Kids’ clubs on holiday. Ooh that was once a controversial topic. I don’t know what the current thinking is. Are they frowned upon by people who don’t understand the concept of: parents need a break too?
“You have kids and then don’t even want to spend time with them on your family holiday” – people have been known to say.
In the past, I have been known to say, in response to this: “fuck off!”
Everyone who owns small children knows that holidays are not what they were pre-kids. In fact, there should be an alternative word for a holiday with your kids, that probably wouldn’t include the word, ‘holiday’. A few weeks before, the anticipation is great. A few days before and you are feeling completely overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the task of packing for babies/toddlers/checking partner’s/if you’ve got time, you throw in a bikini and a sarong for yourself. By the time you get to the airport, you are heading straight for the Wetherspoons, or, if you’re lucky, the lounge where you feast on the complimentary drinks, while your kids are already wondering who this person is and when can they have a break from this stressed out individual – hey parents, we need a holiday too!.
A holiday by a pool seemed like a brilliant idea back in January, when all you could dream about was sun. When you descend on the pool on your first morning, however, the reality is that none of your children can swim and you have to be on it like a hawk. You buy yourself a cocktail just because it makes you feel grown-up, oh and as if you are on holiday. It then sits getting warm next to the Kindle that is switched off and realistically, will remain switched off for the duration. The 3 s’s: sun cream, sand and smalls – nuff said. If you are clever, you have somehow managed to bribe grandparents into joining you – probably on the proviso that they will get to spend quality time with their grand kids (mwahahaha). If you didn’t do this, you may well find yourself booking them in to the kids’ club, whilst alleviating your guilt in the knowledge that if you didn’t, you may well kill them and that they are just going to have so much fun in there with all those other little monkeys, who are muttering away to each other over the craft of the day: call this a holiday? I can do this crap at home.
My ex and I used to go on holiday to a hotel in Scotland, where there was a kids’ club. That’s why we went to that hotel. Recently the girls were talking about those holidays and one of them said that they had hated the kids’ club. Next thing I know, they’re all muttering in agreement. Rubbish! I told them. You loved going to that club. Admittedly it was run by a Scottish matriarch whom everyone, including the parents were terrified of. Every morning there was a long queue of hungover parents, waiting patiently in silence, counting down the minutes until they were next to sign for three hours of freedom. A couple of times we went to this hotel with my sisters. One morning my little sister decided to have a laugh with our brother in law by pretending to admire his new phone, whilst changing his ring tone. This particular morning we were all standing ashen and silent in the long queue, when my brother in law’s phone boomed out: “I’m hung like a donkey!” in an Alan Partridge voice. The matriarch didn’t look best pleased and it did cross my mind that she never treated our kids the same after that.
So where do you stand on this one? Are you putting your kids in a kids’ club while you relax by a pool this summer, or are you of the opinion that holidays are for the family to spend all the time together. Don’t worry if you feel this way. I won’t swear at you, because my kids can swim, put on their own sun cream and pour my wine when I am stuck to the sun lounger. There is light at the end of a very long tunnel. Happy holidays 🙂
Urgh! I know that a holiday with my baby will not be a holiday for me. And her grandparents are practically forcing us to go on holiday with them (they are on holiday more than they are ever at home). But unlike you suggest, I know that they will be useless at looking after her and I will end up hot and exhausted watching them get drunk and wishing I could have just half an hour to myself. I would definitely feel she was safer in the hands of a Kids’ Club. #Stayclassymama
That made me laugh: watching the grandparents get drunk! Thank you for your comments 🙂
This is where I am so lucky(?) that I dont have to worry whether to have a holiday or not because we cant really afford it at the moment. But I do dream of it. Simple trip. Nothing fancy! And I would really want my son to have his own time and hopefully he wont mind me having my own time too =) #ablogginggoodtime
I actually think that staycations can be brilliant fun too and a lot less stressful when the kids are little. It’s just about having time off normality. Also, as you say: keep it simple. Thank you for commenting.
