Everybody knows we get ripped off by holiday companies who double their prices as soon as the school term finishes.
But should parents be allowed to pull their kids out of school whenever they feel like it just for the sake of a cheap beach holiday?
Even the threat of prosecution and fines wouldn't stop many parents from taking their children out of school for a holiday, a new survey has found.
Around two-thirds of people questioned thought that children could learn as much from being on holiday as being at school.
That might be true if you take them on a trip to see Roman ruins in Italy or the pyramids in Egypt.
How much are children going to learn from sitting on a beach in Majorca for two weeks?
Four out of five people questioned in the survey by Mumsnet said they felt angry about the higher prices for trips during the school holidays and 74 said they would do so for a once-in-a-lifetime trip.
There have been a number of cases of parents being taken to court and fined for the offence - but a lot of the fines are probably less than they saved from the cheaper holiday.
Fines can usually be issued to parents who allow their child to be absent from school for more than ten days in any 10-week school period without good reason.
That's OK for us then - my husband and I have never been on a holiday that was longer than 10 days. And that was our honeymoon.
Part of me thinks that holiday companies shouldn't be allowed to rip families off. But part of me wonders if parents be allowed to disrupt their kids' education just so they can pay less to drink cocktails on a beach.
What do you think? Should parents take their children out of school during term-time?
Source [WalletPop]