As parents do we need to make a stand against the high prices in the summer holidays?

Government is always going on about parents taking ownership and control of their children, by providing quality time together, teaching responsibility and discipline.  Most parents just want to provide a memorable childhood, filled with fun moments and laughter as a family.

This week saw an old chestnut raise its head once again, with the imposition of a fine issued by a local council against parents who took their child out of school, during term time.  A study suggests the number of fines issued has increased by 70%.

Their reason is simple, the cost of a holiday during the summer break can be as much as £1500 more expensive and the fine was only £300………

Now as parents we all know the price goes up during school holidays and we all feel aggrieved and blame the tour operators for putting up the price. Truth is; it is simply the case that demand outstrips supply during the school holidays, so the companies ration availability in the only commercially sound way possible, by putting up the cost.

Now I am not saying that I like that situation, but I like the thought of any young child suffering educationally even less, so there has to be a solution that would provide more stable prices for holidays and prevent any notion of exploitation based on demand.

Then it hit me ……..

As a child, I remember being off school for a couple of weeks each year when my cousins, who lived only a few miles away were still in school.

These breaks were called the ‘town wakes’……… in my case it was Oldham wakes! A quirky northern tradition that had its origin in the days of dark satanic mills, when mill towns closed for a two week maintenance period every year, and those periods were staggered between adjacent towns throughout the northwest. For a couple of weeks Blackpool would be overrun with folk from Rochdale and then the next couple of weeks the place was filled by the population of Derby.

This rotation allowed those skilled in the repair of spinning machines to travel between locations to undertake maintenance and mill owners to rotate production…… What a brilliant idea schools having a two week break during two three month windows (May – July) or (September – November) staggered between adjacent schools and towns with the summer break reduced to four weeks in August.

There would be no single period of high demand, therefore, no hike in prices.

All it takes is the will to implement this type of arrangement and as parents we have the means within our grasp already, it’s called the ballot box ….. Vote for any political party that indicates it will introduce this arrangement!

We DON’T want to take our children out of school and we DO want to pay less for our holidays!

At cruise.co .uk, we not only understand your frustrations, but also actively seek to reduce the cost of your holiday by providing the most competitive prices!

Have you taken your children out of school for a holiday? Did you get a fine for it?

What do you think of Oldham Wakes? I would really love to hear your thoughts.

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