Stuff I had that my 3 year old doesn't

OffGridLiving

Graham_Devon wrote: »

That wasn't my logic. I suggest you read again.

I was simply saying some won't be able to due to the costs, which would have been the same for us years ago, hence we went in term time without much of a fuss.

Certainly, speaking now, wouldn't have been able to create those memories in school holidays, the holiday itself would have been unaffordable, so the holiday wouldn't have existed.

Your logic depends on the belief that affordable holidays are only available within term times and that no holidays are affordable within the holiday periods.

I'm afraid I don't agree with this and so your logic doesn't work for me. Within term time we could probably afford to take the kids for an excellent holiday in the Algarve. Within the school holidays we would have to cut our cloth and perhaps have a camping holiday. The family holiday memories are the same, the location is different.

Jennifer_Jane

Slightly different perspective, but as a child in secondary education, I was proud of my full attendance. I would have hated being taken out of school as that would have spoilt my attendance. I'm not saying that's good or bad, it's just a different perspective.

As for where we went on holidays, my brother and I were sent to my beloved grandmother at the seaside for all holidays. Even though he was only 3.5 years older than me, we were put on a train and went on our own from very early ages (possibly 6 and 9, although I can't remember).

I don't think it was a sensible or good thing, even then, though. Just what you could do and I suppose it kept costs down.

Own_My_Own

OffGridLiving wrote: »

What a lovely story, thanks for sharing it with us.

Grow up. I was making the point that school is not the only place children learn. I take it from your comment that your parents taught you very little.

Graham_Devon

OffGridLiving wrote: »

Your logic depends on the belief that the only holidays that are affordable are all within term times and that no holidays are affordable within the holiday periods.

That's your logic.

I stated that for some, the only holiday they would be able to afford is those in term time.

I was obviously talking about going to a caravan site somewhere (or similar).

If you just want to find the cheapest holiday possible, that's fine. But even camping (having looked into it recently) is pretty expensive. For one you have to buy / rent / steal / borrow the equipment, and if you want facilities (toilets, showers) etc, you will need to pay pitching fees. Secondly, it wasn't the point I was trying to make.

I'd rather just go into a carvan personally. It's hardly the height of extravagance, and dependant on the place you pick, has a lot of stuff included, such as the entertainment which my son just loves.

As for going on holiday in secondary school - that never happened. By that point, staying in a caravan with your parents would have simply been horrific! Was bad enough your parents picking you up or dropping you off somewhere!

grizzly1911

Graham_Devon wrote: »

Though I personally take offence to having to carry out basic human functions in a bucket in the middle of a field!

.

No need to most have good toilets, showers, laundry, dish washing facilities. Some even have heated swimming pools, play fields for the kids etc. Peaceful nice sites.

ash28

Graham_Devon wrote: »

Obviously the opposite of generalis thread. We often look at what our kids have, but not at what they don't have.

So I'll start...What I had that my 3 year old doesn't (or won't have)

- A stay at home mum
- A garden that was actually big enough to learn to ride the bike in
- A large enough house from the start that was owned by parents even though only one wage was coming in.
- A greenhouse I could grow tomatoes in (I hated them though).
- Lego that was cheap enough to buy with pocket money.
- Computer games that came on cassette that were also cheap enough to buy with pocket money.
- Roundabouts in the park
- A playgroup that was simply that. Wasn't overseen by offsted and didn't include parents evenings...you just turned up if you needed to go in. Used to love that place.
- A playgroup in the supermarket (which supermarket offers this now?!)
- Freedom to roam seemingly anywhere I wanted to roam (probably helped by the lack of mobile phones!)
- The ice cream van doing it's rounds and the excitement when you heard it (they only seem to park up now?)

I also had quite a lot of stuff. Maybe not the same stuff as now. But I had stuff. A TV, a commodore, an Atari. My chopper bike was frankly awesome. As was the ability to ride it somewhere...more so when I got my dynamo rear light which you had to cycle at 45mph just to get it glowing.

Edit: Oh and holidays - we used to go on holiday, usually to relatives places or to a caravan, IN term time! I mean, the horror! But it was cheaper (read, therefore viable), and no one seemed to care. I remember those vividly. You can't do that anymore, hence man ykids simply don't get to go on holiday as their parents can't make use of the cheaper times.

Our kids must be about your age GD....they didn't have a stay at home mum (I worked part time until the youngest went to school and then full time), they didn't have a garden big enough to learn to ride a bike in.....they learned in the street with all the other kids.

We had a big enough house from the beginning because we bought after they were born.

We never had a greenhouse. We grew tomatoes in the garden...still do.

