Top 15 causes of summer holiday arguments among British families revealed
Money worries, where to eat and what film to watch are the subjects most likely to spark summer holiday squabbles among British families, a new study has revealed.
The study highlighted the balancing act parents face when trying to keep the kids entertained during the six-week summer holiday.
Research of 2,000 parents with children aged four to 12 in full-time education said worries about the financial impact of entertainment the children is most likely to cause a bust-up.
Parents predict they will spend £542 between now and the start of September ensuring the kids have things to do. 77 per cent of those asked admitted they feel pressure to keep their children entertained over the summer.
As a result, the average British family will have 18 disagreements in total during the six-week break.
Julie Daniels, head of partnerships at leading comparison website comparethemarket.com, which commissioned the research said, "With the summer holidays just underway, families could already be finding it difficult to all agree on activities or decide on days out to keep the whole household happy, causing tensions to mount."
The study highlighted the balancing act parents face when trying to keep the kids entertained during the six-week summer holiday.
Research of 2,000 parents with children aged four to 12 in full-time education said worries about the financial impact of entertainment the children is most likely to cause a bust-up.
Parents predict they will spend £542 between now and the start of September ensuring the kids have things to do. 77 per cent of those asked admitted they feel pressure to keep their children entertained over the summer.
As a result, the average British family will have 18 disagreements in total during the six-week break.
Julie Daniels, head of partnerships at leading comparison website comparethemarket.com, which commissioned the research said, "With the summer holidays just underway, families could already be finding it difficult to all agree on activities or decide on days out to keep the whole household happy, causing tensions to mount."
The study also found one in seven families regularly find themselves arguing when deciding where to eat out, and one in 10 believe choosing a film to watch is the catalyst to quarrel.
One in 10 blame the summer heat for putting family tensions at boiling point.
Most notably at 13.08pm - the summertime squabbling 'witching hour' which has been pinpointed by British parents, the OnePoll study found.
Dr. Sam Wass, child psychologist from Channel 4's The Secret Life of 4- and 5-Year-Olds, says: "Although most children look forward to the summer holidays, they can also be a tough time for many families.
"Long periods of unstructured time can lead to lots of disagreements! Many parents worry about the mounting costs that come with entertaining their children, with almost a quarter citing it as a cause of squabbles."
Top summer holiday squabbles
- How much everything is costing
- A family member making too much mess in the home
- A family member's irritating behaviour
- Indecision about what to do for a day out
- Not being able to agree as a family what to do together
- What to eat
- A family member being lazy / avoiding responsibility
- Feeling tetchy because of the heat
- Just irrational temper issues
- Where to eat
- What movie to watch
- Insensitive behaviour
- Deciding who does which chores
- Not being able to agree as a family what movie to watch
- Not being able to agree as a family where to eat
If you're a parent struggling to keep your children entertained during the school break, pick up a copy of 'This Book Stinks', a fun activity book that is made especially for holidays. With a new activity on every page, children can dip in and out of it whenever they want and by the end of the summer, they will have a memory scrapbook of their holiday.
Other articles you might be interested in…
5 top tips for a stress-free family holiday
Should we allow children to get bored?
Written by: Katy Ratican
Date: 29/07/2019