Three weeks into the dreaded summer holidays and I am already counting the cost.
I have spent hundreds of pounds on holiday clubs and flying the grandmother over to help with childcare. Not to mention filling the fridge to the max every two days to keep the smalls alive (someone ate eight mini chocolate rolls in one sitting, which is quite the feat).
But I take solace in the fact that I’m hardly alone in being pushed to the edge of financial ruin at this time of year. Parents around the country are feeling the squeeze because, even if you save up your annual leave for the summer, the sums still do not add up.
Children in state schools have 13 weeks of holidays a year, those in private schools even more. With the typical worker getting about five or six weeks of paid holiday a year, even a child can see that it won’t work. “Delulu,” as my daughter would say.
So what do families do? If you’re lucky you can ship off your children to stay with an older relative for a week or two — although grandparents have gone through this with their own children, they shouldn’t really have to help.
