WHY SHOULD KIDS HAVE ALL THE FUN?

Becky Dickinson, 49, decided it was time to stop being sensible and join in

- BECKY DICKIN SON

If parenting’s taught me one thing, it’s that love and fear go hand in hand. It’s also taught me that kids get all the fun in this world. First, it was those  hideous soft play areas (shudder), then parks (yawn), followed by yet more parks (give me strength), then those indoor trampoline centres that look awesome until you remember you’ve had three kids including one, ahem, ‘assisted delivery’. Goodbye, pelvic floor. From ghastly rhyme times to expensive swimming lessons, all too often parenting involves sitting on the sidelines with a disappointing coffee while the creatures you created have the time of their lives.

Looking back, 14 years ago, I was strapping my firstborn into a Maxi-Cosi, triple-checking the clips and adjusting the neck support as if he were a Fabergé egg. Now, a lifetime later, having moved from London to Devon, I’m standing on the beach as my gangly adolescent springs to his feet, then zips along the crest of the wave on a surfboard.