7 Ways Kids Ruin Your Holidays

Cheryl Barry - 7 Jun 18

Spending time with the kids and as a family is wonderful, it’s good to switch off from the usual routine and spend quality time together. But there’s no denying that holidaying with the kids is just not the same as what it used to be before children came along. Back then a holiday meant lounging around on the beach, eating in fancy restaurants, drinking copious amounts of alcohol and staying up late.

Here’s 7 reasons why it’s not the same:

1. No lie ins. Every day whilst we were on our recent break, our youngest daughter got up between 5.30am and 6.30am.  Ouch. We might think we’re on holiday, but the kids never seemed to get the MEMO about sleeping in. They don’t care, in fact they’re positively excited to be up even earlier because there’s new stuff to do and explore.  Guaranteed that the first day back to school, I had to wake them up…..

2. Food. The days of going out for a slow wander through town, looking at restaurant menus and seeing where you might end up for dinner are over. Cute little tapas places, swanky seafood restaurants or anything “foreign” are all out the window. Now we’re restricted to the places that will mostly sell sausages, pizza and burgers. Will they be child friendly? Will they mind if my child starts throwing a tantrum or food on the floor? Also, the timing is essential, no more late-night eating after a cocktail or two; now we’re restricted to finding places that are open at 5pm when the kids are demanding to be fed.

3. Tantrums. We no longer have toddlers, but there are still squabbling siblings to sort out. The bickering and arguing and fighting in the back seat of the car are enough to drive anyone crazy. Our youngest threw a few tantrums about sand whilst on the beach. Apparently, there was too much of it and she didn’t like it on her feet. I spent a fair amount of time placating her and rubbing sand from her toes.

4. Bedtime. Before children, we’d enjoy a few sundowners, perhaps before going out. But holidays with the kids mean they’re out of their usual environment and often don’t want to go to bed. Our youngest was in out of bed constantly, getting up and down needing the toilet or a glass of water or to find a particular toy. There was not much time for relaxation or adult only time at all, I was lucky to get a glass of wine before going to bed myself!

5. Toilet. Despite my frequent requests for the kids to use the toilet before we went out anywhere, one or both of them would always need to go in the car or as soon as we arrived. Cue all of us traipsing around to find the nearest public toilets!

6. Alcohol. I love my wine and going on holiday always used to be an excuse to drink a lot, but with children things have had to calm down. For one thing, it will take me a good hour or two to make the youngest child go to bed and stay in her bed, then there’s the matter that you know they’ll be up early. Dealing with a hangover at 6am and two little people jumping on you is just painful.

7. Beach Life. Before kids, my idea of a holiday was to get up late, put a towel and a book in my bag and head for the beach where I would lie all day in the sun reading my book, going for an occasional dip in the sea and lunching in a nearby bar. Nowadays I have to pack a much bigger bag to accommodate everything including changes of clothes, hats, snacks and activities. Life at the beach is much more active, building sandcastles and moats, collecting shells, paddling, rock pooling, playing games (as well as removing sand from the youngest’s toes). There isn’t much time to sit down let alone read. I’m always conscious of the heat and the need to find shade or get off the beach at the hottest times. Lunch usually consists of homemade cheese sandwiches and a flask of tea.

Holidaying with kids is certainly very different and can be extremely testing at times too, but would we change it? Apart from liking a bit more sleep, probably not a lot. We can cope with the basic food, early starts and lack of booze, just to see their excited faces and share the memories of being on holiday!

A version of this post was first published on Cheryl’s blog – Tea or Wine. Cheryl is a Marketing Freelance Copywriter and you can follow her on Twitter.

Cheryl Barry

Cheryl Barry is mum to Alice, 6 and Eva 4. She is trying to grow her working life as a freelance marketing copywriter whilst juggling motherhood. She blogs mostly about these two different worlds and how they often collide at www.teaorwine.com and at Huff Post. Cheryl lives in Chelmsford, Essex. Follow her on Twitter at @cherylebarry

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