Diary of a Working Mum

Going on holiday is supposed to be a break—a chance to unwind, explore new places, and make memories. But when you’re a parent, that idyllic getaway often comes with a unique set of challenges that can make it feel like anything but a holiday. Here’s my take on why being a parent on holiday is so tough.

First, kids don’t take a break from being kids. The unpredictable tantrums, picky eating, and chaotic sleep schedules don’t magically pause because you’re in a beautiful place or a fancy resort. In fact, these behaviors often amplify in unfamiliar settings. A young child sulking because there’s no Wi-Fi and therefore cannot connect to Roblox can quickly turn your dream holiday into a stress fest. This is what happened to me. We made the mistake of allowing our daughter to bring her ipad. Our logic was that it would keep her entertained on the plane. Stupidly, we had not thought beyond the plane and the misery that the ipad would bring later on.

Second, planning becomes a logistical nightmare. Spontaneous adventures must be forgotten—holidays with kids require military-level precision. Inbetween juggling nap times, trying to get them to eat something other than chicken nuggets and ice cream, battling with them to have their sun cream applied and the hellish task of finding activities that are age appropriate, it’s all a bit nightmare-ish. Before children, I looked forward to sipping a cocktail at the side of the pool. Now, I just hope the kids’ club is open and my daughter doesn’t have a meltdown when I drop her off. Every outing involves packing a small suitcase of snacks, sunscreen, a favourite doll, her lip gloss and of course the ipad. Going to the beach for the day feels like a full-day expedition.

Third, there’s the guilt. I want my daughter to have the most amazing holidays, so I push through exhaustion to create “perfect” moments—only to realize they’re just as happy splashing in a puddle as they are at the overpriced amusement park or jeep safari. On our last holiday, my daughter enjoyed the on site trampolines more than anything else. It was boring as hell for parents, but her joyous face made it all worth while. I booked a foam party and a boat trip that almost required me to take out a second mortgage, and she was sad and fed up the whole time. At the pool on the first day, she had a meltodwn worthy of an oscar because she wanted a pool floaty like some of the other kids. We took her to the shop on site. Despite our best efforts to persuade her, she was not willing to have a standard ring floaty. She wanted the top of the range unicorn floaty that she could ride on. As knackered parents willing to do anything to avoid another meltdown, we handed over the £50 and sauntered back to the pool, knowing we had been well and truly shafted. Arriving back at the pool, my daughter sat on her shiny new float, it wobbled slightly, and she got scared, and refused to ever get back on it.

When in the hotel, my daughters favourite thing to do was to carry out ‘experiments’. This involved filling up endless bottles with water, dropping toy animals into the water and then throwing the whole bottle of water all over the balcony. It was so cute to watch though. How can we tell them to stop when they are having such fun!

Finally, holidays highlight the relentless responsibility of parenting. There’s no “off” switch. This is true for at home, as well as on holiday. I’m still the one soothing my daughters nightmares at 2 a.m., educating her about why running near the pool is dangerous, and generally making sure I keep her alive. The change of scenery doesn’t change the job description.

Here is a picture of me and my daughter having a beautiful moment on the swing in the sea. We had been taking it in turns to complain about how much room each other had on the swing prior to this photo, and telling each other to budge up 🙂

So, why do we as parents keep doing it? Because, despite the chaos, there’s magic in seeing our kids faces light up at their first ocean wave and their first experience of new activities. The memories—messy, exhausting, and imperfect—become the stories we will laugh about later. Parenting on holiday is hard, but those fleeting moments of joy make it worth the struggle.

Cheerio

E x