Holiday ventures for youngsters

Press, 1 September 1977, Page 16

Holiday ventures for youngsters

No parent needs to be reminded at this time of year that youngsters are seldom more trying than when they have nothing to do when on holiday. The August holidays are usually a particularly testing time for parents: travel away from home is not common and the weather often precludes shunting the children into the garden to play. But the August holidays are also a time when voluntary organisations, local bodies, and other groups go to some trouble to arrange activities which will keep children amused. The respite parents enjoy must often extend bevond the time of the organised activity itself, for many of the activities are designed to teach children how to keep themselves amused.

Some may object that organised holiday activities merely provide careless parents with a way to shuffle off the responsibility of guiding their children in the use of their spare time. Keeping children occupied during the holidays is a problem for even the most devoted and resourceful parents: others, with the best will in the world, may be unable to spend as much time helping their children to amuse themselves in the holidays as they would like Even if a few parents use the organised

holiday activities as a cheap and convenient child-minding service, the benefit is not diminished. The children are kept out of mischief or from idling away the day waiting for television to start

When so many people complain about a lack of suitable entertainment for children, or about the need for more opportunities and facilities for the benefit of children, it is surprising that the organisers of holiday activities have not been overwhelmed. Perhaps what is offering is not sufficiently well known: perhaps some parents fail to foresee how children will enjoy venturing into some entirely new activity: cost is not likely to be a serious deterrent, for most of the holiday ventures are free or are offered at nominal charges

From the point of view of the children organised holiday programmes might seem to offend against the whole point of a holiday as a respite, for teachers as well as children, from organised activity But the enthusiasm with which children take part in the activities and the obvious pleasure most derive from them should reassure those who organise the activities that the effort is welcomed by the children themselves