A great kids’ club has the potential to be the making of your holiday: your children spend the day having adventures, perhaps trying something new, and you spend your day doing something that you enjoy. By contrast, a bad experience threatens to ruin the trip. But how can you assess the quality before you go away, and when you’re on the spot?
My own children, who are now teenagers, have had wonderful experiences across Europe, Africa and Asia in kids’ clubs, with our greatest successes sharing a few common threads: good communication, research ahead of time to set realistic expectations, and appropriate activities.
“A good kids’ club is one that balances a safe and secure environment, and also offers a properly fun experience,” observes Lee Evans, the director of customer experience at Neilson Holidays. She advises that parents “choose a club that offers a range of activities, and keeps children entertained, rather than one that’s just about drawing for hours on end indoors”.
She says, “Parents should look out for ratios of staff to children, staff experience levels and provisions available at the club. This can be anything from the menu, and any procedures to manage food allergies, to what kind of sun protection the club offers for children and how frequently they top up their water bottles to make sure they stay hydrated. Ultimately, kids should want to be in the club.”