One guest's personal account of how to holiday en famille and make sure everyone gets a break...

" Do you remember your first family holiday as a parent?
Mine was a desperately-longed-for villa in the sun with my newly mobile 9 month old, my exhausted husband and my mum, the latter invited in the hope that she would volunteer a little baby sitting from time to time. I fantasized about achieving a Zen-like state of relaxation as the sun revived my wobbly and worn out body on the beach. I fondly imagined delicious meals al fresco and en famille, locals enchanted by my adorable and impeccably behaved little boy and the rougher edges of life pleasantly softened by a bottle or three of something cold and pink.
Of course the reality was somewhat different. Even getting to the beach was like moving house: buggy, sun tent, nappies, cool box, water, toys, hat, sun cream, change of clothes and laboriously mashed purees (no blender in the villa) which were routinely spurned in favour of large handfuls of damp sand. And of course by the time we had unpacked everything onto our patch of beach, my little angel was bored of his sand snacks and had no intention of letting mummy or daddy sit still for a nano second of peace. Granny was back at the villa – “beaches don’t agree with me”.
Dinner was no easier. Trying to find anything to eat other than a Full English Breakfast before 8pm was nigh on impossible, and while gorgeous olive-skinned Med babies seemed happy to play quietly or sleep while the extended family enjoyed a long relaxed supper, my baby stuck resolutely to his Gina Ford routine and howled in over-tired frustration at being away from his darkened room after 7 in the evening. I ended up cooking every night, with Granny knocking back vats of rosé to help her sleep “in case the baby wakes”.
“How was your trip?” friends asked later. To be perfectly honest it was just like being at home, only a bit warmer, a grim realisation that holidays might never be quite the same again.
So last year we treated ourselves – and our son – to the services of a holiday Nanny. For one whole incredibly indulgent week, lovely Lucy came to our villa promptly each afternoon to care for Nicolas, leaving us free to enjoy a swim, snooze or shop in glorious grown-up peace. Didn’t I feel guilty leaving my son with someone else? Yes, for about 40 seconds, until I registered his delight at the huge box of new toys Lucy had brought. Nicolas took to his Nanny alarmingly quickly, which made it much easier than I had expected to slip out of the door with our picnic basket and paperbacks. And returning for tea after just a few hours of genuine me-time I was actually looking forward to the bath & bed routine, previously the hardest hour of the day. We all love our kids, but a few hours off now and again makes it so much easier to enjoy them too."

Heather Macnaughton travelled to Corsica with Coastline