RV FEATURE
They say there’s nothing better than the sound
of a child laughing. But five at once, right next
door while you try to get some peace in the
caravan park?
The issue of kids and their behaviour in caravan
parks is a source of consternation among some
members of the RVing public, with both ‘camps’
– those travelling with children and those without
– claiming the moral high ground.
Undoubtedly, there are many who are just happy
to ‘get along’, but we’ve all seen the eye rolls,
the shaking of heads, as kids dart across the
driveway, in between sites, or scream too loudly.
PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY
Overwhelmingly, van parks are safe, and parents
can feel confident in letting their kids explore. But
as with any carpark or driveway, caravan parks
present some dangers for distracted, excited
children. Cars reversing large vans, compromised
driver visibility, vehicles entering and exiting the
park, albeit at walking pace, on a near-constant
basis…
No matter how vigilant the parent, accidents can
and do happen. Caravanning with Kids’ Adele
Dyson agrees.
“We have stayed in caravan parks where all
children need to sit a little test to get their bike/
scooter ‘licence’,” she said. “At the time we
wondered if this was overkill but our kids learnt
a lot about the rules of the park and traffic and
really enjoyed the process. We believe that kids
should wear helmets at all times and treat the
paths as they would roads.”
Almost every child or young teenager has broken
the rules at van parks. Of course, a cardinal sin is
for a kid to cut through the sites of other campers.
Almost all kids have done it, despite being (almost
constantly) told not to.
“We ask our kids to treat other sites like they are
homes on a street,” Adele said. “Would you take
a shortcut through someone’s backyard? Nope.
Then stick to the designated pathways. This also
means they are less likely to get lost.”
Some parks offer
crafts for kids, adding
to their family appeal.
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