 It's yet another social media saying, which dates back to 2018 and has continued popping back into parenting parlance ever since. You can find it on Facebook and Instagram profiles everywhere. It feels designed to send parents spiralling into floods of tears, clasp their children tightly to them and beg them never to leave their side. In essence, the saying goes: 'You only get 18 summers with your children.' And as a mum who is coming to the end of her first six weeks' holidays after my son Theo, five, finished reception in July, I am the ideal intended target of its messaging. But rather than reducing me to a blubbering mess (and trust me, that's not hard to do), the patronising phrase quite simply annoys me. Because of course you don't only have 18 summers with your children. For a start, they don't begin school until they're four – so if we're being pedantic about it, you technically only have 14 summers with them. And what about the 16-year-olds who don't go to college and start work instead – is it only 12 summers with them? Sorry, I know, I know, that was uncalled for. But come on, let's be serious. Why on earth are people trying to put a time limit on your relationship with your children? To add extra pressure to an already tense time of year for a lot of parents? If I'm being generous, I can kind of see what they mean. Parenthood doesn't simply come to an end on the morning of your child's 18th birthday(Picture: PA) As a freelancer, I've been lucky enough to cut my working week down to two days (and seven nights and most weekends), so together, Theo and I have gone to soft plays, the cinema, the beach, a local petting farm and museums. We've met up with friends, gone on playdates, been for ice cream. It has been truly wonderful. It's the longest time I've spent with him since my maternity leave with his little sister, Immy, three. But that fe){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
It’s yet another social media saying, which dates back to 2018 and has continued popping back into parenting parlance ever since.
You can find it on Facebook and Instagram profiles everywhere. It feels designed to send parents spiralling into floods of tears, clasp their children tightly to them and beg them never to leave their side.
In essence, the saying goes: ‘You only get 18 summers with your children.’
And as a mum who is coming to the end of her first six weeks’ holidays after my son Theo, five, finished reception in July, I am the ideal intended target of its messaging.