My Child Has Zero Interest in Our Holiday — What Am I Doing Wrong
You've booked the flights. You've found the perfect hotel. You've spent hours researching things to do. And when you excitedly tell your child where you're going this summer, they look up from their phone, shrug, and say "okay" before going back to whatever they were doing.
Sound familiar? You're not doing anything wrong. But there are some things you can do differently — and they make an enormous difference.
I've seen this pattern play out hundreds of times. After spending many years as a holiday representative and working now as an independent travel agent, I've taken families to some of the most incredible destinations in the world — and I've watched children arrive at places that should have taken their breath away, completely unmoved.
Children sitting inside caravans while the Mediterranean sunshine poured in through the windows. Kids glued to tablets on the beaches of Spain. Families on trips of a lifetime where the children spent the whole time asking when they could go back to the hotel for WiFi.
It genuinely breaks my heart — because the world out there is extraordinary. And if we're not careful, we risk raising a generation of children who think the whole world exists on a four inch screen.
But here's the thing — in almost every case, the problem isn't the child. It's that nobody has helped them connect with where they're going before they get there. And that's completely fixable.
Here's what I've learned works, from years of working with families all over the world.
1. Bring them into the planning
The biggest mistake parents make is planning a holiday completely independently and then announcing it to their children. When kids have no say in where they're going, they feel no ownership over it — and no excitement.
It doesn't mean letting a ten year old dictate your entire holiday. But asking "what's one thing you'd love to do while we're in Spain?" or "shall we look up what there is to see in Edinburgh?" gives children a stake in the trip. Suddenly it's not just your holiday — it's theirs too.
2. Make the destination feel real before you go
Children struggle to get excited about places they can't picture. Show them photos. Watch a film or documentary set there. Look up the wildlife you might spot, the food you might try, the landmarks you might visit.
Ratatouille makes Paris feel magical before you've even landed. A short documentary about Scottish castles and Highland coos makes Edinburgh feel like an adventure. When a destination stops being an abstract word and becomes a vivid, exciting place, everything changes.
3. Learn something about it together
Pick one fascinating fact about your destination and share it with your child. Did you know the Sagrada Família in Barcelona has been under construction for over 140 years and still isn't finished? Did you know Scotland has a different animal on its national flag to every other country in the world — a unicorn?
Facts like these capture children's imaginations in a way that "it'll be lovely, you'll enjoy it" simply doesn't. Curiosity is the gateway to excitement.
4. Try the food at home first
Food is one of the most powerful ways to connect children with a new culture. Make paella together the week before you fly to Spain. Try croissants for breakfast before your Paris trip. Cook up some Scottish shortbread before heading north of the border.
When children taste something from a place before they arrive, they feel a connection to it. And when they spot that same dish on a menu abroad, there's a genuine moment of recognition and excitement — "I know what that is!"
5. Give them a language challenge
Even just five words in the local language transforms how children feel about a destination. Make it a game — who can learn the most Spanish words before the plane lands? Who can say thank you in French to the waiter at dinner?
Children who feel like they can communicate — even just a tiny bit — feel confident and curious rather than overwhelmed. And confidence leads to engagement.
6. Give them an activity book about where they're going
One of the most effective things you can do in the weeks before a holiday is put a great activity book about the destination in your child's hands. Not just colouring — but puzzles, fun facts, language activities, explorer challenges and creative pages all about the country you're visiting.
By the time you arrive, they already know what to look out for. They recognise landmarks. They can say a few words. They've been on a scavenger hunt on paper and now they want to do it for real.
That's not just entertainment — that's genuine curiosity and excitement that completely transforms the holiday experience.
The truth about disengaged children on holiday
In all my years working with families, I've never met a child who was genuinely uninterested in the world. What I've met are children who haven't yet been given a reason to be interested — children who haven't been shown that the world outside their screen is more exciting, more colourful and more extraordinary than anything on it.
That's exactly why I created Colour the World. To give children that reason. To spark the curiosity that turns a reluctant traveller into a wide eyed explorer.
Because the world is out there — and it's absolutely worth looking up for.
🎁 Before your next adventure — grab our free screen free car journey activity pack. 5 fun activities for little explorers, instant download, completely free. 👉
Gemma Herron is the founder of Colour the World, a series of children's travel activity books designed to help children fall in love with the world — one country at a time. Find out more at www.colourtheworld.co.uk