Joanna Fortune: My son was spoiled while on holidays with a friend's well-off family 

"You probably know that feeling when you come home from a brilliant holiday and everything at home feels anti-climactic and dull in comparison to the experiences you’ve had on holiday. It’s often referred to as “post-holiday blues”."
Joanna Fortune: My son was spoiled while on holidays with a friend's well-off family 

Why not give your teenager the benefit of the doubt and say he has a classic case of the grass being greener in pastures new, even if he is dealing with it clumsily? 

Tue, 22 Jul, 2025 - 15:00
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Joanna Fortune

Child psychotherapist

My 14-year-old son is just back from holidays with his best friend’s family. They are well-off, and he was spoiled while with them. 

Since he returned home, he’s hardly stopped complaining about how poor we are and that we never have any fun. 

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<p>Particularly for teens, their room is “their little domain”, but if really bothering you, you might negotiate around doing “a big clean” once a month, says psychotherapist and relationship counsellor Bernadette Ryan. Picture: Alamy/PA</p>

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