Traditional Family Holidays Are Boring According To Kids

Bury the Bucket and Spade 1

The traditional ‘bucket and spade’ family holiday is a thing of the past, according to a new report.

Parents are turning away from the conventional beach holiday to cater for their children’s short attention spans, love of video games and need for constant stimulation.

A study of 2,000 parents and children by Club Med found that six out of ten parents feel their kids are less interested in classic holiday pastimes, and need more activities to hold their attention. A despairing one in three feel their child would always choose to play computer games over a day on the beach.

The children in the study confirmed the trend, with nearly half (42%) of primary school kids admitting they get bored with sunbathing, one in four fed up with the bucket and spade, and more than a fifth say the swimming pool doesn’t excite them.

The results are a far cry from the previous generation – eight in ten of the parents studied said a day building sandcastles on the beach was all they needed when they were young.

But the typical sun, sea and sand holiday is no longer enough for modern children, with 62% of parents in the study saying a simple beach does not satisfy the family. One in four has actually had to abandon days at the seaside because their kids became bored and restless.

The study found an increasing trend for kids to try new activities, with a desire to try horse riding, crazy golf and windsurfing among the list of activities they most want to be able to try.

Go karting, table tennis and archery are all also high on the list for children looking to become more active while away.

Indeed, six in ten kids say the biggest reason they like going on holiday is because of the chance to try new things as a family.

It therefore comes as no surprise that 65 per cent of parents say they are more likely to book to stay at a resort that has a wide range of activities for the whole family.

Laurent De Chorivit, MD of Club Med UK, said: “For this generation of children it’s less sun, sea and sand – and more trapeze, tennis and table football. With iPads, smartphones and so much to entertain kids at home, it’s no surprise they are more demanding on holiday.

TOP 10 ACTIVITIES KIDS WANT TO TRY ON HOLIDAY

1.      Horse riding

2.      Crazy golf

3.      Go karting

4.      Archery

5.      Table tennis

6.      Tennis

7.      Badminton

8.      Table football

9.      Trapeze swinging

10.    Wind surfing

  • Miss B

    Belinda Wanis, aka Miss B, is a Belle About Town who likes to bring a little bit of style into every aspect of her life. An experienced journalist with over 20 years in the industry she turned to the web, creating Belle About Town in early 2010, to fill a gap for tech-savvy stylish women who want the best life has to offer at their fingertips. She loves a decadent cocktail bar, a beautifully cut dress, cultural getaways, quality over quantity and is partial to Asian-fusion food. A globetrotter, who has lived in Australia, the UK and Denmark, she enjoys holidaying in the sun and you can often find her on a beach in Thailand or on shopping breaks in Sydney or New York. But her first love is, of course, London!

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