As a parent of a
toddler who is an expert of getting himself into mischief, finding
somewhere relaxing and safe for the little one isn’t exactly easy.
In fact, it can be a bit of a nightmare, which is why I wanted to
share my experiences of the feared search for a family getaway.
What I Have to
Consider
With the little
one who has mastered the art of running in any direction he please,
we need somewhere I can feel safe that he cannot run off, but I don’t
want to be stuck in a box for a week. Ideally, nowhere little man can
run into any danger.
Just like any
other three-year-old, he can be prone to having a temper tantrum, so
somewhere aimed more at adults probably isn’t on the cards, but I
also want to be able to enjoy myself. Family parks are certainly the
best place to look, as anyone that stays there does so expecting to
be around young children. One of the best examples is here:
https://www.allenscaravans.co.uk/locate-a-park/
Accommodation
As we are
travelling as a family (two adults, one child), we require more room
than a simple room with a double bed as little man will need
somewhere to sleep. A caravan, or static motorhome, is ideal for us
as we can have our own space to sleep, while never being more than a
few steps away from our toddler. Of course, we cannot have any
potential hazards in reach of him, so any cookers or other materials
must be kept out of the way.
Whenever we
search for somewhere to stay as a family, we like to ensure that our
accommodation offers inside activities in case the weather means that
it is not suitable to venture outside. When we stay in the UK, this
is often the case, so a kids club is something that we certainly make
sure is part of the package.
Meals
This sounds
obvious, but you wouldn’t believe the amount of places that fail to
offer healthy meals for children. As anyone does, when we are on
holiday we let our hair down and, when it comes to meal times, treat
ourselves a little bit more than we would at home, but that doesn’t
mean pizza every night.
With our toddler,
we want to encourage healthy habits. Just as any young child is, he
can be extremely fussy and we have to do our best to get him to eat
his greens. Before deciding to go anywhere, we always try to look at
the menu to make sure that there is something for little man to eat;
otherwise it will be a very long holiday.
Price
This is something
that everyone looks at and, unfortunately, when you travel with kids
you do so at a premium. Luckily, as little man is three and hasn’t
yet started school, we can still book our breaks during term-time,
but we know that the day isn’t too far away when we are beholden to
top end prices for exactly the same break you would take a month
before or after.
When it was just
the two of us, we had no issue cutting corners to keep the costs down
– a budget room in a quaint B&B did us fine, but now that isn’t
an option. It is definitely worth shopping through comparison sites
for hotel rooms, adjusting the filter settings to exactly what you
are looking for. We also ensure that we have an option to cancel for
free right up until the day before you check in, which most places
now offer, in case little man is unwell or circumstances change.
These are our
main points of interest when searching for breaks that are
toddler-friendly. For those that have travelled with a toddler, you
will surely be able to relate to this post – if you haven’t, then
your time till come.
