10 November 2009
British parents say taking the mother-in-law on holiday would be a complete joke, according to a new survey.
Over 60% of parents said they would outlaw the in-laws on their annual break, says leading family travel website takethefamily.com
"The mother and father-in-law still have some work to do before they get regular invites on holiday," said takethefamily's managing director Lucy Ace.
"It looks like most of our customers haven't heard the one about taking the mother-in-law away with them!"
Taking the in-laws with you on holiday is common practice in France but one third of British parents said the thought hadn't even crossed their mind. While another 20% said they'd tried it once but the experience was so bad they'd never do it again!
"It seems that around 20% of people do take their in-laws with them as they offer fantastic support especially free childcare which gives parents some freedom. Another 20% said they'd give it a go. But the vast majority of people didn't want the in-laws in-tow," said Lucy Ace.
"It's a shame because more and more hotels are offering great deals for grandparents - so it makes financial sense. But it can be tricky if there are tensions. And a family holiday should be a break from the norm," she added.
The survey was carried out between 20 July and August 31 2009. Results below.
The full poll results were as follows:
In France, taking your in-laws on family holidays is normal practice. But would you?:
24% : We always go on hols with our in-laws - great free childcare
20% : Maybe - we'll try anything once
23% : We tried it once - never again!
33% : Nightmare - the thought would never even cross my mind
300 families participated in the survey via Take the Family's site. 'We always go on hols with our in-laws - great free childcare' 71, 'Maybe - we'll try anything once' 61, 'We tried it once - never again!' 69, 'Nightmare - the thought would never even cross my mind' 99.
