THIS month, it’s about kids on holiday, but for those of you without children, it's worth hanging on because there's much they can teach everyone about getting more from your holiday.

I have a five-year-old daughter, but before she came along I thought we were doomed to all-inclusive resorts and nothing else. I needn't have worried.

There are two benefits to going on holiday with kids.

The first is you have to change pace. This doesn't mean you stop doing interesting things, it just means you can't hurtle through a check list of 'must do's'.

Often you know you’ve had enough of some historic ruins, but you plough on, conscious you need to ‘make an effort’. But when kids have had enough, you’ve got to stop.

Before our daughter was born we might go to a modish city with an iconic gallery. I’d wander round for hours, guide book in hand trying to look at each picture for at least ten minutes and frown meaningfully to prove I wasn’t a complete idiot.

With kids this just isn't possible, so the next time we were going to a gallery, I did some research and we chose some things we really wanted to see and split them to give us time with our chosen piece.

This way, you come away having learnt something rather than your head pounding, having been 'galleried out'.

The second is that children can make for interesting experiences. If you want to meet people, having children is a great leveller, whether you speak the language or not. Anyone from cheerful old ladies to stony-faced border guards want to say hello when you've got a tot in tow.

One of my favourite holiday snaps is of our daughter, then two, surrounded by veiled Syrian schoolgirls who wanted to have their picture taken with a bemused blond toddler.

Having her with us meant we met more locals, found out more about the place and generally had a more memorable time than if it was just the two of us.

So if you’re about to have them - fret not and if you’ve already got them - be adventurous - your kids will make it work for you.