing this tbh and just abandoning the idea of days out for now. They had a much nicer day today, where all we did was watch some Bluey, go to the park and then play in the garden. I let them use food dyes to make “magic potions” with some old spice jars and they thought it was the most exciting thing ever. It may have stained my sandstone patio but at least no one was crying

My best friend was getting married, in Scotland. I fancied myself as an experienced parent having already got DD (1y 10m at this point). DS wasn’t here yet but would be 7 weeks at the time of the trip. Wonderful, says I! We’ll make a week of it and do Edinburgh at the same time!

Complete Fucking nightmare. DD hit toddlerhood that weekend and went from dreamboat to lying on the floor refusing to move. DS went from contented cuddly newborn to fussy ever-screaming kiddo. I had a breakdown in the middle of Edinburgh Zoo when it started raining and both of them kicked off 😂

I can laugh now (and at 2 and nearly 4 they’re actually a dream, and that trip would be brilliant these days!) but good lord. When we got home I think I refused to leave the house for a month 🙈

Why? Are you gathering stories for some specific reason? This smacks of content collating to me.

@LindorDoubleChoc erm no I’m not. MNHQ will be able to verify that I’m not a journo, long time user. I said why I wanted stories in my OP - to make me feel better. If you don’t want to share one then don’t 🤷

Ours was just a local walk, kids were 10,8 and 5 and I’d stopped taking spare clothes out with me.
We’d walked for about a mile and DD(5) was absolutely flattened by a large out of control dog. Who I grabbed and refused to give back to the owner until they put them on a lead. They did, promptly let them off again and ran around DD, who was screaming. Someone else caught the dog this time and the NT volunteer called the police.
So with DD screaming and covered in
mud, DS2 suddenly has uncontrollable diarrhea. I end up having to give him my trousers whilst he hobbles back back to the car and we basically bin his pants and trousers.
DD ends up being terrified of dogs for years.

Booked a week away. Two days in ds falls on a wooden (slippery) park smacks his face knocks a tooth out. Cue trying to find an emergency dentist in the middle of nowhere.

Following year's holiday, first day visit a castle. Been there five minutes and ds slips on some rocks and hits his head. Giant lump and a concussion.

Had a crap holiday- rain, the car broke down, accommodation was awful. Driving home on the m6. Traffic grinds to a halt. 6 hours later we have barely moved. I believe it was a suicide attempt off a motorway bridge. After 10 hours in the car and still a few hours from home I cave in and stop at a hotel.

Many years ago when my girls were about 7 and 9 we went to Rutland Water to cycle around it. everyone was fine, it was a lovely day, we had a pack up and drinks. It’s about 15 miles circular cycle if you don’t go up the peninsula. After about 8 miles, both the girls started flagging and when I felt their foreheads they both had temperatures and started with sneezing and runny noses etc. Those last 7 miles or so were awful, we tried to jolly them along “who can get to that tree first?” “Who saw the monster in the reservoir?”. We eventually got back to the car, drove home, dosed them up with calpol and they were in their beds for about 3 days! I swear they were fine when we set off!

Various but the main one was forgetting a nappy bag (well DH forgot ). Had to buy nappies, wipes, baby food (DS was just starting to wean so whilst I could breast feed him, he was also crying for something more then I cried because he ate the banana custard from Boots with more enthusiasm than my apple puree
He then vomited it all back up on the way home all over himself and the car

Going to Lytham for the day with DD, DS and OH. We finally get there, lift DS out of his seat into his buggy and realise my hands and DS are full of shit, not just shit, explosive diarrhoea on a mega scale.

Asked OH to get the changing bag, he tells me he thought I'd put it in the car. I could've cried.

Had to get back in the car, wipe my shitty hands on any receipts or bits of tissue out of my handbag and drive to a supermarket to buy nappies, wipes, something to clean the seat and an outfit for DS.

Still traumatic remembering it

Many years ago, I was a newly single (knackered) parent. I took 5yo DS and 2yo DD to the butterfly farm for an expensive summer day out. I got the changing bag out of the car, then slammed the boot door on my finger. Tried not to cry in front of the DC but it really bloody hurt. Got in, looked at the butterflies and had an ice cream then headed back to the car. I tripped over and fell hard onto gravel, skinning my hands and knees and ripping my skirt. I loaded the kids into the car, then used the first aid kit to mop myself up.

Last year, DH and I decided to have a lovely family day out at the safari park. The DC had other ideas and bickered their way round the safari loop until we shouted at them. It then poured with rain so all the animals went under cover and we ended up seeing a single meerkat and a bunch of soggy wallabies. The soft play was overrun with other feral children screaming at eachother so we chucked our two into the mix and sat on the floor for an hour before packing them back into the car, driving home (more bickering) and sending them straight to their rooms.

The one that stands out for me was taking DS bowling when he was about six or thereabouts.

He cried the entire time. Didn't want to stop bowling, but kept howling with misery. He was given one of the metal slide frames to use with the ball and trapped his fingers in it to a prodigious amount. Even more crying and screaming.

I kept saying we could leave but that made him even more upset so we stayed.

Then the icing on the cake was him telling me for months afterwards about how great it had been and begging me to take him bowling again as soon as possible.

oooh that made me feel queasy just reading it.

