Thailand with kids. Is my plan insane?

We're off to Thailand in March :dance: I never thought I would bother going back there but it just seems right for a lazy holiday.
Last time I was there I was backpacking and single. I generally just caught trains, boats and buses at random and found accomodation in eachtown when I arrived. I stayed mainly at small guesthouses where I was up close and personal with Thai families.
Now that I'm travelling with children I'm more inclined to pre-book but loking at my usual sites last night I noticed that most of the places available for pre-booking are the resorts and chain hotels. The little ma and pa operations just don't bother with expedia et al. I'm just not a resort person and I hoped that my children would have a chance to stay somewhere less impersonal than resorts and chain hotels.
Sooo.... DH and I thought that maybe we would book a place for our first night so we have somewhere to go when we get off the plane but just wing it after that.
We're flying into Phuket but we won't be staying there (we're planning on travelling further south to the Krabi region).
My main concern is that it might be really stressful trying to find a good guesthouse or hotel with the children in tow.

Am I crazy? Should I just accept that now I have children I need to pre-book or should I take the risk of a public meltdown/tanty to stay somewhere that is more to my taste?

I really need to stop overthinking everything :o

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I really need to stop overthinking everything :o

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Yep maybe you do... If you can handle the odd melt down or tanty, it would be the most amazing experience for your children to share with you.
Friends when to Thailand with their kids and they were in a resort and when to the kids club thing everyday...
if you are anything like me, you go to another country to experience the country,not something that you can do in your own backyard iykwim...

Maybe have a couple of backups JIC, like if you know you are going to be in an area research a few of the places that you 'could' go to, but if you are not incllind to book them until you see them, go with the flow, its a fantastic lesson.
I am trying to instill in DH that if something goes wrong or we get lost, its not a disaster, but the start of the next installment of the adventure and will probably make the holiday more memorable and fantastic than just plodding along... you know glass is half full stuff :)

Goodluck and i dont think you are crazy, i would love to do the same :)