Depends on how you've taught your children. We a holiday to the South of France every two years via ferry and car from Northern Ireland where we stayed in a (very nice) caravan park near a lake and we had a great time. Younger kids want activities and sun and the long journey was part of the fun, not five star hotels with molten brown goodies. This stopped when my mum started her own business and my older sister when to uni. My parents paid for me and sister to go away when we got good grades in our A-Levels and GCSE's respectively which meant far more to us than if we were spoiled with holidays at every ski break. They have also helped all four children with university, buying their first homes (with mine being in London) and getting married. We all know the value of money, and the value of parents that don't spoil us but help us get started in life.

Lainey, London,

My children work very hard in their independant school during term time. During the holidays, they like to chill out. Nothing fancy required, they just want a rest - as we all do sometimes! Parents should stop pressurising themselves. Teach your children to be grateful for what they have - not constantly looking for the next high.

jenny, England,

Ella of London is right. My wife and I put our children through the state school system, and they all went to university and now have good, well-paid jobs. But holidays were nothing fancy. Now the children tell us how much they value the fact that they were taught that money does not grow on trees but has to be earned. If we had got into debt to send them on exotic holidays we could not afford to help them now, when they most need it, with mortgage deposits, repayment of student loans, etc. They certainly don't say "if you hadn't been so mean we could have gone to the Seychelles with Samantha". They know perfectly well that that holiday with Samantha would by now be long forgotten, and that what we gave them instead is more enduring - an excellent start in life.

JF, Canterbury, UK

I wouldn't worry too much. Just take comfort in the fact that many of those you suffer comparison with may well be the same "Masters of the Universe" who have "earned "their huge bonuses only to see that the whole thing was built on lies and funny money...

Bill, London,

What is this british obsession with private schooling and been seen to 'have'.

I am a product of the comprehensive system of education, in my mid forties but successful as a result of the lessons I learnt in the supposed 'bear pit' of state education. I have two masters degrees, I have a child undertaking 10 GCSEs in a 'bog standard' state school, my youngest gets to play the flute as well as get a decent education. we holiday twice a year in sunnier climes and we have complete ownerhsip of our own home with no mortgage.

How come we are happy and content through prudence and sensible decisions - are we missing something by not educating our children at vast expense in some lauded private, exclusive enclave.

What rot!! The state education system is nowhere as near bad as projected by the closeted media and their cronies in the 'city' / establishment.

A bit of hardwork and open mindedness can get youo where you want to be just as well as some select swchool tie.

PRT, York,

Going on holiday during every school break? You gotta love the middle class! I remember 3 holidays between the ages of 9 and 16 (after 16 my parents stopped taking me)
I now have a holiday every 3-4 years.
If you can afford school fees stop complaining about money!

For your next holiday, take your ungrateful children to a 'sink' estate and let them play football in the streets. They will love it!

AK, Pig Hill ,

I guess I could be described as a child of middle-class parents who sacrificed many luxuries to give my sister and I a good education and extracurricular activities like music and lessons, trips to the theatre/ballet etc., and, indeed, we spent our summer holiday with family rather than flying off to exotic locations. But contrary to your claim that such children are seduced by the extravagant life-styles of their peers and consequently exert unfair pressure on their parents, I was always aware of the sacrifices my parents made and am immensely proud of the home I came from. I think giving your child a sense of the value of money, and how best to spend it to invest in your future, is one of the most important lessons you can give. It may be frustrating at times, but those parents should feel proud of what they do, and not allow the super-rich to make them feel inferior.

Ella, London, UK

I imagine that you also dread birthdays and "playdates" secure in the knowledge that you cannot afford to ship 50 children by limo to a movie premiere followed by food at the Savoy any more than you can offer pony riding or clay pigeon shooting on a Saturday afternoon (once the matches have finished in the morning).

Why anyone would pay so for their children can be the poorest in a school, thus buying them an opportunity to feel impoverished despit having a very comfortable lifestyle, I cannot understand.

Being stigmtised for a lack of wealth is something that you could avoid your children suffering and instead you are paying for them to experience that paticularly bitter dissapointment.

Don't worry though. Once all the other kids realise that your house is small, your holidays are boring and your car is slow they will stop inviting your kids on these extravagent trips (which should make them feel much better).

Bob, Reading,

Isn't it time you lived in the real world? I haven't had a holiday for 4 years - I can't afford to have one.

Please try and enjoy your Easter with family in the countryside - my heart will be bleeding for you as I go to work in London.

Jonny, London, UK