My kids have glandular fever. My girls have been home for a week now. Although with necks swollen, tired and dealing with headaches, I have not seen these children happier for a long time; they are calm and content. They are even getting along! They have time to do what they want to do, not what is imposed on them by school or sports commitments. They have spent hours playing Smurf Village on their phones, looking at all of their friends' posts on Instagram, cooking, or replicating stuff they find on YouTube.

I have a confession to make. I used to be a Tiger Mum. At the age of 5 and 6, my girls had after-school activities every day: swimming, gymnastics, music, drama, etc. You name it, they had a class on that. Most of those activities, they didn't even like. "It will forge their character! They will know how to do everything! They will succeed in life!" I thought. They would scream, yell and rebel, but I would shove them in the car and force them to go anyway.

Then, one day, Alessandra, about 8 years old then, started crying and said "Ma, we don't have time to play any more! We just want to be kids...". I remember being shocked, but I stopped. I scheduled nothing after school for almost 2 years. I waited, biting my nails, freaking out, thinking they would amount to nothing, these girls...

But one day, they started requesting to be enrolled in activities. Stuff they liked...soccer, aikido, sometimes art. Sophia, my youngest, began making objects of art, like bracelets, scarves, earrings, she would sell; at 11, she makes more money than the average 18 year old. Alessandra would spend hours drawing plans for the houses she will build in the future. They are only preteens, but I feel through trial and error, my girls are finding what they are interested in, what they are good at, realising what paths they want to follow in life. They are discovering who they are. And that can only be done when there is time to explore.

Thank you, glandular fever, for our hibernation.