Getting our new caravan tomorrow and we are very excited! Have been browsing this forum and others in anticipation and have come across the odd comment about children on sites being noisy, riding bikes, playing ball games etc
Now we have purchased this caravan with the children specifically in mind thinking we would be able to have lots of fun family holidays/ weekends away where they could play games and ride their bikes!
We have 4 children and I won't deny that they can be noisy at times but we do our best to make sure that they respect others around them and adherre to the rules, but being realistic there may be times this doesn't happen.
Anyhow I now have visions of trying to get them all to behave impecably for the entire duration of the stay or we will be irritating others on the site. So for people who camp with children (and lots of them) what are your experiences of other people's tolerance levels and what behaviour do you expect from your children? And for those without children - what expectations do you have for the children on site (and their parents????)
I do not think you have much to worry about however the one issue with many caravanners is Ball games near there outfits which can lead to expensive damage something to bear in mind if your children like ball games
We have been away loads of times with our son and his friend. We try and ensure they dont walk across other peoples pitches (although I have seen many adults do this) and basically get them out and about in the day so that they are tired and off to bed sharpish. Not playing with a football between pitches but go to a designated area or if the site is without one we go elsewhere or do something different.
Kids on bikes on site need to be careful as the roads are mainly one way and accidents have occured and indeed I have heard of one child being killed on site on their bike. Its just like being at home you always need to keep an eye and ear out for them to make sure they are safe.
I must admit some people, NOT all, let their kids go and do whatever they want while the adults sit and have a few drinks. I must stress this is only a minority. You go and enjoy your caravan with your kids.
------------- Elaine
Clumber feb 1/2 term
clumber april 2011
May Clumber
May Scarborough
August Corfe Castle and any other weekend i can manage!
There are some people who would be happier if we all sprang from test-tubes ages 59 and three quarters. If they have any sense they will avoid school holidays and sites that look as though they might attract families.
Don't worry. Just get them to be considerate around other pitches and play ball games well away from caravans and tents.
As others have said, no ball games and be very careful on bikes/skateboards/scooters etc. My daughters (now teenagers) were always back at the van by the time it got dark and not allowed to run through other people's pitches and to respect their privacy.
I don't think that these restrictions amount to very much but it's surprising how many people allow their children to ignore them. (A case of out of sight out of mind, me thinks)
My kids enjoyed the freedom caravanning provided, made lots of new friends everywhere we went and we felt they were relatively safe (usually with a play area within sight of the van)
Basically keep ball games away from caravans. Respect other peoples privacy and don't encroach on their pitch. If these considerations are observed, you will find a welcome for you and your children almost anywhere. There are always a few grumpy campers, but mostly they are a small minority.
Enjoy your new caravan with your children!!
------------- there are 10 types of people in this world, those who understand binary and those who don't.
as a father of 7 (thankfully all grown up now) and grandad to 9 ,i feel i'm well placed to say children should be seen and not heard,
but on a serious note ,we all know kids are kids and will do what kids do, as long as their not bouncing balls off our 'van or car, crashing their bikes and scooters into 'em either or running round our pitch like screaming banshee's ,personally not got a problem with 'em.
on the other hand occasionally you come across the 'don't care what the kids get up to' type of parents, those i DO have aproblem with , you know the type their sat in the pub while their little darlings are off causing all kinds of unsupervised mayhem .
but am sure your not in that catatgory , so all should be set for you and the little un's to have many happy and enjoyable outings together.
------------- no tin tent outings booked as yet ,just another cruise in Sept' booked so far
Quote: Originally posted by brianjose on 15/8/2011
Basically keep ball games away from caravans. Respect other peoples privacy and don't encroach on their pitch. If these considerations are observed, you will find a welcome for you and your children almost anywhere. There are always a few grumpy campers, but mostly they are a small minority.
Enjoy your new caravan with your children!!
