Holiday ideas where onlies mingle easily

[Catladyagain]

Hi there,
We have a boy who'll be 7 just before we head off on our summer hols. I'd be very grateful for any suggestions people have on where we can go. He is quietly confident and can be fine approaching people when he's observed them a while, but in a hectic place, won't throw himself into a social scrum. He loved a eurocamp in france last year where there were a couple of small water slides & a go-kart track. But he didn't end up meeting any kids.
Really appreciate any suggestions. Budget will stretch to about £2000 for a 7 day holiday for 3 of us.
Thanks so much,
Laurie

Book somewhere with a kids club.

I know you want other children so your child isn't bored, but please don't let him be that child that constantly attaches himself to another family's children because it's nice for you... It's not nice for them.

I'm not saying you would definitely do that, but on the basis you're booking your holiday around other children being on site and your child being "fine approaching people" it doesn't seem like you've considered people are on holiday and don't want to be approached adding an extra child to their dynamic all week.

We've been places and literally had to change what we wanted to do because this one little boy just sought our DC out everywhere. He was like a constant plus one. At the pool. Meal times. And his parents were always looking on adoringly "oh don't they play so beautifully together". No, not really, my kids are just too polite to say anything, I'm too polite to say anything, and you just leave your kid hovering around our family because we're more "fun."

A kids club totally solves this.

Family adventure holidays - Exodus, Families Worldwide etc. readymade mixing and usually plenty of family time too.

Book a joint holiday with a family you know who has dc a similar age.

I agree with the pp above that it is highly annoying when a child latches onto one's family group. A 7yo is young enough to need some level of supervision and that would end up defaulting to the other parents. So unfair

We used to go to Neilson beachclubs when my daughter was younger. Their kids clubs are fantastic. Water sports, games, proper nannies in charge. She used to love them. All the kids use them and she always made friends. It’s been a while and not sure of their cost these days but sometimes they have offers on newer resorts.

Thanks all. I'm a bit surprised that everyone has assumed the worst in my post re letting him attach to other families. That is absolutely not my intention - I'm going on holiday with my kiddo and I intend to spend a lot of time with him. Herein lies the problem with sites like this?? We don't come for a lecture! Anyway, I do appreciate you all taking the time. We have a very healthy attachment and we are also very sensitive to others' needs and wishes to holiday without a cling-on. My child hates kids clubs - more of an introvert - so all I'm thinking is a slightly more simple holiday affair where people have noticed there's a nice central area where the kids feel comfortable congregating for some friendly mixed age free play. Thanks @Aramox - really interested to hear of these. Will look into this. @Kaftanqween - Neilson is amazing but unfortunately I'm not sure our budget stretches here. It's become so expensive.

At that age my dd made friends at Holiday Villages or similar family geared all inclusives.
im on a few hotel sites on Facebook and regularly see parents posting- we’re coming to x on x date with my 2 dc. One is football mad, anybody going at that time who’s dc would like to hang out with mine’. Might be worth a try once you know where you’re going.

Does you lad want the company of other children while on holiday?
If he does great, but be aware he may not and that’s ok too.
I was an only. Had friends at school/clubs etc and loved playing with them but was also quite shy and mainly comfortable around people I knew. So holidays were a time I didn’t have to stress about ‘integrating and mixing’ and could just be with family.

Kinderhotels (and other 'family hotels - Kinderhotel is a brand) in central Europe usually offer kids clubs that aren't organised fun but offer a space for kids to hang out away from their parents with adult supervision. They tend to run all day so aren't as intense either. My kids have made some good friends in them.

Anywhere with a pool ime!

kids clubs are also great at that age and avoids the almost inevitable issue of one set of parents ending up keeping an eye on someone else’s child. Like it or not, it happens!

If he is an introvert, that's more reason he'd probably prefer to play with kids he already knows.

I'd really try to organise a joint holiday with cousins or friends.

We've always booked somewhere with a holiday club, and found the organised fun/activities helped DD get involved and make friends (she's not outgoing enough to make friends at the pool). After a couple of mornings at the holiday club, she quite confidently plays with her new pals in the pool/beach, but I am careful to make sure she doesn't attach herself too much to any particular kids/family (though in our experience, most people are quite happy for the kids to all play together, provided we take turns to keep an eye on them).

We have an only and I was one of two but with an age gap that meant I was effectively an only from mid primary school years in terms of whether sibling was on hols with us or not.

Our DC is sociable but, like most only children, can appreciate solo and is good with adult company as well as with other kids. In the school summer hols when in the age group of OPs DC he'd be at clubs or on play dates/friend meet ups for a lot of the time we weren't away. We never went to a kids club type holiday, we always did holiday cottage or hotel and saw the time as family time. There were occasions when friends from school were staying nearby and we arranged a meet up on holiday. There were activities like indoor climbing on wet days during a Lake District break.

I don't recall that on any of the times he was some sort of 'burden' on the families of friends he made on the beach or at indoor climbing. I think posters saying stuff like that are being a bit anti only child.

I also don't think our DC ever felt lonely on holiday. The only 'bored' moments were either weather or teenage years related. We always thought about bringing stuff to entertain him when waiting for food to arrive in pubs and restaurants. I mention this because we'd often get another child ask to join or Top Trumps game how ever quietly we were playing.

@slamdunk66 thanks v much for the reco & that's really useful to know there are boards where people connect beforehand. Never head of it before! Holiday Villages looks great but I think it's all inclusive via Tui & unfortunately out of price range I think. I've just looked at Tui for a search for October and lowest price on any kind of holiday is £700 pp for the October half term! Yikes.

@Readytohealnow another valid question. What I'm noticing is that he's now often super keen to be in the company of other children if it's for free play and he can observe everything beforehand. He's quite confident once he's assessed things - but it needs to be the right environment. I'm a bit torn as I think kids thrive in simpler, quieter settings but then it's really quite nice to have a range of activities to pull on eg go-karting / pingpong / crazy golf / cycling etc while on eurocamp. We all love spending time together and he was largely very happy in just my company last year (my husband ended up working the entire holiday :( but when I invited him to cycle to the playground solo at the end of the trip while he packed he leapt at the chance and spent a fair amount of time there, enjoying chatting with some other kids. He's finding school relationships quite challenging so this is not about throwing him into a camp and leaving him - he doesn't want that, but he's definitely wanting a bit of time with some kiddy company, which I think at just turning 7 is very natural.

@Ridingthespringwave I love the sound of Kinder Hotels! A wealthy friend of mine loves them. We have a big family event in Austria next summer, so we might see if we can save up to do this. Thank you

@GotToWearShades Yes, I'm aligned with all you say. And personally, I love it when a friendly child wants to hang out with all of us! As with anyone new, you can just politely redirect them when needed. Generally speaking, I love meeting new people, young and old, & always love it when we come across similar folk who appreciate the same.