AIBU to think family days out have become unaffordable?

[ThisAmpleCritic]

Half term. Trying to find things to do to keep the kids occupied. Why is everything SO expensive?! We’ve exhausted the local free activities including various walks, playgrounds, splash parks, travelled to the nearest beach. We want to do something a bit more special and have looked at more “day out” type activities, including children’s theme park, zoo, steam train, castle, national trust etc but it’s just unaffordable. It frustrates me how as a family we’re considered good earners but we just don’t have enough left over to justify £100+ for one day out, not including travel and food and the inevitable ice cream and gift shop visit.

Is anyone else struggling with the cost of family days out or AIBU?

Doing a park and picnic all the type as a day out is boring. I find it so boring, so I absolutely don’t blame them if they don’t want to go to the park all the time

We bought Zoo membership which gives us access to TWO zoos - London and Whipsnade. Cost us about 270 for our family of 4. It’s accessible all year round and even if we use it just 2 times a month it’s about £11 for a day out. there is always a new activity or event there. How can anyone complain about that price for a day out.

This week, we had a little picnic from home and hopped across the road to the Zoo. We watched the penguin show, my toddler had a little play in the Zootown play area and the only thing we bought was ice cream. £8 for a fab day out.

A zoo membership is one of the best ones for kids if you’re looking for one to buy. I’ve even bought it for family as Xmas gifts.

They certainly do. I have an English Heritage property and National Trust estate in my town and both are £26 for an adult and £13 for a child.

Just because membership may work out cheaper across a year instead of multiple visits, it doesn't mean people have £150-200 to drop on membership at any one time.

I agree with this actually. I always say to my DH, why on earth is there a 65+ discount? Most people I know who are 65+ are retired, living on healthy private pensions, mortgage free and sitting on a huge pile of accrued property wealth. Where is the discount for “couple in their 30s with crippling mortgage and childcare fees to pay”. Make it make sense!

We just did lots of different country walks/ wildlife reserves/picnics/ beach trips. Always took a packed lunch, sometimes got ice-cream as a treat. Found they went to enough paid stuff like soft play/adventure parks/farm places/climbing centres for birthday parties once in school.

There’s loads of free options.

But I would say park and picnic only forever is pretty boring. I take my child to the park most afternoons after school, with snacks. So park and picnic is a normal day to day thing, not new and exciting. Life doesn’t have to be always be new and exciting but I think some school holidays per year should include at least something new

I used to love taking mine to the park & playground for a whole day. It's only boring if you make it boring for yourself!
I had hours of reading while the kids run feral....

I don't disagree with you OP, the prices of some places now are eye watering but the above is true too - when I was little going to Chessington for the day was a BIG.THING. Happened once a year.

I think our consumption rate for input - adults and children, has increased so much in recent years but you can't put the genie back in the bottle unfortunately.

Number 1 rule is never ever just rock up to a random venue, for there upon you shall be charged the mug’s price of £150.

I actually find there are loads of free things to do. English Heritage is currently doing free family passes, google them. Went to a few this half term. National Trust did a load of free passes the other month too. Loads of museums are free. There are often cinema deals on Groupon, 2for1s etc. There’s also the National Rail Go by Train.

We always take a packed lunch including some treat food from the supermarket we wouldn’t normally get so they don’t hassle me for treats in the place!

I think it's just to appease them and to stop the inevitable social media "sad faces" if an oldie gets to an attraction to find there's no discount. As you say, it doesn't make sense to give blanket discounts to groups of people who may be in a better financial position than those who don't get a discount.

Although I did notice when we went for a few day trips last week that the "senior/OAP" discount was minimal, i.e. one place was adult entry £19 with OAP entry £18, so a bit of discount to appease, but nothing substantial.

I also noticed either national trust or english heritage site (get confused which is which) didn't show any OAP discounted rates on their entry price board, but we were behind a couple who asked about an "oap" discount, they gave them discounted prices, so maybe their philosophy is to only give discounts if people ask for them, rather than automatic or publicise it.

Well you clearly did not do that with a toddler. I can’t imagine they were left running feral aged 0-5 while you sat with your nose in a book.

I find a whole day out to the park shit boring. It’s just standing around the play area watching your child and follow them around, then sit and eat the picnic in 15min and then following them around again. Would MUCH rather go to a museum or something like that.

