5 is an odd number

So today seems as good a day as any to start my blog. The start of a new term and my youngest daughter beginning year 11, the big GCSE year. I took a photo of her in her uniform and realised that this will be the last year she wears uniform as she will in 6th form next year! Scary stuff but not so bad as this is the third time we have got to this stage and I don't think anything can beat your eldest child going off to Uni over 200 miles away, which is what I experienced this time last year. My son started his second year of college this week and is beginning to prepare for going to Uni or a gap year.

This blog is an opportunity for me to share some of the things we have learnt along the way getting our kids to adulthood. As we prepared for my daughter to go to Uni we discovered lots of helpful hints and tips, we also experienced some difficult situations that we didn't expect. We will be doing open days with my son this term and I know I am so much better prepared this time. I think this stage of family life has it's own challenges, there are great times as you enjoy doing things with your young adults that you couldn't before but there are also the battles over independence and responsibility. For our young adults they also struggle with wanting to remain a child sometimes, my 19  year old came into my bed the other night after having a nightmare, whilst also wanting to have the freedoms of adulthood.

I don't consider myself to be an expert, I don't think that is possible in the area of parenting as each child is so unique, but I have worked as a health visitor and primary school teacher. I work with the young people in our church and have even taught sex and relationship education in secondary schools. More recently my husband and I have run a course on parenting teenagers called Parentalk; The Teenage Years. The course was written by Care for the Family and I would recommend you visit their website for advice and support on parenting issues. The advice is always common sense and real, they don't pretend life is easy. Despite all this experience I would still say that parenting is the hardest job anyone does and it doesn't get any easier as they move towards adulthood. I hope you might enjoy following this journey and contribute questions and suggestions for me and other readers.