Hi, Agree with comment, though you may find some sites do not allow bikes, scooters, or skateboards, for the safety of the older caravaner’s walking around site, most sites have a 5mph or 10mph speed limit.
Enjoy your new van with the kids.
------------- If everything runs smoothly then I must have done something wrong
If in Doubt Check it Out.
being a dad of 3, cant say I have ever found a problem on sites, I do however have rules, which I enforce whislt away, such as not playing close to others pitches, not running around making excessive noise.
We use all sorts of sites, from small CS to bigger commercial sites, never had a complaint about my kids (yet...)
however on a recent outing, I was concerned about others kids, to the point of the last night, one riding around the site on a minimoto
Hi. Love to see kids on site . . . and our hounds like them even more. Nothing better than a couple of kids each for breakfast. But seriously, as long as they are not causing damage or danger to me an mine, it's good to see them. The site we normally use has pitches around the edges of a big field with plenty of room in the middle for ball games (as long as they don't get out of hand). Each evening while we were away there was normally a communal game taking place with kids of all ages which was great. However, once it started to get dark the kids drifted away and quiet was restored. However, the greatest problem we found was from the kids on bikes screaming around the site without a thought about other people. I was run into twice. The bikes suffered more than I did!!
Just choose your sites carefully...you will probably find the more 'all singing all dancing' it is, the more rules and regs there will be.
We have three children (18yrs,16yrs and 7yrs) and have always taken a variety of outdoor games for the kids because I like to see them outside and not cooped up inside playing computer games!
We take swingball (nice and contained), badminton (we put our own net up on our pitch - shuttlecocks don't cause any damage and can't go that far).
We also take a foam football, though they are only allowed to play this in a dedicated area for ball games or in a field NEVER on pitches by tents or caravans.
Oh and we take boules too.
We tend not to take bikes any more because you can't really keep that close an eye on them...and at one site last year we were plagued by three young lads (about 12/10/8 who kept crossing right over our pitch as it was a short cut to the park behind us - one day the youngest (about 8yrs) fell off his bike and into our awning! Luckily there was no damage to either party.
Even parents with kids can have low tolerance levels of other kids if they are being disrespectful.
Again, Fforest Fields is my favorite (followed closely by Dolbryn) as they are true family friendly sites where kids can be kids.
------------- Claire x
Jan 2013 - Skiing, Kühtai, Austria
May - Swiss Farm
Fforest Ffields
Aug - Saumur, France
Oct - Somewhere...
Jan '14 - Skiing, Les Houches
We went to a site at Ross on sea,3 boys decided it was fun playing hide and seek,running behind vans hiding they came behind our van a few times,i did not like it but did not say anything, their parents were sat in their van watching,I was glad to see them packing up the next morning.I too like to see children playing and are taking our grandchildren with us on our next trip,but i will not be allowing them to run around other peoples pitches.
I think the numerous answers say it all. Most family sites provide a play area and/or a football field in which children can run riot to their hearts content. Many campsites also have rules banning ball games within the camping field itself. Nobody wants the risk of damage to their units by balls being kicked around and not many people (even those who have kids of their own) really want them running around the site yelling and screaming and making a nuisance of themselves.
Bicycles are of course another issue and there is nothing worse when on a campsite than having to watch your every step for youngsters tearing through the park on cycles. It's bad enough having to watch the roads for cars without having to watch for cycles coming at you from all directions.
But the issue will always be one sided because those parents who do allow their kids to run riot with balls and cycles all over the park are hardly likely to say so on message boards, and give their reasons for so doing.
you could try Top End Farm near Bedford they have a 13 acre flat field, plenth of space for tents, caravans & kids, camping is mainly round the outer sides which leaves plenty of room for playiny they also have a skate board ramp & other kids play equipment & a good shop, all on site, & a Chip van calls, is about £12pr night, details for Top End are on this site
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: are children not that welcome on sites? (
Topic Closed)
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, so all should be set for you and the little un's to have many happy and enjoyable outings together.
