‘I ended our family holiday 24 hours into the trip as my kids were being brats’

Going on holiday is meant to relieve stress and give you time to relax and enjoy with your family. But, any parent of young children knows this isn’t always the case.

From lugging everyones bags around the airport to keeping little ones happy on the plane and watching them like a hawk at the pool – it can be tough. Some Brits say that a holiday abroad with tiny ones is like being at home, but without all their toys!

But, one parent seems to have taken major action when they reached their mental limit while parenting children on a trip. In fact, just 24 hours in they decided to put the holiday to an end.

READ MORE: 'I took revenge on every guest after sunbeds on holiday were always reserved'

The fed-up parent said that they had three children with them – their two boys aged nine and eight, and a three-year-old little girl. Their sons have been driving them and their husband "crazy", and are said to "fight like cats and dogs".

While they say they’d had "countless talks with them about respecting each other" it seems this wasn’t enough to end the terrible behaviour. In fact, the sibling rivalry is so strong that their boys were being "disruptive" daily.

Ahead of their family holiday, they told their husband that they had some apprehensions about how well the boys would behave during the trip, but he brushed off their concerns, and the holiday went ahead regardless. No doubt they hoped that the change in scenery would encourage a happier experience.

Unfortunately, the trip started off as badly as they'd feared, with the two boys "fighting and riling each other up" throughout the three-and-a-half-hour car journey from "hell". Although the couple tried their best to reassure each other that things would improve once they reached their destination, they couldn't have been more wrong.

They constantly had to remind their children of what they should and should not do when at the rented home. But, they broke every rule within 24 hours of their arrival!

Writing on Reddit, the exasperated parent recalled: "Shoes on the white furniture? Check. Running in the house? Check. I turned my back for two seconds and the eight-year-old threw a box of chalk in the pool to keep his brother from getting it.

"We went out to lunch and they were out of control in the restaurant. The nine-year-old ran away from us in a strange place because he didn't get his way.

"We finally go to the beach and they are frankly being brats. Refusing sunscreen. Fighting over toys. Pushing their luck repeatedly going farther and farther out in the water than we told them to. Cursing.

"By the time we got back to the house, it was around dinner time and I was fed up. They were totally ruining it for everybody. Nothing had worked and I told my husband we needed to go home, for the reasons mentioned above, mainly that they needed to see a REAL consequence."

While their husband still kept insisting the situation would improve, they decided enough was enough and said they didn't want to be there.

They continued: "Either I was leaving, or we all were. He got super p***** and told me it was ridiculous and unfair to our daughter. I actually agree with him but saw no other choice at this point. Of course, when I tell the kids they immediately burst into tears and are begging to stay, promising they will behave.

"My mother, who came with us, was also near tears. She thinks her precious grandbabies do no wrong. She argued with me too, begging me to 'just let it go' but I refused to budge. So, we left, less than 24 hours into a four-day vacation.

"Half the ride home was spent with them sobbing and my husband pretty much gave me the silent treatment the whole way. My mother decided to stay behind a little longer but then started randomly texting me about 30 minutes in, asking if I was serious (she knew I was) and told me the whole reason she came was to spend time with the kids, so I had now 'ruined it for everybody' and 'they're only little once'."

The entire family was devastated, apart from their three-year-old daughter, and they now worry if they might have taken things too far.

One fellow Reddit user advised: "Probably, with the benefit of hindsight, the thing to do was shut down the beach sooner on the off-chance you could avoid going nuclear. No sunscreen? Okay, back to the hotel we go. Going too deep? Nope, we have to go now, I can't trust you to be safe. But it's hard when you don't want to shut down the activity for the whole family."

Another commented: "I would've left with the daughter to stay somewhere else for three days, and let dad and grandma deal with the boys if they didn't want to leave."

A third person commented: "There should have at least been one attempt at a punishment solely aimed at the boys, like missing a nice meal or activity, rather than immediately canning the vacation which punishes everyone.

"And/or seeing if they simmer down after the first day. I'm no expert but it sounds like counselling is also needed here to improve communication between you and your husband and also you both and your kids."

Do you think they made the right decision? Let us know in the comments below.

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