Holiday Kids Club

[cjt110]

We are off on holiday in August and the place we have chosen has a fantastic kids club. We've only done 1 kids club before and it was quite poor - very unorganised, someone who spoke little English and didn't really have a schedule set for the children.

This place looks brilliant and boasts qualified staff, endless activities etc.

I was telling my Mum about it and she said "well, as long as he spends some time with you"

I was a little put out by that comment. Afterall, we will be holidaying as a family. If he chooses to go to the kids club daily and is happy then that's fine by us. Rather than than him wanting to go, us refusing and us all having a miserable time. The same if he didn't want to go and wanted to stay with us... we would never force him to do the opposite of what he wants.

So I suppose my question is... If DS (who will b aged 6) wants to spend his time at the kids club rather than with us, are we bad parents? We will of course be with him morning, evening and nighttime for meals if he is at the kids club.

YABU - Yes, allowing him to go to a kids club all day if he chooses is a bad thing and he should be limited with his access.

YANBU - No, let him go if he chooses to, it's fine.

I have amazing memories of going to a kids club! I still remember the song they sang, and how excited I got every time it started - and I'm now 42. There are many hours in the day (so very, very many when you have young children). There is plenty of time for both family bonding and kids club!

We always asked to go to youth club on our summer holidays - it run every weekday afternoon and was free - as there were other kids there and big organised games like capture the flag or field trips - much more exciting that going for a nice walk with mum and dad (mountain village holidays visiting relatives)

I don't really understand the point of going abroad as a family just to send your kid to poor quality child care though.

I would imagine the quality of childcare depends on the hotel, no?

I don’t think my kids consider themselves dumped. They hide it very well if they do. We are on a day to day countdown to the day they can go back to kids club.

I never sought out kids clubs purposely when we went away as I felt we wanted a holiday spending time with each other, but one year there was a fantastic kids club on holiday in Greece, it only operated 2 hours a day, 10-12pm, in a bright, airy, air conditioned room with enthusiastic, really lovely people and my daughter absolutely loved it! It was welcome respite from the sun, meaning we could stay out a little longer (if we have a pool/beach day together there's only so long you can safely stay out without a break) Two hours of bliss sitting by the pool reading a book, you can't do that when you're watching a child! If you get a good feel for it (and your child wants to go and make good friends too!) then go for it :-) xx

My 2 have specifically requested we go back to the same hotel this year as last year because of kids club. I think it's the perfect kids club actually. It runs from 6-8pm so we spend the day together then kids dinner then drop at kids club and adult time then kids disco all together & then bed.
Obviously I don't get lying on a sun lounger alone time but I work full time and they are in breakfast & after school club so want to use holidays to be together. Am also a single parent so I get free time when they go to their dad's.
I hate the idea of going back to the same place when there's a whole world to explore but they are so excited already.
Each to their own. I can see where your mum is coming from even if it was clumsily worded but I also think it's your holiday to.
Do whatever you want OP.

A good kids club is the best and helps makes sure everyone enjoys the holiday. My son is very full on, is on the go all day long and tbh a few hours stint in kids club is good respite and gives me a chance to relax and, shock horror, have a beer or a cocktail and read my book. That said he is quite fussy about the things he'll go to (so no crafts or dance workshops!) so there are inevitably days where he doesn't want to go, which is completely fine. We also do lots of trips out so there are times he can't go to things he wants to and that's not the end of the world either. Just do whatever suits you and make the most of your holiday!

My DD loved the kids club and asked every day to go. She had a brilliant time, they did tons of activities and yes she also spent most of the day with us and we played with her. she js an only child (so far) so it was lovely that she could play with other kids too. If your son likes it, there is nothing wrong with it. It’s his holiday too!

I'm hoping my DC like the kids club when we go away this year. I am only expecting to send them for a few hours maybe 2 or 3 times though. There is a lot that I want to do together, so that's my priority.

I don't really understand the point of going abroad as a family just to send your kid to poor quality child care though.

Maybe you just stay at poor quality hotels if that is your experience?

My children never went until they peered into one in a hotel in Dubai, with a climbing wall and every possible activity a child might like to do and then we couldn't get them out.

I used to think that I couldn’t imagine sendin my child to kids club if we were on holiday together, but we went on one holiday and she really wanted to go in. Was completely her choice and it was brilliant. It was a long hot day and was so good for her to play with other kids in air conditioned room for a few hours. We’ve done it ever since. Just enjoy yourselves xx

Maybe you just stay at poor quality hotels if that is your experience?

