Kids clubs on holiday – some parents find them to be a saving grace, allowing us some time to ourselves. Journalist and author Sarah Tucker, who has interviewed lots of families for her travel books, isn’t so sure.
Sarah Tucker with her son when he was younger
It was in 1998, when my son was born, and I remember being told it would be best to wait until they were school age before I started travelling with him, to have anything remotely like a holiday for myself. The advent of the kids club seemed to be the saviour of all exhausted mothers, who went on holiday and seemed to do all the family work again – just with less help and resources on hand to help. It was not a holiday, it was an experience, as I was informed by the mothers I interviewed when researching Have Toddler Will Travel (Hodder).
The kids club seemed to be the panacea of all headaches. The children would be happy, entertained, cared for, safe, fed, watered, distracted…. Plus with the children looked after, mother get a break, to be with her man, to be herself or to be in the spa for three hours being pampered if she so wished.
Point is, the harsh truth is that the children did not like it. They wanted to be with Mummy and Daddy on the beach. They even realised mum needed a break.
“Bury Daddy in the sand but not Mummy, as she does all the work,” said one astute five-year-old boy, much to the delight of his mother, whom I interviewed for my book. As a travel broadcaster and writer, I’ve been to many resorts where the clubs have been excellent. On cruise ships, they’re amazing. (Royal Carribbean are particularly good.) Tour operators such as Club Med and Powder Byrne have award-winning kids clubs, with up-to-date technology, games, carers who are fully qualified, and ready on hand to be happy clappy and unflappable.
But in my experience, on the top 10 list of things young children (ages 6 and under) do not like, it’s the kids club.
The reasons? They don’t feel the carers like them, they are bored, they don’t like the other children and primarily they want to be with their parents. Are there exceptions? Ski schools, which are more school than club. Older children — 6 to 12 — still want to spend time with their parents but are also beginning to want to do something with a role model. They want one-on-one experiences with an older person who is a guide of some sort. Mention “kids club” to teens and they will recoil in horror. They don’t want to be categorised or labelled, except with labels they give themselves.
Jane Anderson of Family Traveller backs up my research. Hundreds of thousands of pounds are spent on kids clubs by resorts. Hotels continue to add bells and whistles, to ensure carers are trained and registered, to jazz up their programmes to appeal more to families. But make no mistake, the benefit is less about the children and more for parents to have a break.
Sarah Tucker’s book Have Teenager Will Travel and The A to Zen of Travel are out in all good book shops and on Amazon.
Homepage and top image: By Nadezhda1906 via Shutterstock
What do you think about kids’ club? Do you think kids’ club can change to become more relevant and interesting to children? Do you disagree with Sarah?
Tell us in the comments below.
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Leslie H (tripswithtykes)
Saturday 5th of December 2015
My 6 year old daughter adores them. She has a toddler brother and needs an escape from him and a chance to meet friends her own age. On our Thanksgiving holiday this year, she would ask for an extra hour every time we went to pick her up. And some kids clubs are better than others - the one at Disney Aulani is amazing (and free) and rivals even the best cruise line clubs.
Jennifer Howze
Tuesday 8th of December 2015
Leslie, how wonderful that they really loved it. I'd love to know which ones you rate.
Shobha
Friday 4th of December 2015
Mine have never gone to a kids club primarily because they would burst into tears when we were dropping them off as toddlers. Then of course we couldn't do it when they got older. We wound up taking our nanny on the occasional holiday to help with the kids.
Jennifer Howze
Tuesday 8th of December 2015
Shobha, taking a nanny on holiday sounds divine, especially when kids are younger. They'll be at ease, well looked after, and aren't compelled to do everything their parents want to do.
JuggleMum, Nadine Hill
Friday 4th of December 2015
I'd have another exception to add to the list: Kids clubs on cruise ships! Cruise lines that run a kids programme have a full schedule that the kids can dip in and out of and the kids want to spend time there with their new friends, playing games consoles, listening to music and doing sporting activities with the kids crew! When you hear passengers on cruises say they never see kids around the ship, it's because they are up in Kids club! Like with the ski school example, the staff who run the kids clubs on ships are chosen for their energetic and welcoming personality - they want to be there and have a full programme to entertain the kids at an age appropriate level. I have taken my kids to Kids Club on a land based holiday and found that they hate it - Kids club in these circumstances can almost feel like an afterthought. I'm sure there are some great ones out there, but I have yet to find one. Our philosophy on holiday (as in life) is to go with the flow. If the kids want to go to Kids Club; great! If not, we all chill by the pool - no biggie.
Jennifer Howze
Tuesday 8th of December 2015
Nadine, you are so right that kids' clubs on cruise ships are amazing. Great activities and the facilities these days are fantastic!
Kate, Baby Routes
Friday 4th of December 2015
Interesting. We are yet to try out a kids club - we don't tend to go on holidays where they are available very often although I would probably try one if we go skiing in a resort in the next few years = it's good to have some adult ski time if only an hour!
I do have very fond memories of the kids' clubs I used to join when my parents took us to Canvas Holidays and Eurocamp in France when I was little though. The leaders did all sorts of messy and wild water play that my parents' probably wouldn't ever have done! I am still sad about discovering that my best friend from one such group was gone one morning without warning! She was Dutch and we didn't understand a word each other said but it didn't matter.
Jennifer Howze
Tuesday 8th of December 2015
I think the ski school kids club must rank among the best. Especially since I couldn't teach my daughter to ski -- I'm still learning myself after years of snowboarding.
Gretta Schifano
Friday 4th of December 2015
I agree. I've nothing against Kids Clubs but my children have never been interested in them. They'd rather be with us. I really like spending time together as a family when we're on holiday, especially as my husband works very long hours and is often away from home on business.
Jennifer Howze
Tuesday 8th of December 2015
Gretta, that's similar to us. Both of the us work full-time and my stepson is only with us part-time, so holidays represent a real opportunity for together-time.