Joanna Fortune: My 15-year-old is going away on holidays with her friend's family

Her decision to go on holiday with another family instead of her own is not just hers to make

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Last week, our eldest child, who is 15, told us she wants to go on holiday with her best friend’s family instead of with us. I’m delighted for her, but up until now we’ve always gone away together as a family. Also, she gets on very well with her two younger sisters, who look up to her. It feels like the beginning of the end for our tight-knit clan.

As I read and reread your letter, I found myself experiencing that conflict so many of us will feel as parents as our children go through adolescence.