I recently spent the night at a lovely place – a special holiday treat for my children before they started the school year. The accommodation was great and we had a wonderful time, apart from one thing. And this ‘thing’ was not the fault of the accommodation owners – it was caused by other families.
It got me thinking about why people may cringe when they see children on holidays. Unfortunately, it seems there are a minority of parents who think holidays are a time for them to sit back while they let their children run riot. When parental responsibility for children’s actions seems to be on holiday too.
And, swimming pools seem to be the focus of this lapse. It was in my situation.
Case 1: two mums sitting back, drinking their wine and talking, while a toddler in a swimming ring was left in the care of older children, who were constantly jumping in, often splashing me and my children. Not to mention the pungent smell coming from the toddler…..
Case 2: the teenage girls playing ‘chasy’ in the pool, who decided to use me as an obstacle, as the girl in front of me kept lunging to my side, trying to tag the girl behind me before I told them to stop.
Don’t get me wrong. I am not the fun police, but parents have a responsibility to make sure their children are not ruining an experience for others. Yes, children can scream in excitement and cry in frustration. But I know if my children are impacting on the pleasure of others by doing ‘dive bombs’ in the pool or ‘hogging’ a favourite piece of play equipment, I will pull them up on it.
In the long run, I hope I am instilling in them a sense of responsibility and empathy that will guide them into adult life.
Have you had holiday experiences impacted on by others? Or do you think I am being unfair? Let me know what you think.
See how I expanded on this theme in Mouths of Mums
Find family friendly accommodation in New Zealand
When I started Family Friendly Accommodation, I had grand visions of having listings from all around the world. But the reality is that being based in Australia means it is easier to get information from Australian operators.
With so many of us travelling back and forth across the ditch, I got in touch with Meg from Family Accommodation NZ and we now have a link to each other’s websites. That means you can use our New Zealand tab to link to Family Accommodation NZ and discover a great range of family friendly accommodation options. And New Zealanders travelling to Australia can also link directly to us from the Family Accommodation NZ website.
Also check out Kidz Go NZ for a wider range of information to help plan your family holiday, including activities, dining and shopping.