Last holidays we took the Dcs to London for a day. DS1 (14 years) was obsessed with going to the Natural History museum, then to a particular shop in Liverpool street.

The museum was heaving. I'd bought tickets so we got into that line but it still took a while and DS (who has autism) was about to lose the plot. I had jarred my back (I have a crhonic back issue) so once we got in I was incapable of doing anything. I went to the cafe to sit sown but again- heaving and I ended up sitting on the floor in a huge amount of pain.

DS lasted about 10 minutes before it all got too much for him so we went on the underground (more overstimulation) to Liverpool street. And could not find the shop DS wanted at all. I finally said to him; 'Show me on your phone where this shop is' only to find out that the shop was in Liverpool not Liverpool street in London. Cue massive autistic meltdown in a busy crowded street. DH was about to lose it at that point as well so he walked off. I finally got DS1 calm and sorted and we walked into the nearest restaurant that sold wine and had alot of it. Then home on the train.

That little adventure cost us nearly £300 in the end as we live a long way from London and travelled at the worst possible time in order to make out slot for the museum and get back again.

2013- taking 13-month-old DTwins to visit their great-grandmother (DH's nan) in Spain. Went with DH and his mum. It was then I found out a) DH's nan hated children, and got super stressed with two of them crawling round her house; and b) DH's nan had a really bad relationship with her daughter (MIL), leading to MIL being super stressed and crying a lot. She really was on pins the whole holiday. Add to that DTwins getting some kind of puking bug during the night after eating loads of blueberries, meaning had to wash copious amounts of purple sick out of their bedding. Just as they were getting over it, one morning DTwin1 suddenly went bright red and sweaty, then went floppy, leading to panicky visit to Spanish doctor with MIL as translator. There was a thorough medical examination, and DTwin was screaming. He was luckily fine and was sent away with some infant syrup version of Dioralyte, which did the trick.

Despite all this, there was loads about this holiday that was brilliant, and I have plenty of good memories as well!

Florida.
Every bastard, gold plated, fortune costing park.
34 degree heat.
Queues of 2 hours plus per ride… in 34 degree heat.
Extortionate prices for fast passes.
Many many huge groups (100+) of school kids wearing matching T shirts and backpacks in every queue before us.
Extortionate prices for food and drinks with humongous queues into every eating establishment anyway.
Water fountains dotted around to refill drinks bottles which gave us D&V.
Pool in the Villa too cold to go in as you guessed it, extortionate amount to heat it ($800 for 2 weeks on top of villa hire)
Tipping for EVERYTHING on top of very expensive food.
kids were hot, fed up, and we were skint and pissed off.

NOT the most magical place on earth, the biggest rip off place on earth.

When DD2 was about 2 years old I was travelling back from a weekend away with just her (DH had taken DD1 home the day before as she had school). I thought I’d take the opportunity to do something nice with DD2 so diverted via bird world. I was quite broke at the time and had not checked the price and when we got there found it was more expensive than I had imagined but DD2 was keen to go in so I sucked it up - only to find as soon as we got in there that DD2 was terrified of birds!

Not a big day out but we had been in the local park for a few hours and now needed to get home. DD was 2.5 and decided she didn’t want to go. She was not a tantrummer normally but oh my word. She was rigid, horizontal and under my arm as I struggled to carry her home. My pelvic floor had been dodgy since giving birth, and gave up completely. Eventually I got home, handed DD to my mother as she opened the door, then locked myself in the bathroom for ten minutes for a clean up and a good cry.

This will be totally outing of my daughter is on here .. many years ago I saved and saved to take my children to a theme park for the day
Didn't drive so it was a bus , then a taxi there
Admission / food / snacks / gift shop

One of them cried the whole day
2 fought with each other
I felt dizzy on one of the rides and then puked by a lake
A swan came and ate my vomit while I was still puking
Crying kid then freaks out at swan
I got home put them to bed then sat bewildered , disappointed and alone on settee wishing I'd not bothered

We've recovered and laugh about it now

DD1, DH and I had norovirus. We thought we were in the all clear so we went as planned to stay with DM DF and DS for DM birthday.
first drive to ilfracombe and it was absolutely freezing and windy so we all sat with pretend smiles on while we shivered in a pub garden. DH had a cob on so we had a huge row and then DD did an explosive shit and then screamed the whole drive home.

only it turns out we weren’t all clear from norovirus and DM DF and DS then had it so we were all stuck in mums tiny house while they all were in bed sick apart from DF who decided he could only lay over the sofa and watch Time Team so there was nowhere for us to go apart from sit in the spare box room. Their house was also a baby safe nightmare so I just spent the whole time trying to stop DD dying in a household related accident.

Not days out but holidays.

Got holiday vouchers twice when DS was 18 months then 2 and a half. So we went abroad to Skiathos then Tunisia both times in early May.

It was too hot for DS. We spent the days in the air conditioned bedroom, with highly expensive room service warm milk, only venturing out at night. DS also got ill with a high temperature. Oh joy!

UK holidays only after that and in cottages or apartments with kitchens.

Paultons park. Toddler suddenly hated EVERYTHING about the place and the baby would not stop crying. I had met friends there and left early. Miserable.

Oh and bird world. Was freezing. In hindsight the baby was probably too cold in the pushchair but it was just horrible. And expensive.