to be welling up at Vanessa Phelps on Radio Two?

[showtunesgirl]

She's doing a segment about when you know your children are now grown up. A report has said that childhood now ends at 12.

Callers shared their opinions and then they read a poem and played ABBA's Slipping Through My Fingers.

Vanessa Phelps makes me want to throw her down a well. Is that what you meant showtunes?

I'm still my mum's child at 38... she let me slip through her fingers, she lost interest, not the other way round.

If allowed, most children will always need to be their parents' child, until the parent needs care from them, and this doesn't often happen at 12.

No wonder you're bloody crying!!

Ends at 12? Blimey DS1 is nearly 14 and DS2 has a year of childhood left.

We were expected to have 24 - 26" waists 45 years ago, I struggled with 28" as I am very high waisted. it was the bane of my life, I longed to be proper woman shaped

Feck it wrong thread Soz!

Who? Not Feltz?

My dd is 38-her childhood ended long ago but she will always be my child :)

Feltz it is, not Phelps

My kids still come to me for some Mummy love sometimes and they are all grown up. They admit that they enjoyed being little and sometimes wish they could go back, but they don't really mean it.

Is she standing in for Vine? Might listen later. If only to see if somebody phoned in and suggested they should be paying tax by 12/most 12yos have a baby and a council house/all immigrants are 12.

We have radio 2 on at work and I had tears in my eyes as well. Its that song that does it for me ; 0 (

I had a great big snivel to that poem, OP; you weren't alone! Caught me totally off guard, I was just pottering about tidying up and then I was in floods!

You didn't hear what it was called by any chance? (Although probably best I don't google it, I'll be off again)

Doh, of course it's Feltz!

The poem was The Last Time by Lucy Berry.

Childhood ending at 12?? What a load of tosh!!

Vanessa Phelps sometimes says things that are so touching that you're fooled into thinking she's a lovely human being when in fact she is one of the vilest people who ever drew breath.

It was a Netmums survey btw and while if you're a mum your child will always be your baby even if they're a pensioner, I still think 12 is a reasonable age to feel a bit grown up.

Agree with that limitedperiodonly at 12 children ARE more grown up, and even more at 13, 14, 15 etc., but the "right that's it, you're 12 that's your childhood OVER" is a little harsh

When I saw the title I knew who the OP meant straight away, but thought "there's something not right about that" couldn't put my finger on it at all, of course it's Feltz, I couldn't see that at all!

I had to pull the car over to recover myself during slipping through my fingers. DS is only a baby!

I do feel they could do with a history lesson though, historically 12yos went down mines etc so its not like we're changing from a history of innocent children playing.

lol @ LadyPessary, i've just come from that thread - you threw me there

I disagree.

Ds and his classmates are far more childlike than when I was his age (8). When I was at junior school classmates were already playing truant and sniffing glue. We knew far too much about sex and we roamed free like feral children.

Children these days seem far more innocent and are allowed to be children.

What's wrong with Feltz/phelps? I think she's a warm hearted ballsy woman who is obviously a fab mum.

I take it you've never met her

What's she done limited?

What is she like? I too have heard some awful stories about her.

hahaha! I clicked on the thread because I thought "Vanessa Phelps - I know that name but can't quite place her face"

It was only when it was pointed out her name is "Feltz" that the penny dropped!!

12 is an ok age to be more grown up - it doesn't mean you automatically send them out to work or chuck 'em out the door though.

DD (9) was watching Mamma Mia (a film I think is so terribly bad, it's almost good) and the bit where Meryl sings 'Slipping through my fingers" had me sobbing!! It really hit me and I must have heard that song so many times over the years.

But then Showy me and State were having a sniff just the other day over saying goodbye to Newborn age clothes and you were the one who said "why does that make you sad??" I can now answer that - same reason that the song makes me sad/bittersweet

Years ago I had to get celeb anecdotes about their first bra and I'd sent out a few likely questions so the people who helped me knew what they were doing. One of the questions was: did your bra have a name? I meant brand name but one of the celebs thought I meant a nickname. Reasonable mistake. I wasn't that clear.

I mentioned it to The Felch and she sneered: 'what an idiot!' which didn't seem very nice. I ran through what I wanted and she said: 'Yes, yes, I'm not stupid. Do you want to do this or not because I haven't got all day?'

Then she recounted a touching and funny story that broke my heart to write because it made her sound lovely.

I bumped into her at a Christmas do and stupidly praised her for a moving piece she'd written about her mother's death. 'And?' was her reply.

I interviewed her again. It ended with my bringing up a problem with the piece and her snapping: 'You should have thought of that.'

Which is true. I am a slow learner. But it indeed made me think that time and what I thought was: 'I wouldn't piss in your ear if your brain was on fire.'

That might have slipped out.