Touring with children

Keep the kids happy and the whole family will enjoy a brilliant break, says David Motton

- David Motton

Ah, the family holiday. It could be the best two weeks of the year, it could be the worst. It all depends on whether you keep your kids contented. Adults have long since learned to compromise. Children? Not so much. Negotiating with a child could test the skills of a United Nations diplomat.

We brought it on ourselves. Nobody made us have a child. And if we were rash enough to have a second, third, or more, we’ve made it even harder to achieve the near-impossible, and keep everyone satisfied.

As my eldest will tell you, if she looks up from her phone long enough to say so, I am no model parent. I don’t claim to have some special gift for keeping children smiling. But I’ve been at this long enough to have learned a few tips that might help you, things I wish I had known 15 years ago.

Don’t make the trip a chore

On an epic tow from one end of the country to the other, you can be sure that children will run out of patience sooner than you do. So make life easier on everyone, and plan a series of more modest drives of up to 100-200 miles, rather than attempting Land’s End to John O’Groats in the inside lane.

Of course, you know your children and their tolerance for long journeys better than anyone else, but it’s best to err on the side of caution, especially if you are away for a week rather than a fortnight. On a seven-day break, your travel days take up quite a chunk of the holiday, and you don’t want to make every hour miserable.