ABOUT US
wHAT DO WE DO?
A website which is designed to take the stress out of travelling with your children offering advice and guidance. There is currently no independent travel accreditation which certifies a resort, hotel or holiday rental to be child friendly or child safe. We as parents only take the word of the travel agent or company; it's time that changed.
Tested by Tots is there to give you reassurance that the holiday you select meets standards which are acceptable to take your beautiful children. Creating memories that will last forever with the confidence that it has been tested or accredited to an acceptable level.
We ONLY recommend products and services that meet our standards and that have been Tested by Tots. This is our promise to you. If it isn’t Tested by Tots it doesn’t make the list.
In the wake of Brexit and Covid -19, the world became a very small place; it’s more important than ever we support our families and share our knowledge and information.
Holidays and time with our families in the current climate is so important. Why settle for anything less?
oUR sTORY
Back then…
“It will be fine,” I said as we walked out the door with a 14 month old and a 8 week old for a flight from Luton to Kefalonia. They advertised it as child friendly and there was no reason to think that it wasn’t. Booked via a reputable travel company we went, double buggy in hand and with a travel bassinet for the baby, having booked the travel cot at the other end for the 14 month old.
Trying to stay within the maternity leave budget, we booked parking in a field about 5 miles from the airport and struggled onto the bus carrying 2 weeks of luggage, bottles, special milks and the double buggy at 5am in the morning.
The kids were great on the flight despite the fact that they had split the husband and I up and we were solely responsible for one child each. We even managed to get an hour's sleep. Maybe it was just my poor planning at Luton airport that left us flustered.
Nope… it wasn’t. Having arrived at the airport in Greece we were met by a coach with no seat belts or any consideration for having children on board.. There was no way to secure myself or the baby. Arriving at the resort, the coach climbed higher and higher up the mountain side. Then the panic sets in.
The accommodation, which was on the side of a mountain, was a 1 bedroom apartment, and had room just for the travel cot and the bassinet. There was no microwave to sterilise bottles as was advertised, the balcony access and windows had no child locks. The walk to the pool was a 15 mins down the steep hill in 34 degrees. It was soon time to get the kids in the pool, relax and cool down and try and lose the panic that had set in. We decided not to take on the hill to town that evening and stopped at the bar for dinner instead. Alas, no high chair to be found.
We headed up to the apartment, now hot and flustered after balancing a child on either leg and covered in spaghetti bolognese. We steamed the life out of the bottles in a colander as the kids fell asleep. We sat out on the balcony once the kids had settled to sleep to find a bats nest in the roof 50cm from our heads and the towels were now covered in bat poo. We abandoned our sundowner and sat inside.
This is not a child friendly holiday! I burst into tears and asked the other half if we could just go home!
Since then….
We have travelled to several European destinations, and their love of travel doesn’t stop. Intrigued by foreign food, language and culture, the kids embrace every trip we take. We play at airports and shop using the local currency to learn about the countries we are travelling to. We have learnt to engage the children at the dinner table so meals out can be relaxing and in the spirit of holiday.
Our friends now send our children videos of their travels to show them the world, sparking conversation. (Don’t get them started on the bullet train.)
So for me, I have learned that it’s all in the planning. What to take, how to plan the trip and most importantly is our destination child friendly?
And now…
Tested by Tots was born.