Badly behaved children and assistance from caravan club.

[carl_5081192]

Just returned from the South coast on one of the caravan clubs sites that we have visited on several occasions.

We are a couple in our late 30's with 2 teenage children and understand that children must play and on holiday its normal and wonderful for them to let their hair down and have fun. However We were camped by a small coppice on site that during the evenings became frequented by 10 to 12 kids (of all ages) screaming and shouting til quite late, making it unpleasant to relax / barbecue and socialise. the small area where we were pitched contained 3 vans and on the other side 2 vans. After a couple of nights, we asked the children if they would mind keeping the noise down a bit and this lasted probably for 2 or 3 minutes per request until the noise and bad behaviour escalated again. The following evening the other residents engaged in similar requests and we decided to speak to the warden (We also learned that the 2 reidents on the other side of the coppice had moved pitches during the previous night as they were fed up with the hassle). The wardens response was that he is paid to look after the site and not police it. He suggested that we all spoke to the parents directly. After quite a task establishing which child belonged to what caravan, We did this and a couple of the parents were not very friendly and whilst the problem stopped, it introducd confrontation and upset into what was our holiday. We are quite upset at the event and are disolusioned with the Caravn club as we have never experienced such behaviour from children or such a negative response from a warden. Any other club members have any views.

 

[cokey1970]

Hi Carl. Sorry to hear thaqt your holiday was spoiled.

I would have thought that part of the wardens remit is to enforce club/site rules and sort out any problems that arise on the site. Sounds to me as though he was passing the buck and didn't want the trouble.

It seems to me that some of the people in your local neighbourhood that have no control or can't control their children, are starting to buy caravans and bring all of the problems away with them. Just my own opinion on the matter.

 

[GillC1]

Carl

If i'd had the same experience as you I would certainly expect the warden to deal with it. Every other site i have been on the warden make their presence known. I would contact the caravan club giving detail of site etc and ask if this is the way they expect their members to be treated.

 

[gypsy]

Please do contact the Caravan Club, as I have on a few occassions,I was told that the warden would sort these kind of problems out, and so they should, please let us know what reply you get from them, I think if we all complained when this kind of thing happens something more will be done about it. after all children can play without making a lot of noise and disturbing other members, and their Parents should see that their children do not disturb others on site, the sooner this message gets across the better, we tend to use Adult only sites for this reason, but why should our pleasure be dictated by bad behaviour from the minority that spoil it for everyone.

 

[AnnM1]

Don't waste time getting in touch with the Caravan Club!!! We did exactly the same thing, with a serious health complaint. However, it is now a full month since our original complaint and we haven't even had a acknowledgement of our correspondence. I have even sent a copy of our complaint via the internet and still we have not heard from them. Is this how they treat ALL Club Members? Or is it that we have made a complaint about a site which is of no worth or merit? We will not return to this particular site in question and I am considering cancelling my Membership!

Nobody cares a toss these days. And if a Club can deal with their members in such a cavalier fashion then WE ALL have a problem.

 

[AnnM1]

Shiba - I am with you on this one. Unfortunately, not everyone is in a position to use Adult Only sites and this will get family orientated people going! Retribution, me thinks is coming!

 

[LadyMaureen]

Ann,

I am also a Club Member, and had cause to write a complaint about a site.Not hearing from the Club,I wrote again and had an apology from the area manager to say that the correspondence had gone astray.

Maybe the particular area manager has been on holiday for a while.Please write again and insist on a reply.....after all it is our Club.

Let us know how you get on.

 

[Ogre]

Well the first thing to do is "Name the Site".

Then we all know where NOT to spend our money!

This is the most effective way of dealing with sites where there is (clearly) no effective control. The warden is probably NOT the site owner, so try and find out who HE/SHE is, and then address the complaint to them.

We had a holiday almost ruined like this in Crete some years ago. Kids screaming down corridors outside our room at 11.30pm. 4 and 5 year olds unsupervised using the pool (after it had been closed for the night), etc etc.

In the end, I personally dressed the parents down in front of a whole bar full of people whilst their unruly kids ran riot outside.

The result, a threat (which didn't bother me as I 6' tall and and rather large. The following morning we had no fewer than 6 couples come to our table at breakfast, and thank us for standing up to these people. They were kicked out of the hotel the same day.

This warden HAS indeed 'passed the buck'. He will be getting paid to monitor the site, and deal with complaints.

To be fair, it's not the caravan Clubs' fault.

The blame falls fairly and squarely on these wretched parents (all over the UK) who don't give a toss what their children do, and who also let them grow up without proper discipline, to the detriment of everybody else.

