When my 14-year-old asked if I had any 2019 parenting resolutions earlier this month, I mistakenly thought she was being serious instead of sarcastic. Who doesn’t strive to be a new, improved version of the mum or dad they actually are? But raising teens is like living on the course of television’s Total Wipeout: just when you think you’ve got the hang of it, you’re suddenly facing those giant red balls.
It’s way past resolution time and frankly I am struggling to complete dry January, but in the spirit of family harmony I asked my two eldest daughters to come up with a reasonable “mum could do better” list instead. They were more than happy to oblige.
After the inevitable “more pocket money” and “fewer