8TH AUGUST – a day to be feared. It is the day when British parents reach breaking point, throw a hissy fit, and tell the world and their families that school holidays suck.

This information reached me courtesy of Drayton Manor Park (which is around 40 miles from Nottingham City Centre) who commissioned a survey of 2000 parents.

The results prove that hell is indeed other people. On average, we can only sustain wall to wall contact with our family for 17 days before we have had enough and long for the school holiday to be over.

That’s not too bad. It’s more than two weeks. If you have been upbeat and good humoured for the first third of the holidays, give yourself a pat on the back but be warned, dark moments lie ahead.

Over the six to eight week break, the average parent will have to deal with 13 sibling fights, six public tantrums, 15 early morning wakeups, two cancelled childcare emergencies and five long car journeys.

As of tomorrow – August 8th 2019, many parents will stop enjoying the company of their offspring and start longing for September to arrive:

• One in five parents believe that the summer holidays are the single most stressful time of year
• 28% will attempt to limit screen time
• 17 percent of parents will be shouted at by their kids when/ if they succeed
• The average parent will be driven to HIDE from their little ones in a locked bathroom or bedroom at least six times over the holidays, just to get some respite
• 88 percent of parents believe they take school holidays more seriously than their own parents did
• 36 percent of mum and dads today say they feel guilty if they don’t have an activity planned every day
• Working parents are so stressed that 15 percent of parents are considering quitting their job. The rest are probably looking for overtime opportunities
• 90% of parents surveyed said they wished employers were more sympathetic to the plight of working parents during the summer break

Apparently, Nottingham is where parents cave in first. They gave up on 4th August, while the hardy folk in Belfast will be smiling grimly until the 12th

What does despair look like? Researchers found that 16 percent of parents reported that getting out of the house every morning is a major achievement so the prediction is that in the next month there will be seven days when everyone stays in their pyjamas all day.

For the cheerful and adventurous among you there is Drayton Manor Park. The yare offering the chance to win £500 and FREE entry to the park: www.draytonmanor.co.uk/competitions.