Facebook rant about school holiday costs goes viral
One parent's exasperated Facebook post about price hikes on holidays outside school term-time shared over 140,000 times
Parent Paul Cookson, 41, got so fed up with the way holiday prices shoot up once you try to book a holiday outside school term time, he posted a "school holiday rant" on Facebook.
And he certainly hit a nerve. Even though Paul, who lives in Devon, only has 250 friends on Facebook, his "rant" has gone viral and has been shared by over 140,000 people.
In his post, Paul wrote that he'd been trying to book a holiday with his daughter and was "sick to death" of being "ripped off" by companies which put up holiday prices outside school term time – and he shared a screenshot of the price rises to prove his point.
"Why should I be penalised by doing the correct thing as a parent?" he added. "It's becoming a joke and it's time parents should take a stance... Share this post if you had also had enough."
Since his Facebook post went viral, Paul has set up a new Facebook group called Stop Holiday Price Increase where parents can share examples they've found of holiday-price increases.
One of the members of the group has already posted a link to the "Stop holiday companies charging extra in school holidays" e-petition, which currently stands at over 135,000 signatures.
So, what do you think? Are travel companies 'ripping off' parents of school-aged kids? Should they be stopped for hiking their out-of-school-term prices? Or is there a better solution?
Read more...
Authors
Helen is author of the classic advice book Parenting for Dummies and a mum of 3. Before joining MadeForMums, she was Head of Community at Mumsnet and also the Consumer Editor of Mother & Baby.
Create the perfect wishlist for your baby with MyCrib
Are you expecting and don't know where to start? Discover how MyCrib can help you build your dream wishlist. You can add products from any site with just one click and even use MyCrib's buying assistant to help get you started.