My children have been taught a lesson by a Ukrainian refugee – and so have I

Realising he has cosseted his kids for too long, Will Gore takes a long, hard look at himself

Breakfast epiphanies (Getty )

If you love them, set them free,” so the saying goes. But what if the gilded cage you’ve surrounded them with is too comfortable to want to leave?

I asked myself that question this week, as I dutifully sliced an apple for my 13-year-old daughter. I had already cut, toasted and buttered a bagel for her; and poured some cereal and milk into a bowl for her younger brother. They had sat at my parents’ kitchen table, eating their breakfast, before heading off to watch whatever screen was nearest to hand – both still pyjama-clad – leaving me to tidy up.

They had both been perfectly pleasant about it all, and I’d not had to demand pleases or thank yous. In other circumstances, I would not have blinked twice at this fairly standard breakfast routine. But on this occasion, there had been another child present, and his breakfasting habits had thrown my children’s ways into sharp focus.