Parents are bracing themselves for a hefty summer entertainment bill, with a new study revealing they expect to spend an average of £312 keeping their children entertained during the six-week school break. The research, which surveyed 1,000 parents of school-aged children, found that 55% feel overwhelmed by the prospect of keeping their offspring amused for such a lengthy period.
Children are expected to complain about boredom five times a week when school is out, with the study suggesting that boredom will peak on August 1st. Parents confessed that trying to keep their children entertained is a challenge, with 63% struggling to come up with educational and engaging activities for family time.
The study also highlighted the impact of screen time on children during the holidays. A third of parents indicated that their child’s desire for screen time poses a challenge, with 68% admitting to allowing more screen time than during term time. During a typical school week, children spend an average of 88 minutes on screens, but this figure increases to 127 minutes (over two hours) during the holidays.
The survey was commissioned by Yoto Mini, creators of an audio player for kids that can be controlled without a screen and boasts an impressive library of over 1,000 titles. Ben Drury, CEO of Yoto Mini, commented on the findings: “The holidays are fun, but they can also be tricky, particularly for parents. Children are naturally inquisitive and crave constant engagement, which is fantastic, but for busy parents, it can make things anything but straightforward.”
Drury continued, “With more trips taking place during the break, coupled with longer drives and traffic, it’s a time that will likely result in kids complaining about being bored more often. It’s really important to find a solution to that before it happens to keep everyone happy.”
To combat boredom, parents are turning to tried and tested activities such as outdoor walks, trips, watching films on TV, and encouraging reading. Cinemas will see 44% of families grabbing their popcorn, while 43% give the green light for video games. However, keeping children entertained over the summer doesn’t come cheap, with parents estimating they’ll fork out an average of £312 on visits to five different attractions.
The dreaded long car journeys top the list of situations likely to bore kids to tears, closely followed by uneventful days and shopping excursions. Interestingly, while 61% of parents believe their children would be captivated by listening to their favourite stories in audio format, only a mere 19% actually utilize this option regularly.
Drury added, “The summer holidays can be quite costly as it is, and not everyone has the money to pay for endless day trips. And with the break feeling a little long at times, the research has shown screen time does rise as a quick way to keep the kids happy.”
“With the unpredictability of the British weather, or the long car journeys that are typically associated with trips in school holidays – the best way to keep kids from boredom is to unlock their imaginations.”
“A great way to do this is to listen to stories and music – this enables them to remain fully entertained without being glued to a screen.”