I don’t think anyone is saying 7 days straight of the same local park and a picnic is the only way to spend half term? (although it would be fine). As I said, we’ve been to 2 NT places and a museum this half term. We’ve also not left a 1 mile radius on 2 days other than to go to the supermarket or grandparents house.

Equally, I just don’t think kids need ‘SO many theatre shows, exciting days out, trips to theme parks’, to make a childhood. We did that once a year at most when I was growing up and I was happy. I also don’t think kids need to be bought lunch out to make it a day trip.

I find it sad that someone who presumably lives in London (as you mentioned going to the national history museum and the science museum), with access to both the sheer volume and quality of local parks you do, could ever find that boring to be honest. But I am happiest in nature, and I guess everyone is different.

I have come back to reflect: one of the major factors in my decision to move to Scotland was access to things like:

• amazing quality greenspace.
• My kids grew up mountainbiking, canoeing rivers and walking mountains. All second hand kit, all local, all through local clubs and a wall of friends who did the same. Local journeys and adventures were to the fore.
• further afield in the car or train there are some amazing green and blue spaces - beaches, forests, mountains to just go and hang out and go for walks.
• 'travelling' is a real theme for my kids and I - walking around a loch, cycling between a couple of towns with the train home, canoeing a river and cycling or hitching back up.
• lots of free museums etc as the government funds most.

This is my decision to be here. A downside is that I earn less and pay more tax in Scotland. There is a choice to make - but it is all comprimise.

So £78 for 2A + 2C, only it will be less than that because they'll do a family ticket so still nowhere near £100 as claimed.

But if you're daft enough to pay £78 to enter somewhere where you can sign up for annual membership and pay £15 a month, so don't even need to pay in one go, then that's your look out.

I live less than 10min from Regent’s Park and Primrose Hill, trust me we have enough park days. 🤣 My kids even do sports clubs at these parks so we see it more than enough on a weekly basis. I’m sick of it. We even take dinner to the park for after the club! On a weekday! So that’s not something I would think of as a day out as it’s used often enough

That wasn’t the claim. It was that it was ‘no where near £100’, which it is.

The point people are making is the kids wouldn't be bored.

You're doing things to entertain yourself, let's not pretend it's for the kids....

DD is a uni student, occassionally she and DH go to a gallery/museum together. DH is 64, not yet OAP. Sometimes they each get a discount but its usually £1 off which makes no substantial difference to either of them. DH would usually pay anyway but he works FT and doesnt need a discount, and a £1 discount is not much of a saving for a uni student!
But can often find savings for things online. Im with 02 and weve had some decent 2 for 1 offers from the app

I can't get worked up about students and old people not getting discounted entry to places that are purely optional to visit.

YANBU. This is exactly why VAT has been cut on things for the summer holidays.

I do wonder what the point of a tiny discount is. I know every little helps and all that but if it's something like £12 for adults and £10/11 for OAPs/students then why bother with the price differential?

Good grief! We're NT members so don't usually pay to go to stately homes but if (in exceptional circumstances) I wanted to go somewhere non-NT I think I'd draw the line at about £15 pp...which probably wouldn't get me into anywhere 😳

FAO civil servants: English Heritage family membership is included in the Civil Service Sports Club membership, which is about £5.50 p/m.

Everything has gone up massively! I took my kids to the trampoline park yesterday as they haven’t been since last summer, £15.95 each for a 60min jump and socks at £2.50 so £36.90 for ONE hours worth of entertainment!

As others have said, it was always expensive to visit "attractions". My children are in their thirties, but when they were at school I used to have a policy of alternating days out with days at home. We had NT, English Heritage memberships and got my money's worth many times over. Several beaches were within 40 mins drive so we would often go there. Several country parks were quite near too.

But on every day out we never once went near a cafe or restaurant, I took a picnic and drinks, they might get an ice cream and a pencil from the gift shop occasionally. In my garden we had a swing, slide, climbing frame, ride on toys, swingball, sandpit and a paddling pool so there was plenty to do outside and loads of boardgames and toys indoors.

I follow the same pattern with my grandchildren and they are happy. This half term they've been extremely happy with a big paddling pool and the garden hose.

I do think that these days some parents expect to go to a restaurant or cafe on days out, buy every drink there etc, no wonder they complain about the cost, why don't they take their own food and drink. They also seem to think that children need a day out every day - they don't, but you have to make the effort for them at home.