IT'S just one of those days... Her dogs won't stop barking, there's wet washing drying on a clothes horse in her home office and she's just realised she's double-booked herself and should be in a meeting with someone else.
"It's my attention deficit disorder," Vanessa Raphaely groans about the scheduling mix-up. "And menopause doesn't help."
It's a scenario many frazzled members of her popular Facebook parenting group, The Village, can relate to the endless juggling and multitasking, the days when balls get dropped.
During her time as editor of Cosmopolitan magazine it might've sent her into a spin but now, older and wiser, Vanessa (59) just rolls with it.
All the chaos is quickly forgotten as she flops into a chair next to a blazing fire in the lounge of her beautiful home in Higgovale, Cape Town, her dogs settled at her feet and a copy of her new book, We Were Perfect Parents Until We Had Children, on a table beside her.
Written in collaboration with author Karin Schimke, it's a compilation of the best advice shared by the 60 000 members of The Village and covers just about every parenting dilemma under the sun, from setting boundaries and getting kids to help out with chores to how to cope with issues such as cellphones, vaping and dating.
As the mother of Milla (24), Max (23) and Leo (17), Vanessa knows all too well what a minefield the teen years can be.
She doesn't sugar-coat it in her book: adolescence is like "a wrecking ball" she writes.
All parents can do is make sure they're there to help pick up the pieces.
WHEN she launched The Village her own family were trying to pick up the pieces from a devastating loss. The death of her stepdaughter, Alex (24) in 2013 had left Vanessa, her husband Simmy Peerutin (67) and their kids reeling.
Denne historien er fra 22 August 2024-utgaven av YOU South Africa.
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Denne historien er fra 22 August 2024-utgaven av YOU South Africa.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
IT'S ALL ABOUT FAMILY
Lynn and Kairo Forbes invite us into their home as they prepare for their second Christmas without AKA
DENZEL'S DECADE OF SOBRIETY
Expensive wine was his weakness but these days the legendary Hollywood actor is all about clean living
WE DID IT FOR YOU, DAD
It was a dream come true for Jaden and Jordan Hendrikse when they ran out together for the Boks – but it was bittersweet too
HIP-HOPPING ALONG!
Moo Deng, the adorable pygmy hippo, is about to become an even bigger star thanks to a catchy new song released in her honour
IAM NO DIFFERENT
Despite being born without legs, Kanya Sesser truimphs at anything she sets her mind to
OUR WONDERFUL, WEIRD WORLD
Bizarre and beautiful spots exist off the well-worn tourist paths that criss-cross our precious planet
GOD'S INFLUENCER
After Carlo Acutis died at age 15, he was credited with performing miracles. Now the Italian is about to be canonised as the Catholic Church's first millennial saint. But what did the seemingly ordinary teenager do that was so special?
RUCK ON!
Rucking walking with a weighted rucksack - has gained popularity once again for its ability to improve your heart health, increase your strength and burn kilojoules fast
MY KIDNEY FOR MY SON
This Cape Town mom is determined to lose 50kg so she can give her boy the gift of life
A WHOLE NEW WORLD
She's been deaf since she.was a baby but now Chermelle ;s slowly startmg to hear thanks to a Cochlear Implant