Lego has never been cheap....our son used to get 50p pocket money in the mid 80s...he couldn't buy Lego....he got it for Xmas and birthdays or saved his money up.

There are roundabouts in the park.

Playgroup is not a nursery....they are run mainly by volunteers and are not run by the state.

The Asda precinct where my daughter lives runs a playgroup...it's just outside the supermarket in the shopping precinct. Open 6 days a week. You can drop your kids off and go shopping for a couple of hours.

Grandson roams (as do his friends)....but he is 11 and we live in a village.....he does have a mobile phone.

We don't have a ice cream van here....it would probably cost him more in fuel than he would sell....but we did in our last house....moved 18 months ago.

We used to take the kids of out school some years for the last week of term and the first week of the summer holidays...they did little during the last week. We also had, at first a large tent and used to go camping during half term and some of the summer holidays....we then got a caravan and used go off for long weekends and holidays. We would stay at my parent's or sister's on the coast....none of which cost a lot.

Depending on the holiday you take, kids can learn a lot on holiday.....not just sitting on a beach. We took our grandson to Egypt....we sailed on the Nile in a felucca ....made planned and impromptu stops had overnight camping under the stars on the river bank.....visited a few temples, the Valley of the Kings and ended up in Cairo where we visited the Pyramids, the Sphinx, the Cairo museum, the Saladin Citadel and the Khan el-Khalili Bazaar....not for the feint hearted......when he came to learn about Egypt in the junior school he had a bit of a head start. It was worth the week or so out of school for that alone.

Not everyone has beach holidays....having been brought up on the coast it is my idea of hell.

grizzly1911

Graham_Devon wrote: »

and if you want facilities (toilets, showers) etc, you will need to pay pitching fees.

£20 per night plus £5 including electric hook up?

Graham_Devon

I'm getting a lot of stick for suggesting, what I thought was a simple issue. I want to be able to give my son at least one break to a caravan site with entertainment facilities per year.

I can do that, through sun holidays and I do do that. Though all in term time, so we have to go on a friday afternoon. Half term sun holidays seem as rare as hens teeth.

Without Sun holidays, I'd have to think twice. Many can't do it at all.

I don't wish to defend myself any further on this one, I don't think it's that extravagent, but again, it's like when you say you have a mobile contract and get laid into as you say house prices are expensive.

So I'm bowing out of the holiday convo

My holidays (in term time) have given fond memories.You fgind yourself doing what you grew up knowing. I'd do the same with my kids, but theres more interference from the state these days, so I don't. Whether or not my parents have failed me in any way is up to others to decide. I didn't see that it was quite as involved as it has become though.

ninky_2

When you were a child, far fewer families could afford to go on holiday. For example, I did not go on holiday until I was 8, and even after that it was far from an annual event. Therefore, the holiday market was smaller and there was less incentive for providers to increase their prices in school holidays by such large amounts. Also, it meant that there were only the small numbers of children who would be absent from class as a result of going on holiday.

As holidays have become the norm (and often not just one holiday a year), the price difference between term-time and non term-time has grown. Large numbers started taking their children out of classes as a result. This became disruptive to the school calender and teaching plans.

If you can't afford to go away in school holidays, stay home and do fun day-trips / camp in the garden / play in the park etc. It's quality time and fun activities with parents that children remember, not where they go.

ash28

Graham_Devon wrote: »

I'm getting a lot of stick for suggesting, what I thought was a simple issue. I want to be able to give my son at least one break to a caravan site with entertainment facilities per year.

I can do that, through sun holidays and I do do that. Though all in term time, so we have to go on a friday afternoon. Half term sun holidays seem as rare as hens teeth.

Without Sun holidays, I'd have to think twice. Many can't do it at all.

I don't wish to defend myself any further on this one, I don't think it's that extravagent, but again, it's like when you say you have a mobile contract and get laid into as you say house prices are expensive.

So I'm bowing out of the holiday convo

My holidays (in term time) have given fond memories.You fgind yourself doing what you grew up knowing. I'd do the same with my kids, but theres more interference from the state these days, so I don't. Whether or not my parents have failed me in any way is up to others to decide. I didn't see that it was quite as involved as it has become though.

Your little lad is only 3, I would think term time holidays don't enter into it...he isn't in formal education. You don't even have to send him to nursery if you don't want to.

A nursery education isn't compulsory and I can't see any issues unless he is taken out on a regular basis and the nursery has a huge waiting list.

If he was mine and I wanted to take him out of nursery for a week for a holiday I would.

There was a time when the kids were young and more recently, when due to work commitments OH really struggled to get time off in the summer holidays.....the schools were pretty good about it and the kids were allowed time off as was the grandson a couple of years ago.