The Husband and I did earn some parenting brownie points while we were on holiday as we managed to get the kids to put their iPads down for a bit and to enjoy some 'non-i' activities.
A telling reminder of how easy it is to let technology completely take over and become a not-so-silent babysitter is that moment when you hear that chorus of "but we've got nothing to doooooo".
To help us and other bewildered parenting bloggers about to set off on their hols, icarhireinsurance.com, who provide insurance which protects you from having to pay your car hire insurance excess in the event of an accident abroad, (part of the Halo Insurance Group), sent us a rather natty cardboard suitcase specially for the kids which contained a number of exciting things to keep them entertained.
Caitlin explains the contents of the suitcase in her extremely informative and unintentionally hilarious video below.
And since insurance is all about taking care of your belongings, entrusting your kids with their own suitcase or bag is a great way of teaching them a little responsibility and the importance of looking after their own things.
We even got Ieuan to pack a few things himself. Caitlin had already selected a range of outfits and accessories. Ieuan wanted to take a light saber, Stretch Armstrong and his cuddly Yoda. The idea that he might actually need some clothes hadn't dawned on him.
One particularly useful item in the iCarhireinsurance.com suitcase was a very handy book of games to play in the car, such as car badge bingo and even a version of consequences which I haven't played in eons.
Don't panic - this is the version where you draw a man / woman / creature's head then everyone adds their own bit and folds the paper over. When all the paper is used up, a strange and mysterious creature is revealed. When I first read it I had horrible visions of some sort of 'truth or dare' game but that's what watching too much Channel 5 does for you.
And obviously Caitlin had to personalise the suitcase - along with the odd desultory squiggle from Ieuan.
We took our own car but if you are hiring a car and want to protect your car hire insurance excess then you can find out more at icarhireinsurance.com.
It's easy to think that you won't be involved in any accidents but having just had to cough up £350 for a non-fault prang to my beloved Skoda thanks to a dodgy driver here in Cardiff, it's certainly something we'd consider the next time we hire a car.
