Three common misconceptions about the ‘magic’ of parenting

‘I don’t know a single parent who didn’t at least attempt to have a screen-free home for their first child. Most gave up in the first few months.’ Photograph: Elly Godfroy/Alamy

In the first episode of the fourth season of The Simpsons – aired in 1992 – Marge and Homer see Bart and Lisa off to summer camp. As soon as the bus drives off, all the parents start hollering, hooting, popping bottles of champagne and one parent even shouts, “don’t come back”. Once they’re gone, Homer’s hair begins to grow back and he loses weight.

I was almost 13 when I watched that episode for the first time, but I remember my internal monologue with laser-sharp precision. “Why would you bother having kids if you can’t wait to get rid of them? They must be really crap parents.”