That'll keep them busy!
You’ve been dreaming about your holiday for too long now. You keep getting yourself excited for a well-deserved relaxing break. You can’t wait to enjoy the sun and put all your troubles behind you. But when travelling with the kids, this can be, at times, a difficult task. When you arrive, your kids want all the attention and are running you around everywhere. So what’s the best way to keep them entertained without it involving any of your time.
According to a recent survey by Online Cruising Travel Agency, revealed that over two thirds of British parents give their children gadgets to ‘babysit’ them.
UK parents admitted to taking three ‘babysitting’ gadgets on holiday with them, to specifically keep the children entertained, so that they didn’t have to rely on doing it themselves.
The independent online cruising travel agency has conducted a study to look into how we Brits, specifically parents, make use of the gadgets whilst abroad. Not only do parents take gadgets away with them to keep the children entertained but the average parent is most likely to take 3 gadgets on a week-long trip.
Bonvoyage.co.uk devised together a number of questions to a total of 1,269 British parents aged 25 over, with at least one child over the age of 2, which focused on their preferences when it comes to going on holiday abroad, as well as what they take with them.
The participants were asked questions such as, “Do you usually take gadgets or electronics abroad with you on holiday?" to which 81%, said “Yes.” The main reason that people gave as to why they bring gadgets along with them was for the children, with 65% of the parents stating this.
These parents were then asked to specify, on average, how many gadgets they take away with them on a week-long holiday, specifically for the purpose of entertaining their children. After taking all the answers into account, the average British parent takes three gadgets on holiday with them to ‘babysit’ their children.
The study found that the most popular gadget to take on holiday to entertain their children was a tablet computer taking 51% of the vote. The second popular gadget was a smartphone with 43%. 41% of parents admitted that they took handheld video games console to ’babysit’ the children. The laptop and the iPod were also favourites.
Shockingly 57% of parents admitted that their children were left to play on these gadgets for 2 hours or more on a typical day, with 21% admitting to allowing them to play for as long as they wanted. However, when asked if this was the case at home, 78% said no.
Steph Curtin, Cruise Development Manager of bonvoyage.co.uk said about these finding that: “Whatever the reasons are, it’s really interesting to see how much technology Britons are prepared to take with them on holiday, even though holidays are usually a time to spend together away from the gadgets of everyday life.”
He explains how it can be difficult to keep children entertained on holiday so gadgets can seem like an easy option, but he said it’s important to not make this key when it comes down to your family holiday adding: “Choosing the right holiday as a family is a much better way of keeping them entertained without having to lug an electronics department around with you in your bags! Most family-friendly cruise ships also have fantastic clubs and entertainment facilities for children and teens which are during the day and evening to keep them entertained without the need for lots of gadgets.”