Are we SPOILING OUR KIDS?

The summer holidays are finally here, but in an age of iPads, Netflix and endless action-packed activities at our fingertips, there's more pressure than ever to keep our children entertained

- VERONIQUE HAWKSWO

As kids, we couldn’t wait for those glorious six summer weeks to arrive. Endless days of garden water fights, picnics in the park and getting muddy on bike rides. The beauty of our summer holidays was in the simplicity… Mum lying on a towel reading the latest Danielle Steel, sitting next to her with an ice pop, or listening out for the ice-cream van.

Now it’s all go-karting, theme parks and week-long sports camps. When our children aren’t being spoilt by high-energy activities with hefty price tags, they’re demanding endless screen time, slobbed on the sofa, turning into TikTok and YouTube zombies.

Yet nearly one in five parents hates the idea of their kids having a ‘disappointing’ summer, even though entertaining them, or getting them out in the sunshine feels harder than ever.

Then there’s the financial pinch, with 62% of parents of four to 16-year-olds struggling under rising costs. So what’s the answer? We speak to one mum who’s going back to basics… 

'WE EMBRACED BOREDOM - THAT'S WHAT CHILDHOOD WAS ABOUT'

Writer Shona Sibary, 52, is married to Keith, 56, and lives in Chichester with her daughter, Dolly, 13. She has three older children, Flo, 24, Annie, 22, and Monty, 20.

Is there a mother in Britain who doesn’t dread the long, expensive haul that is the school summer holiday? Even when the sun