Half of British Parents Dread Taking Their Children to Their Grandparents’ Homes

A new study from the UK’s leading money-saving brand has revealed the top locations that British parents dread taking their children, with events such as weddings, christenings and even grandparents homes topping the list. According to the poll, 61% of parents admit that their children’s mood sometimes plays a deciding factor in whether or not they will go out.

According to new research from the UK’s top discount brand 54% of British parents admit they dread taking their child to see their grandparents. The survey revealed that parents feel grandparents pander to the child or interfere with parenting.

The team at www.vouchercloud.com undertook the study as part of ongoing research into the family dynamic. 2,164 British parents, all of whom stated they were 18 years old, were all quizzed about their children and whether or not they played a deciding factor in social activities. In order to be eligible for the survey, the respondents stated that they had at least one child aged between 12 months and 5 years old.

First, all respondents were asked ‘Does your child’s mood ever cause you to change your plans and prevent you from going out?’ to which three fifths of respondents, 61%, stated ‘yes’. When asked to detail why, 47% of respondents admitted they were ‘worried about being judged as a parent’ and a further 29% admitted they were ‘worried about the child being judged by their behaviour’.

Wanting to delve a little deeper, all respondents were then asked to state which places they dreaded taking their children to. When provided with a list of possible responses and told to select all that applied, the top 5 places were revealed as:

1.      Weddings – 63%
2.      Christenings – 61%
3.      Grandparents’ houses – 54%
4.      Restaurants – 53%
5.      Supermarket shopping – 46%

Those respondents who dreaded taking their children to see their grandparents were asked why. Almost a third of respondents, 38%, admitted it was because ‘the grandparents pandered to the children too much’ and a further 32% admitted it was because ‘the grandparents interfere in parenting’.

According to the poll, 67% of respondents admitted they had resulted in bribing their children in order for them to be on their best behaviour, with ‘sweets’ (31%), ‘toys’ (30%) and ‘an outing’ (22%) being the top bribe treats.

Chris Johnson, Head of Operations at vouchercloud.com, commented:

“It’s natural for parents to worry about how outsiders perceive them as a parent, based purely on the actions of their child at that current moment in time. We all know that children aren’t angels 100% of the time – they will inevitably have a strop when they can’t get their own way or are bored whilst we’re getting things done.

“It’s interesting to see that so many parents are worried about taking their children to their grandparents’ homes though, whether they’re worried they’re going to spoil the little one or interfere too much with the parenting side of things. We all have our own ways of dealing with situations. At the end of the day, the parent knows what’s best for their own child and that should be respected – whether others agree with it or not.”