Strictly pair so out of step

PARENTHOOD’S WHEN YOU’RE HAPPY AND YOU KNOW IT

Jby our adult offspring and tiny grandchildren this summer we’ve had vivid memories of when our own kids were small.

Chaotic mealtimes, nappies, toys all over the floor, no time to read or sunbathe… and actually, this baby and toddler phase is relatively easy. The teenage years, tantrums and hysterics,

RONE thing you can’t help developing a knack for during 40-odd years in journalism is reading people’s body language. So when I saw Strictly professional dancers Katya Jones and her husband Neil doing the rounds of the TV studios, insisting Katya’s passionate kiss with dance partner Seann Walsh would not wreck their marriage, I knew instinctively it was all over for them. The strained smiles, the averted looks, the legs crossed away from each other.

Now, ten months on, they’ve announced their impending divorce.

Some couples can weather a snatched snog with an interloper; many can’t. Katya and Neil have bowed to what was clearly, in their case, the inevitable.

I wish them well.

the grumpiness and sulks, homework and exams – that period of parenthood can really be the pits.

So a survey that found having children DOES make you happy (but only after they’ve left home) has been ringing a few bells. Am I happier now ours have flown the nest? Yes and no. I loved the time when our children were between two and ten, quirky, curious and hugely affectionate.

Learning to let go is hard, but it can be a sweet release. There’s relief when responsibility lessens, when you can enjoy your children, and theirs, without worry. And with such pride that they’ve become happy, healthy, caring adults. Parenthood is a tough journey, but oh so worth it.