Family’s fight back over the school hols.

Last month a father vented his fury on Facebook about trying to book a Center Parcs holiday with his seven-year-old daughter.

Paul Cookson found the price for October half-term was £300 higher than the week before and wrote: ‘I don’t think I should be penalised for sticking to the rules.’

Donna Thresher, the mother who created the petition calling for a cap on price increases, wrote:
‘Family time is so much more essential in the current working world, but so many people cannot afford holidays in school holidays … It’s time to stop the holiday companies cashing in on school holidays and let parents have some guilt-free family time!’

I have to agree I have taken my children on family holidays in term time because otherwise we would not of been able to afford to go. I stand by my decision as I feel this is something that brings us all together along with the fact that the children are experiencing different cultures trying different foods and making life long memories that we look back on in years to come.  We are all so busy in our normal everyday lives and actually stopping the clock , switching off the internet , T.V, mobile phone all of life’s distractions and replacing this with one on one family time is invaluable.  The wind down for the end of term , especially just before the six week break sees the kids learning relaxed and mine have even come home to say they have watched a DVD or had play time in the classroom a few days before they finish.

The best solution would be to see schools stagger their dates which is something that ABTA are backing.
The idea of staggering school term dates to spread the demand for family breaks was backed by the Association of British Travel Agents.

On average prices during school holidays rise by up to 30 per compared with term time.
The trade body said: ‘Price rises during school holidays and other busy periods are down to supply and demand.
‘More people in the UK and across Europe want to take holidays in July and August, at Easter and at Christmas, therefore prices rise during these times, as there is increased demand for a finite number of hotel rooms and flight seats.
‘ABTA believes that the best potential solution to relieve the pressure of demand during the short window of the school holidays is for schools to consider staggering the dates they take their holidays which would allow more British families to take breaks in periods of lower demand.

I’m all for this and think that the prices should be reasonable enough for you to take the kids away without you having to break the bank and the school rules.