At the moment, I feel trapped by motherhood. This may surprise you, as my kids are both teenagers, and it’s generally accepted that the baby years are the hardest. But I really didn’t feel like this when my two were tiny. I love my kids unconditionally and would – literally – die for them. Becoming […]
6 great things to do in Cape Town with teenagers
This post is by Anglo-Italian journalist Lorenza Bacino. In December Lorenza visited South Africa for a holiday with her husband and their two kids (14 and 12). The family spent six days exploring Kruger National Park (you can read about their experience in the post Family safari: Kruger, South Africa) and also visited the Cape […]
Family safari: Kruger, South Africa
This post is by Anglo-Italian journalist Lorenza Bacino. You can read about her experiences in Cape Town here. “In December, I was lucky enough to travel to South Africa with my husband and the kids (14 and 12) to stay with friends and experience the country as a local, which is always the best way, I […]
What to do when your child starts university: tips from a student
Following on from the advice from me and from some other parents in what to do when your teen starts university, my student daughter Izzy has written this post with her tips for parents who are going through this: ‘It’s that time of year again – up and down the country, parents are sobbing and […]
What to do when your teen starts university
When my eldest was about to start university, my emotions were all over the place. I was delighted and proud that she had a place on the course and in the city that she’d chosen. With memories of my own time as a student in my mind, I was happy to think of the life […]
Itinerary for a three-night Berlin sightseeing trip with a teenager
When my husband and son signed up for an Easter holiday football trip, my 18 year-old student daughter and I knew what we had to do – book a trip ourselves. My daughter’s favourite place from InterRailing last summer was Berlin. As I’d never been there, we decided that this was where we should go. […]
What to do when your teenager doesn’t want to go on your family holiday
If your teen happily goes along with all of your family holiday plans, then move along now, there’s nothing for you here. If you have younger children, and can’t imagine them not wanting to travel with you, then make the most of it. They may laugh at your jokes and think that you’re beautiful, wise […]
Family travel with teenagers: why villa holidays work
I’ve teamed up with Villa Plus to look at why villa holidays work so well for families with teenagers. Space When they’re not on a family holiday, most teenagers probably spend more time with their peers than they do with their families. So when the whole family is together on holiday, it can be tricky, […]
What to do when your teen goes travelling
I wrote this when my teenage daughter went travelling with a friend for the first time: Right now, I’m a fretful mama bear. For no good reason. Except that my daughter, aged 17, has finished her exams and is currently InterRailing her way around six European countries with a school friend. Which is brilliant, and should […]
How to help your child learn to drive
My first driving lesson wasn’t a success. I was keen to learn to drive as soon as I was old enough, as were all of my friends in the rural area where I grew up. We were fed up with walking and cycling everywhere, and we wanted access to Saturday jobs and the freedom to […]