‘It’s OK to give them cheese sandwiches every day’ – the parenting lessons we’ve learnt in lockdown
As Angelina Jolie reveals her parenting experiences during the pandemic, we asked other parents what they ve picked up while at home
Angelina Jolie has been talking about her experiences in lockdown
Credit: Richard Shotwell/ AP/Invision
Spare a thought for Angelina Jolie. Locked down in Los Angeles with her six children, she told British Vogue that all this time at home has made her realise she lacks “all the skills to be a traditional stay-at-home mum”.
She thought motherhood would be a Jane Goodall-style experience, she says, “travelling in the middle of the jungle somewhere”. Which raises the question of quite how many parents she spoke to before starting a family.
Some years ago, I was on a beach in Barbados. The waves lapped against my feet, my three beautiful children played in the powder-white sand, while my successful, handsome husband paddle-boarded across the bay.
Our male friend released his eyes from the twinkling horizon for a moment and mused: ‘Our kids are young enough to be under our control, our parents are still well, we have our health and are financially settled. This, Bev, is as good as it gets.’
My instinctive reply was: ‘Noooooo! It can’t be!’
I wasn’t happy. I saw flaws. I saw room for improvement. I thought the best was yet to come.
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