MODERN FAMILY

I WAS in my teens when I packed my bags and travelled thousands of miles across the Atlantic to work at a camp in America for the summer.

I can’t remember being particularly concerned about the folks back home and how they were feeling.

In a typical egocentric teenage-style, I was heading off on the biggest adventure of my life to date, and couldn’t wait for it to begin.

And it was a trip of a lifetime that I still have fond memories of as I discovered how much American children loved peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and just how vast and fascinating the country I had only seen before in films really was.

I didn’t completely forget family, but with no WhatsApp, social media or mobile phones to keep us in touch, it meant queuing up once a week to use my phone card to make the longdistance call home, and lots of letter writing.

There were no text messages to keep in touch about what was going on day-to-day, no Facebook status updates or Instagram pictures to chart our adventures at the camp by the lake, and a general lack of communication.

What a difference becoming a parent myself has made on those recollections.

My parents must have been so worried as they waved me off at the airport, knowing they were going to hear very little from me for the next three months.

I got a little glimpse of how they must have felt when we packed Son Snr the teenager off to summer camp last week.

He was only going to Devon, it was only for a week, and we were in contact every day, but it still felt very strange.

To his complete embarrassment there were a big fuss waving him off, reminders to apply suncream and drink plenty of water were met with one-word answers and it was a relief to have him safely returned to his teenage lair at the end of the seven days.

The house seemed very quiet, with no thundering steps on the stairs, no sound of the fridge door being opened or the surreptitious creaking of the chocolate cupboard door that is quickly followed by the crinkling sound of a sweetie wrapper being whisked off.

We also quickly worked out who eats all the food in the house as the milk stacked up and there was actually bread for toast and cereal left for breakfast; both uncommon experiences over the past few teenage years.

He had an absolutely fantastic time and was perfectly safe, applied his suncream and kept hydrated.

It is great to be able to give them independence as they get older, but it is also nice that we can keep in touch.

Maybe modern technology is not so bad after all.