Bad Holiday

[jenk1]

Well we are home from our holiday in Torquay, we should have stayed there until Friday but we have come home today (we have only been there 2 days)

Basically as soon as we got into the caravan the trouble started, DD refused to let us undress her and said "no caravan, no holiday" she wouldnt eat properly, she came out in red wheel-type rashes all over her body and she was just miserable.
DS didnt like the holiday, wouldnt go in the kids club, wouldnt go to the entertainment (it stinks he said) the restaurant stunk(it didnt) the caravan stunk(it didnt) my cooking was disgusting (it wasnt!), he wouldnt participate in anything, he wouldnt go to the Caves as he was frightened, all he wanted to do was trawl around the shops looking for anything Spongebob related.
Then, yesterday morning we had words with him and told him to go into his room to calm down for a bit, next thing DH sees him running outside the caravan,-he had climbed out of the window with no shoes on and just dropped to the floor, he could have injured himself or worse could have ran off before we saw him and anything could have happened.
That was it, there were no locks on the windows and we spent yesterday just driving around Torquay and rowing (me and DH)
So we decided to come home, DS said when we told him "Good, ive got what i came for" He had found a shop selling Spongebob and had bought a pirate patrick.
So we are now at home having made the almost 300mile trip twice in a weekend.

I feel really upset, is this how holidays are always going to be now?

so sorry it all went wrong. caravans can be a nightmare at the best of time. as so little space. we use lodges/bugalows and sites that have a swimming pool. never yet used the entertainment as can't bear all the staring.

yeh, with you on the staring, DD refused to share any toys with the other toddlers and tried to stop everyone from colouring by taking the crayons away and DS refused to point blank take part in any activities as they were not Spongebob-related.

where do you go on holiday if you have SN kids?

We've only had one holiday in 9 years! Other people are always trying to tell me how to "fix" the problems but I've been in and out and all around the issues, safety being one of them and the fact that a holiday should be just that, not pure stress for me and DH. SOrry, don't know what to suggest. DH takes time off and we stay at home together and go out and do nice things, not during the school hols when DS is at home obviously, but other times. We are going to have our second holiday this year, 5 nights! Because DS will be at a residential respite centre that he has just starting to go to for one weekend a month. That's the only way I could see us being able to do it, if he is elsewhere but somewhere we know he is safe and happy OR we could buy a holiday home.... not very practical and hugely expensive.

we gave up caravan type holidays, our three don't like the crowds the queues or the noise, plus its too cramped, i would try to rent a cottage near the sea or something similar, we go abroad and rent a villa loads of space our own pool we avoid any complex type places our family always end up being the entertainment
try something closer to home for one night and extend from there

we have taken dd1 on a few holidays - usually beach although we did Singapore - having said that - she was 8 months first time - came to Aus and basically stayed with family. 2nd time - we stopped over in Singapore and she was almost 2 - pretty good although she got sick at SIngapore Zoo - so we had to abandon that.

When we go away - we usually stay in apartments - may not be an option for lots of people but it works in that we can shut her in - do not think she would cope with a caravan - no space iyswim.

Know that is no help - sorry it did not work out.

We are also out of school holiday time so no big crowds with children... that helps.