MODERN FAMILY

THE sound of son junior’s squeaking shoes as we walk to school can only mean one thing – the end of term is near.

Thankfully, the continuing heatwave means his feet haven’t got wet, but it is a bit embarrassing as he runs into class in the battered, now off-black regulation footwear.

Looking around the playground, it looks like we are not alone. There are several children with trousers a couple of inches too short and a few holes can be spotted in jumpers.

It still doesn’t really add up in my mind, because September and the start of the school year, when they were all shiny and sparkling in their new uniforms, only feels like yesterday.

At the rate his feet are growing there is not much point getting him some new ones for the last week of term, so it will wait until just before he goes back in September.

First things first, though, we have to get through the long summer holidays, which I fear will not go quite as quickly as the school year has.

It is not all negative. There are many positives, like not having to rush out of the door first thing in the morning, a break from last-minute trips to the supermarket the night before because something vital is missing from the packed lunch, then having to put together the packed lunch in the morning before flying out the door to work.

There is also the chance to spend time with the children, even though they are not always happy to be seen with their parents.

I am looking forward to relaxed days out to places you only seem to visit when the sun comes out, and catching up with friends you don’t get to see when the grind of the school term leaves you so little time.

But for working parents juggling the problems of such a long holiday is a difficult act, even though I now have several years of experience under my belt.

A new report has found that parents in Wales will be shelling out £124 per child on average for childcare during the school holidays.

The roots of the long summer holiday can be traced back to Victorian times and our agricultural heritage, when families needed their children to help them out on the farm, picking fruit, gathering the hay and with the general farming of the land.

Would it not be less stressful, more efficient and easier to manage childcare with a change to the pattern of our holidays? Perhaps, shorter holidays spread out across the year?

There are plenty of arguments for shorter breaks throughout the year, from cutting expensive summer holiday prices for families to helping tired teachers.

Of course, my 10-year-old self would balk at this suggestion. We had eight weeks in Northern Ireland (they still do!) and I loved every moment of it.