1 In 5 Children Have Never Paddled In The Sea

Dec. 2, 2010 - PRLog -- Latest research by one of the UK’s leading online independent travel agents has looked into the life experiences of the children of today, polling 1,399 children aged between eight and fifteen to find out.



The poll, by www.sunshine.co.uk, found that 19% of the children asked had never paddled in the sea, in the UK or abroad, whilst 41% said they hadn’t been on an aeroplane. When asked, ‘How many countries have you been to on holiday?’ over half, 52% said they’d only been to one.



When asked, ‘If you could go on holiday anywhere in the world, where would that be?’ 34% said they would visit Disney Land; 61% of these didn’t mind if that was in Paris or Orlando.



The young respondents were asked by sunshine.co.uk whether or not they had even been camping, to which two thirds, 67%, said they hadn’t. Of these, more than three quarters, 78%, said that they would like to.



Just over half, 52%, said that they had never been on a boat before, whilst 71% said they had never stayed in a caravan.



When asked, ‘Have you ever built a sandcastle on the beach?’ 32% of the children said that they hadn’t. Furthermore, 82% said they’d never looked for wildlife in a rock pool and 37% had never seen a crab in real life, be it in the wild or a sea life centre.



Chris Brown, co-founder of http://www.sunshine.co.uk and ‘Secret Millionaire’ in the recent Channel 4 series, commented on the findings;



“I think it’s incredibly sad that so many children haven’t paddled in the sea; it’s something every young person should have experienced. We were really keen to find out more about young people’s experiences of holidaying abroad the activities that often come with it; it was quite shocking to discover that 32% of children have never built a sandcastle.”



He concluded, “Even when looking at things that aren’t necessarily associated with going abroad, such as camping, a surprising number of children had not even been on a trip like that. I think with advancements in technology, such as games consoles and computers, more kids are staying indoors and not wanting to go out into the open air, which is an awful shame. Parents should encourage their children to do more outdoor activities and take them on affordable trips, so that they have some fond memories of childhood.”



Link http://www.sunshine.co.uk

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ENDS



For more information, or to arrange interviews with Chris Brown, please contact Shannon Haigh of 10 Yetis PR Agency on 01452 348211 or email shannon@10yetis.co.uk

Editors Notes

sunshine.co.uk is the UK's leading online independent travel agent and was founded by Chris Brown and Chris Clarkson, the same people behind Holiday Watchdog which was bought by TripAdvisor in February 2008 for an undisclosed amount of money.



Chris Brown of sunshine.co.uk was a ‘Secret Millionaire’ in the series on Channel 4 that began in October 2010.



Sunshine.co.uk offers low cost holidays and budget flights to destinations all over the world as well as great deals and discounted hotels.



TravelMole recently voted sunshine.co.uk as the best Travel Agency in the 2010 web awards.