ToBeHonest: getting to shops on my own is a holiday so I should be able avail of the travel subsidy

It is a holiday and you can't convince me otherwise.

I remember before I had kids hearing parents say that going to the shops on their own was like a vacation and I used to think they were mad. Then I became a parent. Shopping with babies or young children is just a level of stress that very little can prepare you for. Firstly you're going to have to pack everything and the kitchen sink because you never know if they're going to need to be changed, or need a bottle or destroy their clothes (or you know all of the above at once). Then there's the temper tantrums because they can't get a giant multipack of crisps or they've run off of you and gotten lost and you're attempting to find them while also having palpitations. All and all a great fun day out for everyone. Getting to go shopping on your own truly is a different experience and I one hundred per cent agree with those parents that I once scoffed at, it is absolutely a holiday. That's why, and go with me on this, I think parents that manage to go to the shops on their own should be able to avail of the government travel subsidy. I thought a solo trip to the shop was already a magical breakaway (staycation if you will) but after being locked in the house with them for months attempting to home school them while also working from home, going for the weekly shop without a child in tow is like a Caribbean cruise. So my message to the government is be sound, it's been a stressful year let us parents have at least this. We'll save up all our receipts, take selfies for proof, get the check out person to write us a note, whatever it takes to get the travel subsidy. Let's face it with restrictions getting strict again very few of us will be availing of it to have a staycation and the government are going to have to use it up some how.