There's no use appealing to the parents of such children, because the parents, usually thick and bombastic with it, really couldn't care less.

Such is life in 2006.

 

[joeby]

You hit the nail on the head there Kieth ,one of my family was involved in an incident a few weeks back ,not on caravan site but in a mini super market but it could have happened on a site ,as my relative went into the shop and 3 kids were skate boarding along the aisle ,bear in mind 2 of these kids were 6 foot ,so he politely told them to pack it in ,there was only a young school girl looking after the shop ,thats when all the swearing and threats from these teenagers started ,and they started throwing cans into his trolley ,and they said we know where you live we are going to get you ,when the police fianally came ,my relative said its a good job you turned up i was nearly loosing it ,and all they said was if you touch any of them you will be the one who is arrested we cant do any thing ,my relative who is over 6 foot and spent 15 years in 3 para said to me all i can do is stand there and take every thing they dish out ,whats the country coming to

 

[CliveV]

Could not agree more with you Keith - Spoilt holidays as you describe is one of the reasons we stay WELL clear of big sites during school holidays and enjoy the relative peace of a CL as our preferred type of site.

We also had a nightmare family when we stayed in a Villa near Lindos in Rhodes. Parents went out every night and came back at about 3:00am very drunk. Meanwhile their children (early teenagers) and friends had their music on VERY loud and were literally screaming at each other. By 4:00am things did go quiet.

This Villa Complex was in a compound and the Villa's were on a hill, so that our sun terrace was their Villa ceiling and so on up the hill for about 4 villas.

At 7:00 am my kids were running about on the Terrace and this "lady" (I say the words advisedly) came out and shouted at my two kids(they were 7 and 4 at the time) because they "were trying to get some sleep down here!".

Before I had time to react the neighbour in the adjacent Villa shouted across "And what the Sam Hill do you think we were trying to do all last night!"

I said much the same to the lady who seemed shocked that anyone could possibly be having a go at her, then introduced myself to my new neighbour on my right who turned out to have children of a similar age and we ended up inviting them over to our Villa where the four children stomped about playing trains on our Terrace all morning.

Just to add a bit or realism we also played "Thomas the Tank Engine" tapes very loud, with the base turned up and the player strategically placed in the middle of the Terrace - the ceiling of the antisocial family below us.

Many people passing by laughed and said well done!

We made firm friends with the couple to our right and still exchange Xmas cards and a family update each year.

Never had a peep out of the family below after that, but the "Lady" walked around like she was sucking a lemon for the rest of the holiday.

One of the reasons why we now love caravanning so much is because you do not generally get people like that on the sites that we go to.

 

[JamesFrance]

The BBC 6 o'clock news are running the results of their survey about the deteriorating way life in Britain and this sort of thing is on of the main complaints.

Isn't it embarrassing that it always seems to be British children running riot in European restaurants, campsites etc?

The French kids where we live are really friendly and polite and make sure they don't get in your way. Where we moved from in the UK, they would walk through you if you didn't step aside for them.

So Why the difference in attitude?

 

[Guest]

Family friend went to a site where their was conflict between a rowdy family and others.

Twice during the night the guilty families electric hook up was removed and water hoses and water container caps removed and disposed of in bushes, on the second time the electric cable was cut in two.

An elderly 70 something Italian lady grandmother owned up after the family had left, her baby grandaughter had been kept awake so she took her own action.

 

[Ewan_5130997]

The problem definately starts with the parents of these anti social youths/children. However, until the parents can be dealt with by a meaningful deterent, we have no chance. The police can do very little as they are not supported by the court system, and the court system can only be changed by the government. It is about time we got away from the over the top political correctness that seems to have taken over the country. We need leaders who will stand up for common decency and family values and telll these 'losers' that the yob culture will not be tolerated and introduce radical measures to combat it. I am fed up hearing so called do gooders harping on about these 'yobs' human rights etc. What about the rights of the poor public who have to put up with these people and their actions.

It might sound a bit OTT, but if much stronger deterents or punishments were introduced, the only people who will find it detremental to their lives will be the anti social people. The rest of us will be able to enjoy our lives much more.

 

[gypsy]

Good Posting, I agree.

 

[JamesFrance]

But we do need to bear in mind that these people are 'disadvantaged' and probably have 'learning difficulties', so the government elected by the citizens for a third term, is naturally putting them first and spending the extra revenue so successfully raised by dear Gordon Brown on their welfare.

 

[Guest]

James you point is quite valid.