I’m with you- at the end of the tunnel! All mine can swim, they chose to go in and out of kids club as they please for various activities and best of all we are currently in Mallorca with my mum too! Xx #ablogginggoodtime
You’ve got it all sewn up! High fives and have a lovely relaxing holiday 🙂 thank you so much for taking the time to comment.
If you don’t have grandparents on tap, the kids club must offer light relief! My kids would never have a bar of it (proper clingy) but they’re free ranging tweenagers now so we’ve got past it, like you say there’s light at the end of the tunnel. #fridayfrolics
I’m enjoying the light after years of high maintenance. Holidays are probably the one area that had actually got easier with tweens/teens!
We did a sun holiday a couple of years ago with the kids and it was an absolute hideous nightmare . If I ever muster up the courage to do it again I will most certainly be chucking them in a kids club #stayclassy
Oh no! Did you blog about it? I bet it made awesome reading – the biggest nightmares always do! Thank you for commenting.
Vacations and stress go together like PB&J. We are like you, and keep them with us, little to no help and wondering when the relaxation actually comes. I think it is well after the college years, if we survive until then. Oy… #bigpinklink #stayclassymama #momsterlink #mg #fridayfrolics
Hang on in there! You will get to relax with that pina colada one day 🙂 Thank you for commenting.
Oh I am a big fan of kids clubs! We all need a break and it makes us appreciate family time that little bit more 😉 Oldest insists on going. We ask her to only for the morning or afternoon but often she wants to go all day! We still do plenty of things together as a family too so it’s all ok. It also means that Mr C and I get to spend time in the adult only zone – BLISS! Thanks for linking up with #FridayFrolics
Well said! Adult time is extremely important too. Happy parents=can deal with kids better!
Same s@*#, differnt location! I need a holiday after a holiday! Thanks for linking up to #FridayFrolics
Exactly! Thank you for hosting 🙂
Haha this is really funny I loved it! I think kids clubs are great and I will definitely be using them in the future! No harm for a few hours I say #stayclassymama
Thank you 🙂 No harm at all! Thank you for commenting.
Unfortunately I am not going on holiday – if I was for now she would be staying with me. However, when she is older I would have no problem if she wanted to join in the kids club or if she wanted to stay with me. I have to admit the kids club makes me slightly nervous (that’s society these days) however ultimately I will let her decide when she is old enough!
Thanks for linking to #ablogginggoodtime
No need to be nervous about kids’ clubs – they have to be so highly regulated now it’s unbelievable! They’re probably far safer there than with their parents sometimes, haha! Thank you for commenting.
I have to admit that I am in the family holidays are for family camp. Additionally, I as a child would have hated to be forced into kids club (I never was), so that probably affects my view. I realise that many kids love them, so there’s no problem. But I do dislike the idea of children like me, who don’t like that type of thing, being made to go there (though I strongly suspect that the number of parents who would really force a child to go when they don’t want to are probably small!) I do, however, completely agree that taking kids away is pretty stressful & I don’t necessarily look forward to it! I suspect that part of the reason I feel as I do is that I have never been a fan of ‘relaxing’ holidays anyway – I don’t do lying on the beach or going to spas & I hate heat. I like to go and do things. So from that point of view, whilst it is additional work, kids won’t exactly fundamentally alter or ruin the nature of the holiday I wanted to have. I can see that for people who have always enjoyed the relaxing beach holidays, activities for the kids to go to separately probably works!
Thanks so much for joining us on #FridayFrolics. Hope to see you next time!
I agree that if a child isn’t keen then it would be a bit mean to force them on holiday! A lot of kids prefer the club than being with their parents, as the clubs often run fantastic activities and they make friends they can hang out with in the afternoon/evening. It certainly all depends on individual families. Thank you so much for your comments and for hosting 🙂