All dads welcome (Picture: Joe Pepler/PinPep)
Dads, there’s finally a place for you on holiday where your kids can’t call you ‘cringe’.
More than half (54%) of British teenagers think their dads embarrass them on family holidays, by doing things like telling bad jokes, snoring by the pool and cringeworthy dancing.
Other offences include wearing socks with sandals (which is arguably ‘cool’ now), complaining loudly, causing frisbee accidents, constantly taking photos, wearing age-inappropriate clothing, being greedy at the buffet, using selfie sticks and getting up early to bag sun loungers.
The study comes via easyJet Holidays, who have today launched the world’s first in-hotel ‘Dad’s Club’.
Dads wanting a go need to holiday in the Spanish hotspot of Benalmádena.
Opening August 24 at Holiday World Polynesia on the Costa del Sol, it’s a ‘safe space’ for dads who don’t want to be judged.
The ‘school of cool’ offers ‘dad dancing’ lessons, frisbee and air guitar tuition, and joke workshops.
It’s a safe space (Picture: Joe Pepler/PinPep)
Comedian Omid Djalili, who counts himself an ’embarrassing parent’, said: ‘It’s a rite of passage for us Dads to embarrass our kids. It comes with the job.’
Almost a quarter of teens try to get out of a family holiday according to the study, to avoid these cringe-worthy moments.
The top 20 cringe-worthy dad behaviours, according to the survey
Telling bad jokes
Dad dancing
Comparing prices to everything back home
Complaining loudly
Trying to make friends with the locals
Loud conversations with strangers
Trying to join in with teen slang and getting it wrong
Falling asleep by the pool and snoring
Using pet nicknames in front of strangers
Being greedy at the buffet
Telling embarrassing anecdotes
Constantly taking photos
Wearing socks with sandals
Wearing his team’s football shirt
Wearing inappropriate clothes for their age
Failing to be understood while speaking the local language
Getting up early to reserve sun loungers
Showing off in the pool – e.g. cannonballs
Attempting TikTok memes/dances
Wearing tiny swimming trunks .
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However, 53% of dads surveyed think they are ‘cool’ on holiday, while 34% admit to purposely humiliating their kids.
Sarah Ockwell-Smith, a parenting expert, said: ‘Holidays are a perfect time to reconnect with teens, but sometimes all the extra time spent together can cause friction.
‘Not to mention the excitement and freedom of holiday-mode causing some pretty cringey (according to the kids) behaviour, which can lead to embarrassment.
‘Disco dancing, air guitar and socks and sandals? Definite trigger points.’
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It’s a ‘safe space’ for dads to be cringe.