As a NEW sufferer of Sporadic Tourettes Syndrome only brought on by noisy caravanning families with out of control kids and care free parents.

When I lash out wildly and curse and swear at the people I hope no one takes offence as I'm awaiting treatment ;-)

Any more sufferers out there ?

 

[CliveV]

You could always try Big Brother -

I saw an interview with George Galloway - and whilst i think he is a manipulative jerk I was taken by something that he said when interviewed.

He made a strong comment that he found it amazing that most of the people in the "house" under the age of 30 were so genuinely ignorant of world events and the world in general.

It seems that we are breeding a large section of the population that has a "Me Me Me" culture.

Very sad.

 

[Guest]

My daughter emailed saying that on some Love Island trash reality show a so called celeb thought Ayres Rock was in Canada and that the Falklands were near England as we fought for them.

I understand that the celebs are or have been drug and booze addicts and theft and behaviour problems were also mentioned.

Now I thought most knew Uluru was the name to use for Ayres rock these days let alone where it is.

With youngsters looking up to these so called celebs what chance have we got with manners and behaviour whilst kids sit in front of the likes of East Enders and Coronation Street.

My niece hastroubled kids of six and seven telling her about the late night shows they watch in their bedrooms and also films about the Terminator and stuff.

What hope is their?

Parents tell her the kids will not "sleep" with out the TV or DVD on.

 

[Ewan_5130997]

James

The only reason the kids are 'disadvantaged' or have 'learning difficulties' is because the parents are so negligent that they dont care if the kids attend school or do anything that might improve their future. Punish the parents, help the kids.

 

[Viking1]

Ewan

I thick you do not now what you are talk about has I got learning diffiiculties and my mother got me in to extrer class at night to go to and I got a son who is alltistik. Who go to a school for disabuld childen.

All my kid are good on sit if they were not they now what they wound get.

It the parents that are at falt do not blame so child who has Learning difficulties.

Mark

 

[Ewan_5130997]

Mark

I am sorry I did not make my point clear enough. I am not getting at people who have genuine learning difficulties and I apologise if I offended you with my comments. The kind of people i am refering to, and I think James also meant, is those who through lazyness, apathy and basic neglect have become disadvantaged. Again, I am not having a dig at these children, although I deplore their behaviour, it is the so called parents who couldn't give a stuff about what their children get up to, or their welfare that I think should be held accountable.

Through my work I come across many genuinely disadvantaged people and I have nothing but admiration for the way they make the best of their lives.

 

[Ewan_5130997]

To try to get back onto the original thread, when on caravan sites where these louts unfortunately appear, their vans should be electronicaly tagged with an 'ASBO' then next site ethey try to get onto they can be turned away at the gate.

Ok, I'm going to put my revolutionary head away now and crawl back into my quite, safe, one van site.

 

[JamesFrance]

Mark, I have absolutely no intention of criticising anyone who has a real problem and I am sorry if that is how you read it.

My post was entirely tongue in cheek about the politico habit of creating politically correct categories and then using them as an excuse for all misdemeanors.

Unfortunately this sort of thing is imbedded in the training of social workers and Home Office employees, they call it their culture.

 

[Viking1]

Ewan & JamesFrance

I was not a offended with what you say but I like you I do not like poeple who try and say the got learning difficulties when they have not.

eny way back to what you say with the electronicaly tagged ASBO

Give me a bran wave.

You now if you go to a C,C sit you are ask for your cars reg plat number rigth and if the caravan C,C had a copy of it has well then if the ward had couple about you then they cud email the club say what the couplant was and then the nest time they come to book a sit they get told they had a couplant made about them the last time they were on sit and if you get one more couplant about you your mebership will be stop for that year.

Mark

 

[LuisaandMartin]

We stayed on a site in Hampshire for a fortnight last month (not Caravan Club). Unfortunately when we booked the pitch we didn't realise the site had a club house. We feel this was the major factor in the issues we had with children's behaviour. Most of the parents on the site were too busy dolling themselves up and boozing in the bar to care what their kids were up to. None of the kids were really malicious, but they were extremely noisy and reckless in cycling right up close to cars, cycling in the dark etc. The site had clear rules that said quiet after 10.00, but there were still kids having loud conversations, running around and playing games at 11.00 or later. Many of the adults were just as bad, such as those who chose to wash their dishes at midnight while making no attempt to lower their voices, or the CB radios being used in a tent at 4.00am. We've got kids and we expect kids to make a noise and have fun, as long as they are behaving safely and with consideration - but unfortunately some of the feral children (and adults) on this site spoiled our enjoyment a bit.