To think holidays with kids are SHIT

[Holibollocks]

Caveat: I know we are really really lucky to be able to afford to go on holiday.

But. WTAF??! Why is this so shit?!! Kids are 4 and 8 and this is the first 'big' holiday we've been on. Previously it's always been camping or self catering-didn't go away at all during covid and I'm a nurse so we felt like it was worth splashing out a bit for a half term break and we've gone for an all inclusive thing.

Anyway, we're 2 days in and to be honest it would be easier being at work. Every single tiny little thing they have whinged and moaned and complained and then when I thought they couldn't complain anymore they've somehow managed it. Constant fucking requests that go beyond anything I've experienced with them at home...followed by more whinging. So far it's shit. Expensive shit.

What am I doing wrong?? What is the secret to making this a great holiday?

We just modelled the behaviour we expected from the kids, did not have to work hard at it. As I say, some kids are just like that. We were lucky.

I'm the same - high expectations for respect and behaviour even though I'm laid back with so much else. I've one that is easy going and would have been regardless but #2 is/was far from but there's zero tolerance for whinging, whining and rudeness and there's consequences so at 9 she's a delight after a rocky start 😆

Can anyone on this thread recommend some of the great hotels they've been to with their kids?

Not me! Living with kids in a hotel room is my idea of hell and a recipe for a truly terrible time. A self catering cotttage with plenty of space indoor and out works best for us.

The Cairngorm Hotel Aviemore. Fantastic hotel, they put a kids bed in the turret part of the room and called Dds princess!

Holiday Inn Hemel Hempstead interconnecting rooms. Staff absolutely 💯 %. Rooms perfect, breakfast buffet so everyone could have exactly what they wanted.

Drayton Manor Park Hotel, again interconnecting rooms.

Center parcs. Best holidays when they were young. Going again next month. (Dds21 and 19 now)

We stayed at the Luca Blue Lagoon in Kos , a 2 bedroom family suite
enormous pool , nice food , entertainment and we rented bikes and cycled to a couple of beaches and took a day cruise
excellent holiday

I like a self catering every now and again but the problem is who does the catering? Sometimes you just need a break from all that

@Dilemma22 Bougna villa in So coma, Grand memories Splash in punta cana. I have Stella villiage booked in Greece next week too.

Go AL, look for a splashworld type of holiday or holiday villiage because they tend to offer great facilities for the kids.

Totally agree All inclusive for us as a family.
I want a break from domestic tasks on holiday.

Tricky one as love the idea of no cooking etc but Dh hates being round other people in a hotel and we love the seclusion and space of self catering. Our compromise is Dh and teens do most of the food shopping and prep which we keep really simple going for local stuff interspersed with eating out

We do resorts rather than SC so it feels more like a holiday

We have used kids club at various ages for a few hours break

Just try and relax., easier said than done l know, kids can and do pick up on your anxiety, l always find the most calm chilled out kids have calm chilled out parents. Dont see it as "that" holiday, far too much pressure, rather just a nice break. Change of routine can affect young children in a negative way, my son confided in me once he was older that he used to have a massive fear of getting lost whenever we took him away on holiday, l was never aware of this, and didn' t take my eyes off him, but he was prone to acting out, so you just never know how they are viewing the experiance.

@ WombatChocolate I could not agree more. I’m sure lots of our friends/family probably think we are OTT with simple hard rules such as - always sit at the table when you are eating (no food or drinks including any kinds of snacks on the sofa, or worse, just walking around with food or drink), no screens at the table, ask permission to leave the table, bring your own dishes and stack in the dishwasher etc etc.. We’ve always been consistent with table manners. It’s how we were brought up too so it makes sense to us. And the upside is that we can all go out for a meal and enjoy it and BE in the moment. On our last holiday we brought along a deck of cards when we expected the service might be a little slow and the card games ended up being the highlight of the holiday. I also totally agree with following through on consequences, and we do sometimes falter a bit on that and it’s nearly always down to us being tired, it takes more energy to parent well but it is worth it in the long run.

I agree with this. We always did quite active holidays pre-kids so it's not been that much of an adjustment. I actually mostly enjoy hols with mine, especially now they're a bit older (older end of primary). Some days are always going to be better than others, but mostly it's pretty fun. Even if it's not stuff I massively enjoy it's rewarding to see them enjoying themselves.

Some DC are naturally more introverted in the same way as some adults are. Being pitched in with a big group of random people with no control over what I was doing or when wouldn't exactly be my idea of holiday fun, so I wouldn't necessarily expect it to be my DCs' either. We've never done kids' clubs, but one of mine would probably love them & one would totally hate them simply because they have different personalities as adults do.

I'm so relived by this thread! Just took the two kids (8 and 11) away glamping for 3 nights- thought it would be good for us to have some 'quality time' together. It would've been lovely with my youngest, bu It was totally shit thanks to my eldest who moaned incessantly and who's idea of quality time involves doing only exactly what he wants at all times. This morning found me crying to myself about being a failure as a parent, and we came home this afternoon a night early. I wish I hadn't bothered and spent the £300 on myself without them.

Do it. I can think of loads of ways to spend £300 on myself.