'The teenies' summer holidays!'

Karen is mum to 14-year-old twins and it's far from a walk in the park. Every week, she reveals all the ups and downs of living with teens.

'We're over halfway through the summer and the school holiday doldrums have finally hit. 14 is a difficult age. They're too old for holiday clubs and too young to have money and independence. This year we aren't bothering with a family holiday. We offered them a week in Cornwall but they turned their noses up... ‘Boring' was the general consensus from camp teenie. And I can sympathise. At 14 you don't want to spend time with your parents.

I remember at that age spending hours on end nursing a cup of tea in the BHS cafe, or roaming aimlessly around the town centre. One entire summer was spent ogling the boy on the market veg stall as he shouted out 'Juicy, fruity, fresh and cheap.' We were mind-numbingly bored most of the time and it was made worse by the fact that we desperately wanted fun and excitement.

Teenie one is the same. She wants to be out with her friends 24/7, but the reality is some are on holiday, some are skint, while others are just plain lazy and don't get out of bed. Teenie two has been fine. He's had 3 weeks of cricket festivals to keep him out of bother but these are coming to an end and I know he will turn into the biggest moaner and moper around. He simply can't bear doing nothing. If he doesn't have access to organised sport he morphs into a grumpy old man.

But hey, while teenagers on their long vacation can drain your coffers and eat you out of house and home, there is an upside... You can go to work and get away from them! What's more you don't have all the awful hassle and expense of childcare!'

Karen's other blog posts...

• Karen's next blog - My terrible teenage two: 'Testing times'
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• Karen's previous blog - My terrible teenage two: 'Teenie one is a Facebook addict'
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• All of Karen's blogs