What is wrong with an English seaside holiday for Families with young children?

Question

When I was a girl we always holidayed in England at the seaside and so did I with my boys and we had a great time.
Why is it that these days so many want to fly abroad (often to carbon copies of English seaside towns in Spain or whatever)?.Some say it is for the weather - but children should not have *too* much sun anyway and so that is just selfishness on the part of the *adults* who want to show off a suntan (even if they waste money on tanning machines back here anyway!).
What with the dangers of flying (especially with the terrorist threat) and the fact that they *may* let their guard down abroad (look at the poor McGann mite in Portugal) why not take children on holiday at home?There is plenty to do if the weather is bad - and children love playing around on the beach - and in the sea if they are taught to swim first ! -

http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070702064011AA61oVs

Best wishes,
Joan

Well for those who've said that there is nothing to do for children at the seaside even in bad weather should look at this -

http://www.open2.net/coast/

I kept four young boys happy at the seaside for a week every year but that's because I worked at it - that's what you have to do when you have children.

Answer 1

i love english seaside holidays and i take my kids to a different part of the Great British coast every summer!!

i wouldn't take them abroad till they are a lot older, like teens, i dont like the thought of the sun or the water making them ill!

Answer 2

We love the english seaside and are lucky to have friends we can visit and get a break. However the cost of a family holiday by the sea in the UK is prohibitive. It is cheaper to go abroad.

Two years ago we stayed in a fairly grotty hotel in Norfolk and a family room was £140 per night for B&B, the breakfast was grim, not enough to feed the kids never mind the adults. As the weather was not great we had to do several paying outings and the cost was huge, it would have been cheaper to have a week in spain! Eating out is also more expensive in the UK if you want to eat healthily - and you dont have the facilities of a swimming pool, playground, other kids etc.

Answer 3

I think it is a great thing to take kids on seaside holidays in Britain and do so every year but in a culturally diverse society it is important that kids learn about other countries too and there is no better way to do this than travelling around the world.I feel that a mix of both trips at home and away can be valuable and fun for both adults and kids. I don't think all people go abroad to get suntans!

Answer 4

firstly the UK has some of the most polluted seas in the world, and it is not recommended to swim in the sea around 80% of british beaches. Secondly the weather (i know you mentioned it) but what would you have done if you had been on holiday over the last 2 weeks? theres only a certain amount of bad weather people can handle.

Planes are among the safest places to be, the chances of another terrorist attack involving planes is very small because the security is so high these days.

The madeline McCann thing is sad but do you really believe that its any less safe to take your kids to spain or portugal than here in the UK?

Also its cheaper to get a flight to Spain than to get the train to Cornwall or somewhere and its much cheaper to find somewhere to stay, so some might do it to save money

Answer 5

We used to do seaside holidays in the UK both my grans lived by the sea, one in Cornwall one in Weston and that was what we had as holidays.

However, my dad was a soldier so we had a couple of lovely exotic holidays. I have to admit I'd love to take my two abroad again just once in a while but there's nothing wrong with seaside holidays here, plus there's not much travel hassel!

Answer 6

On thi ssubject I agree with you. We live by the sea and there is always plenty to do. I can't see any point in the stress of travelling abroad, especially when the children are unlikely to fully appreciate the experience. However a lot of people say that it is sometimes cheaper to go abroad and, looking at some of the prices of Butlins etc, there is some truth in this.

Answer 7

I believe there is nothing wrong with the English seaside, i think its worth going if you only want a tan and want the kids to enjoy themselves. Your right the adults are selfish when they think of holidays all they think about is tanning when really they are causing themselves and their own children skin damage.
Although holidays abroad are more exciting and the children deserve to see different places and have different experiences just like the adult. And a holiday wouldn't be a holiday if you couldn't get away for a while.

Answer 8

I say its up to the parents where they take their kids for a holiday, but all things aside I used to love going to the beach, I live in Australia and from the time i was probably 12 months old I was Camping at the beach for 5-6 weeks every christmas until i was about 7-8yrs old. Thats up to 6 weeks with out flushing toilets and people carrying bucket loads of water to the camp site just to get by. boy those were the days

Answer 9

We used to go on coach trips top Margate, Brighton, Clacton, and of course Southend , But the problem they have got the Coney Island affect, The closest resort to London (Southend) especially the swathes of people from London dont go there anymore, people stopped going there really after the advent of cheap foreign holidays and they have fallen into disrepair , Take the west pier for instance in Brighton beach built in victorian times and a beautiful example of the period architecturally, but has sat like a husk for fifty years out at sea cut off from the beach and only pidgeons and seagulls left to nest it.
It did still look magnificent as a ghost pier before it fell to weather and fire recently.
The boarding houses are empty and all the white trash have moved into them as council bedsits , there s no fun to have any more unless you like sitting huddled in a crumby old shelter eating greasy fish and chips and singing songs about the good ole days with the pensioners looking out to sea.

Answer 10

Nothing wrong with holidays in England. I never went abroad until i was 28 when me and my husband took our first three children away. Apart from that we one trip abroad we only really go away in England, usually Pontins for a weekend. Hopefully though this year, if the weather improves, we are going to try camping in the lakes.