This year, Louise and her husband Charly booked a house with friends and their respective children. But everything didn’t go as they imagined and although the couple had a great time, the young parents were ultimately happy to go home. They tell us.
“What if we all booked a house with a swimming pool together this summer?” The answer was obvious to Louise and Charly, parents of two-year-old Léa, when their long-time friends suggested they take a vacation in the same place. For Louise, everything would be simpler: the little ones could play together under the supervision of adults, while the big ones could enjoy basking in the sun… But they were far from thinking about this detail that would somewhat “spoil” their vacation.
“There was of course the organization of meals, everyone helped to set the table, to clear away, to cook, but most of the time, I was the one who managed the meals, the shopping and especially, the dishes. I finally had more work than at home since there were 7 of us instead of 3″Louise explains to us. Indeed, their friends Pierre and Jane have two children aged 4 and 6.
But the young mother was rather surprised by this small age difference between the children: “Jealousy between the little ones and the big ones led to conflict situations: we had to constantly police things, ask everyone to share their ball, stop my daughter from hitting the older ones who were taking her toys away. And then, when it came to food, everyone wanted the other’s ice cream and enjoyed teasing each other,” says Louise, who is not used to seeing her daughter get annoyed with other children.Living for two weeks with the same people under the same roof without your own points of reference, dealing with everyone’s differences, it’s a bit unsettling, as much for us as for the little ones”she believes.
Louise admits to having had some great times thanks to the outings organized in the surrounding area (especially when the children agreed to play together without arguing).Still, they are just kids and it is perfectly normal to argue from time to time, but all this exhausted me. Because when we went for walks alone with our daughter and my husband, the little one was much more well-behaved and calm.”she notes.
And when her friends pointed out that they were stricter with their children than she is with her daughter, that was the last straw.To each his own upbringing. We did not let her do it and scolded her when she hit my friends’ children (often in self-defense), but we did not want to add to the crying fits by punishing her as they would have done with their children.” After these two weeks of vacation, as tiring as they were memorable, Louise and Charly were eager to return home. “Next time, I think a week with friends is enough or we’ll book a separate rental, where everyone has their independence. Maybe also in a year or two, Léa will find it easier to make herself understood,” concludes the young mother.