R U like us

[Jayne Simpson]

When you are away with your kids are you like us and attach your children to a much longer piece of string allowing them much more freedom than you would normally if they were at home?

Why do I think the enviroment is much safer when we visit these great parks although most of them we have never visited before so have no idea what the locality is like. Plus you may have the extra risks being closer to rivers or the sea and cliffs etc.

We live in the heart of the BlackCountry with a nature reserve no more than a 100 yds away but we would never let them be there on there own.So why are we so trusting with our two precious 12 yr old daughters in strange places. If nothing else I think a big round of applause to all park owners and their staff for making us parents feel so safe.

 

[CliveV]

Hi Peter

I know what you mean - have done it myself. I still remember the panic when juat arrived at our French Eurocamp site we said to the kids "Go Play" - which they did. Two and half hours later when we found them playing hapily with a load of other kids the relief was a tangible thing.

Interesting - as we now live in the New Forest - we see other holiday makers and have noticed that the normal defences do go down. We all need to be aware that just because we are on holiday we should not "disengage brain".

Recently at the Land Rover event at Billing our dog started barking late one night and all we did was tell it to shut up. Next morning our friends bike was missing. At home the dog warning would have been heeded.

The worst I have seen is drivers in the New Forest wandering all over the road "ooing and arh-ing" at the ponies. There have been accidents - people killed in a head on collosion because "the driver was looking to his left and drove straight into me".

In another example a Motorcaravan turned over when going over a series of speed humps and a two year old child was killed. The speed restriction was ignorred and a tragedy resulted.

I certainly do not intend to be "holier than thou" - the panic of lost children on an infamilier French campsite will stay with me for a long time. One thing we can all be thankful for tho' is the fact that in my experience campers af all nationalities will come to the aid of a child in distress. We made good friends with a Dutch couple who sorted my son out when he fell over - Cleaned the cut put on a plaster and walked him back to our tent.

Sadly these days we should be more wary though.

 

[chrissie2]

This is always a worry to us. We are now Grandparents, rather then parents, but often feel concerned, when we take our grandchildren off to the play area on sites, that most of the other children, some very young indeed, are unaccompanied. I am talking here of three-year olds! My concerns are not really about the real horrors - abduction etc, but just the simple things such as a young child being hit by a swing, or falling off a slide. We have often ended up supervising a whole group of toddlers, which quite frankly, is not the way we intended to spend our break. I'm not sure that it is a new phenomenen, since I remember much the same happening when my own children were little, but I do think a more active involvement on the part of some parents would be a step in the right direction. Just to assume that someone else will keep an eye on them, although often true, is hardly a resposible way to bring up children.

 

[Freelander2]

I know what you mean, I have a 7 yr old who loves to roam around campsites exploring, although at home shes not even allowed into the front garden on her own.

I often worry I'm being lulled into a false sense of security in the holiday environment, we give her all the usual safety advise, but you still wonder in this day and age if it's the right thing to do?

Stuart

 

[CliveV]

Joys of being a parent!

But I still think I would rather be on a campsite than in a hotel.

 

[mo hamilton]

Hi , We bought cheap walkie talkies for our kids ,so now its easy to check up on them as I suffer from arthritis and can't keep up with them.

 

[Neil_5041165]

We are the same with our boys aged 10 & 5 yrs, they too are let on a much longer lead on site than at home. But I still make sure they have a watch and understand the time they have to be back by and that they should never leave the site boundary.Todate they have never let me down and they know full well that if they go against the rules they will be kept on a much shorter lead. I seriously think about the walky talky idea then i see the interference from others and realise that the number of channels are getting clogged and any better with different frequencies will cost an arm and a leg but against the safety of my children i suppose its a small price to pay !