Mom Says She ‘Secretly’ Prefers Staying at Home to Vacationing with Her Kids: ‘I Feel Like I Need Another Break to Recover’

A worn-out mother is questioning whether family getaways with small children qualify as “holidays” at all after returning from a trip that left her feeling more drained than refreshed.

She shared her experience on the U.K. forum Mumsnet, posting under the site’s well-known prompt, “Am I being unreasonable?” (“AIBU”).

“AIBU to think holidays with kids aren’t really holidays at all?” she asked, before explaining what brought her to that conclusion.

“We’ve just come back from a week away, and honestly, I feel like I need another break to recover from it,” she wrote. “Between packing, cleaning the Airbnb before leaving, managing constant squabbles, and trying to keep everyone fed and entertained — it didn’t feel like a holiday at all.”

She added that the photos don’t tell the full story.

“Every photo looks lovely, but behind the scenes it was chaos,” she continued. “Tantrums, forgotten essentials, someone always hungry, and the endless ‘what are we doing next?’ made it more stressful than work.”

All of that led her to wonder: “Are family holidays just an expensive change of scenery rather than actual rest?” She wrapped up her post by admitting, “I can’t be the only one who secretly prefers staying home at this point.”

A poll attached to the thread offered two options — one saying she was being “unreasonable,” the other calling her feelings “reasonable” — and the votes were nearly evenly divided. The written responses were similarly split, with some users validating her frustration and others insisting that family trips can still feel like real holidays.

One commenter disagreed and said they “loved holidaying with” their 14-month-old, even while acknowledging things might change “next year when the second [child] arrives.”

“It was so lovely, we saw family, no work, no stress rushing around in the morning, no house renovation stress, just slow mornings and lots of family time,” they wrote. “We leave next month for another one, and I can’t wait. Not gonna pretend that the flights aren’t a little stressful, but it’s all worth it in my eyes.”

Another person argued that it really “depends on the kids.”

A different user said they “don’t relate” to the exhausted mom’s perspective at all.

“I love holidays with my kids and always have done,” they wrote. “My job is extremely stressful, so spending time not at work doing nice things with my family is joyful. We’ve always done a mix of activities, so there is something everyone likes.” They added that their children are “great company,” which makes the trips feel more restorative than tiring.