I've found the quality of childcare has much less to do with the quality of the hotel and much more to do with the local laws.

I'm sure some people are happy leaving their child with staff who lack basic first aid training or criminal record checks because it's a "high quality hotel" and the club has a climbing wall, but I'm not.

We are planning a mark Warner or neilson holiday for next year, the kids will all be old enough (10,8 and 3) to enjoy the clubs then and I know enough about the companies to know I can trust the staff. DH and I can then do some watersports ourselves 🤞🏼

I'm sure some people are happy leaving their child with staff who lack basic first aid training or criminal record checks because it's a "high quality hotel" and the club has a climbing wall, but I'm not

Dear me what a lot of ignorant assertions
you've made there. I can assure this wasn't at all the case and I wonder how you feel able to make those assumptions. Is it because it's a "foreign" country and therefore they can't possibly hold as high standards with regards to childcare or service as the U.K. or other similar western countries? Don't bother to reply. I think I already know the answer...

@Cohle

FYI it was this one so you may feel able not to dismiss ALL "foreign" hotels as providing substandard, even neglectful childcare and kids clubs environments.

A big factor in choosing where we go on holiday is the kids club. My DS5 is still talking about the holiday we went on last May and all he really remembers is the kids club. There is still plenty of time for family time but everyone gets to have fun/have a rest.

I'm sure some people are happy leaving their child with staff who lack basic first aid training or criminal record checks because it's a "high quality hotel" and the club has a climbing wall, but I'm not

We've always used TUI family life hotels. All staff have childcare qualifications and are DBS checked(or equivalent) Don't make assumptions

The range of responses here shows that different people have different approaches, and you are neither being reasonable or unreasonable to book your ds into the kids club. It's simply your choice.

Personally I wouldn't use one. I enjoy us spending all our time together on holiday. I'd also have concerns about safety (probably connected to my anxiety rather than to any real risk tbf) so I wouldn't be able to relax. But that's me, my life, my family, my circumstances.

At six years old, what your son does is ultimately your decision, however much it's based on his preferences. Have you posted because you have doubts about your decision? Or because perhaps you ARE happy with your decision (as your replies to other posters indicate) but you are upset at feeling criticised by your mum? Which would be completely understandable.

I think there are lot of snide remarks on this thread. It doesn’t make you a bad parent if you put your children in a good, well supervised children’s club, where they can meet friends and do activities whilst the parent(s) get 2-3 hours rest. Depending on the age group, children can be very high energy and just keeping them safe and occupied can be hard work. You will have the rest of the time to have a wonderful time together and you will be more relaxed .

And I say this as someone who is lucky enough to be able to be a sahm. I love reading to my DCs, playing with them, do homework with them, eat with them and take them to their activities. I also sometimes need a bath in peace and to read a book for an hour or two without having to watch my DCs.

I don't really understand the point of going abroad as a family just to send your kid to poor quality child care though

I've rolled my eyes so much at this comment they hurt.

On days he wants to go let him go, on days he wants to stay with you let him stay. Check in on him a couple times a day to make sure his still happy to be there and then you’re being led entirely by him and it’s no big deal.
Family holidays can be a bit boring for only children and it’s nice for him to have other kids to play with.
I remember my first time at a place with a kids club I was adamant I wasn’t ‘dumping’ my daughter there until she begged and pleaded with me to be allowed to go. She has a great time and I changed my mind about them.

The usual snide comments on this thread.

My DS is an only child, I was a SAHM for years and DH worked mainly from home, we spend hours together as a family, a holiday was actually a great opportunity to do something different. As an only child my DS loved being in a kid’s club, meeting other children, doing new activities etc. Even at 17 he was enjoying the Neilsson Teen clubs.

I can’t be the only person here with wonderful memories of French beach kids clubs in the 1980s. Club Mickey in Royan being the highlight. I never felt dumped, it was just a fun activity and I got to make friends my own age despite the language barrier (and both my DP worked FT so it wasn’t that they saw me all day everyday the rest of the time).

Gosh, lots of people seem to feel terribly defensive about sending their kids to these clubs. Not sure why if they're so confident in their decision and the standards of care provided.

Or maybe people just react strongly to being called negligent parents....