Timing

It really is a good idea to time any major changes to your child's routine so as not to coincide with holidays or vice versa. He will be much more settled if you, for example, start weaning, move him from his beloved cot to a bed, begin potty training, start nursery etc either well before you intend to travel or wait until your return. In fact changing from a cot to a bed on the first night home from being away seems to work well.

Choosing Family Holiday Destination

OK you had, "the world at your finger tips" at the start of this section and now you don't - by using our information you will have narrowed down your list of possible destinations to those you consider the healthiest and safest for your family, so you have immediately greatly reduced the risks of having a child made ill by travel and, therefore, greatly reduced your stress and worry too. Well Done!

Don't be down hearted that your list of possible destinations now looks a little bleak, hassle free doesn't have to mean boring, there is still a world out there of fabulous resorts and stunning settings to have a fantastic holiday the whole family will remember.

Babies don't care where they stay as long as it's with you !

Think about the places you will enjoy, will feel relaxed and comfortable in. If you are travelling with a baby/babies only, then travel for yourselves. Babies don't care where they stay as long as it's with you.

If you have older children then consider whether there will be scope for the children to have fun too. Take into account the ages, likes and dislikes of every member of the family, starting with the youngest and including your own, accommodating the tastes of everyone will make for the best possible trip. Yet a hectic see-it-all holiday will probably end in frustration because allowing time is also very important.

Even if you have the luxury of a longer trip, don't try to do and see everything - that risks overload and you are likely to find the children harder to handle. Allowing more time for them to potter around on a river beach, collect stones, play hide and seek in hollow trees or scramble on rocks will let you relax too, and often you'll reap some unexpected pleasures especially encounters with rare wildlife or curious locals.

Pick one spot

Pick one spot to stay and content yourself with planning occasional short day trips from there. It's hard for children to adjust to new surroundings every night, and packing and repacking isn't much fun for parents either.
If you have more than one small child per parent you may find a destination in northern Europe difficult since these can be rather child-unfriendly areas where children are not always welcome in hotels. The exception being the Scandinavian countries, which are very geared up for children. In southern Europe and the less industralised world, people will flock to help and the experience will be heart-warming. After all the attitudes of those you meet away from home are after all far more important and memorable than the facilities they had to offer.

Choose places to stay where young families are welcome, so you don't feel as though you have to apologise all the time when your children just act like children and you don't have to constantly say NO to them. Choose places that offer safe, enclosed play areas so your toddler can toddle about without setting pulses racing. A destination like this offers your children a great opportunity to interact with other children his own age. Social interaction is important for children, so give him some space to approach and play with some new friends.

Many holiday companies and hotels offer excellent family friendly destinations with all the extras provided. However, just because hotels don't actually publicise that they are child friendly, many of them actually are. Choose the hotels you would like to stay in and then ask if they have facilities for families with young children, otherwise you will be limiting your choices to those which go overboard on child-friendliness.

Alternatives to the child-friendly resort package

If there is a disadvantage to such places, it is that things can get a little too child centered, is there anything that you will really enjoy? If they appear to offer something for everyone you may think they are your only option. The alternative is of course to simplify matters, to move away from the built up areas where fun is scheduled in hourly blocks and try something else.

The simpler the destination the more chance you can really have a family holiday and experience the pleasure of playing with your children rather than paying someone else to do it for you; of exploring new sights, sounds and tastes of broadening everyone's horizons, in this classroom without walls.

Many parents are ignoring the pleas of schools and taking their children on holiday during term time, and with typical savings of around 72% or £1035.91 for a family of four it’s not hard to see why.

Research conducted by travelsupermarket.com found that over a third of parents (35%) would take the risk if they weren’t able to take time off during the school holidays; 31% of parents would do so to avoid paying a premium and almost a quarter (24%) or parents would do so because it's my child and I should have final say on how they are brought up.

Figures from the Department for Children, Schools and Families show that during the 2007/08 school year there were 18’000 fines in England. Scotland and Wales do not issue fines, and given that the fines in England are up to a maximum of £100 it’s a small price to pay when the savings car run into thousands of pounds.

The biggest savings we found were for all inclusive holidays with the best find being a trip to Florida departing from Glasgow costing £1,876.80 for a family of four departing on 17 June just before the end of term. We found that when travelling only two weeks later, once the Scottish schools have broken up, that you would have to cough up £4,979.00 for exactly the same holiday. That’s a difference of 165 per cent which amounts to a saving of £3,102.20!

Bob Atkinson, travel expert at travelsupermarket.com commented: Although missing school isn’t the ideal option, it seems that the possibility of a fine still doesn't deter a large proportion of parents. Add to this the fact that one in five parents thought it very unlikely that they would ever get fined and it is not surprising to find such a large number of parents admitting that they had, or would, take their children on holiday at the expense of school.

We always advise parents to consult with their child’s school before taking them on holiday in term time and ensure that your break is authorised. As long as you are sensible as to the time of the school year and reasonable about the amount of time they will be away, many schools understand. If you can select a holiday that also offers clear educational benefit in terms of culture, language, history, art or skills to your child then you will also get the double whammy of saving money and enriching your children’s education.

All figures unless stated otherwise are taken from research carried out for travelsupermarket.com by Opinium during May 2010, among 3,855 adults residing in the UK.