Summer holidays in times gone by are a far cry from children’s experiences today, laments Tessa Waugh, as holidaying urbanites bear down on the Northumberland countryside
I was going through some old books when I was back at my parents’. All those wonderful Ruby Ferguson and Pullein-Thompson stories in which children and ponies went from one end of the day to another without setting eyes on an adult. Someone packed them up a picnic for lunch – something that didn’t involve Cheestrings or Monster Munch – and away they went until supper time.
It seems a far cry from the summer holidays that we know now. We are in danger of rearing a generation of children who cannot function unless they have an adult circling like a demented helicopter, documenting their every move or curating an itinerary that would frighten The Queen. Either that or they are on TikTok. It is full-on on the home front at the moment and it is stressing me out. Big time.
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