Why do we pay so much for kids camping?

Why do we pay so much for kids camping?

 

I was looking for a campsite last night for my caravan holidays and I noticed a worrying trend that has been bugging me for a while.

As the title says, why do we have to pay so much to take our kids to a campsite.

A quick google search finds plenty of examples of extortionate prices which for a 3 child family makes it difficult to afford.

We want to go out more often and visit the country and let the kids have a varied childhood by taking them away from their computer games and laptops and televisions for the odd weekend. They will learn about the countryside, our country's history and get lots of fresh air and exercise.

So, it seems, I have to go into debt or take out a loan from a bank or building society to go on a 2 week holiday in the uk.

The prices at a lot of campsites are very off-putting.

I'm writing this at the end of October 2013 and the weather is atrocious and I'm saying, 'let's go in our caravan', whereas the people I know at work or local friends have given up on their holiday season, because it's too cold or dark or wet.

Not us, we want to get some adventure while the kids are still young enough to want to do it, before boyfriends or girlfriends or other peer pressure kicks in as they get to their teens and then they won't want to come away with us.

Until that happens, it seems campsites want us to pay the earth for a night in a field just because there are five of us. It's not like these sites have fabulous kid's facilities and that's what the charges are for, sometimes a campsite has a grotty, decades old play area, that the kids only use because it's there, not because it's a super exciting place to be.

So, I don't get it, apart from the fact that people keep paying per child and the campsites don't care that us poor families are missing out or perhaps 3 kids is unusual these days with all the 1 child families out there and they don't notice the cost.

Let's face it, I wouldn't be moaning if had to pay for 1 child at say £2.50 per night, but multiply by 3 and £7.50 per night soon adds up over a week. Imagine if you had to pay £5 per child like many sites are charging, bloody hell £15 per night tots up to over £100 in just a week. For what? a rectangle of grass and a nice view? Come on! I can't afford it and I suspect I'm not alone in not being able to afford this kind of money for no real value given in return.

A few quotes I quickly found on Google

• Adults £10.00 per night and children over three years £5.00 per night. Clippenham campsite.

• Camping charges per night are £5 per tent plus £5–9 per adult (depending on the season); children (3–12) half adult price. This is £4.50 for high season. Blackberry wood campsite

• £3.00 PER CHILD PER NIGHT (Children 12 and under). Pillaton Hall Farm

• Child (5-16) £3.50 per night. Carnon downs caravan park

• Extra Child £2.50 per night. Langcliffe caravan park.

• £3.50 per Child per night. (aged 12- 16 years)
  - £0/free for under 12's. The Edwardstone White Horse

As you can see the costs are all over the place. The last one above Edwardstone White horse was interesting because under 12's are free.

It would be good if we could pay at the most about £20 per night for electric hookup and it shouldn't cost you more because you have a large family.
At Gibraltar farm in Silverdale the cost for a caravan with ehu is £17 and £3 for an awning. No extra cost for children. Brilliant that's how it should be done.

Please comment to me on twitter @caravantourer or comment below.
Am I right? or am I just a tight whingeing moaner?
Thanks

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