Conspiracy of silence...

I always think there's a conspiracy of silence surrounding having children. No-one really tells you what it's like to have a family and all the mess and chaos children bring. Once you get the baby stage and the toddler tantrums out of the way and you don't have to cart lorry loads of nappies, wipes, milk and baby food around with you, you enter what I would call the halcyon period of having children, from about the age of six to ten years. In this period you can (generally) take them out for a meal, have a conversation with them and they are quite willing to go anywhere with you and are normally interested and happy to be with you and enjoy whatever you have to offer them. I remember this stage with fondness. It was heavenly to take the children out and I can think of lots of days when we had a marvellous time and we all enjoyed ourselves, just as I imagined how family life would be.

Then at about the age of ten they change. It's no longer "cool" to go to places with you, places which would normally have had them jumping up and down with excitement. They've changed but you haven't so it's a shock when you suddenly realise that they have absolutely no interest in going to the seaside, or the park, or going for a walk in the country.

They're too young to be left all day while you go off and do things you want to do a long way away and they're too old to have the grandparents babysitting for them so effectively your life goes on hold, unless you're willing to go somewhere like Alton Towers and be scared silly.

Today I have been going stir crazy. I am normally a restless person and love going out and seeing things and am quite willing to drive long distances just to spend a couple of hours somewhere new. This afternoon I suggested we all go to the coast tomorrow and was met with enormous resistance from Sophie who was not keen on going to the coast. Whatever I suggested was not "cool" or Mikey groaned loudly and said it was "boring".

So, we have to compromise. I've given up my plans to go to the Dorset coast and we're off to London tomorrow but maybe not to a museum (boring). If it's sunny and warm we'll walk over to Buckingham Palace like we did in January and see how the day unfolds...wish me luck!