It will be a 24-hour plane journey if I want a hug

I LOVE having my daughters around me. At the moment all three are living at home and the house is full of fun and laughter (well most of the time!) Of course, I'm overwhelmed with washing and food shopping but what's the alternative? Should I encourage them to move out?

My eldest daughter, who is 24, back-packed around the world last year and whilst I worried about her and missed her, I wanted her to have that experience because I know she loved it.

What I didn't bargain for is that she fell in love with Australia which is why she's living at home now so she can save up enough money to move back there for a year.

But I don't want her to go and she knows it.

When you have children you love them and you want to spend time with them.

If my daughter does go back to Australia she'll probably meet someone, get married and stay. I'll have Australian grandchildren. I know I'm getting ahead of myself here but it's likely to happen, isn't? I believe families should stick together and support each other. What's wrong with wanting be near to the people you love so you can spend time with them?

I know modern communications make the world seem smaller and clever things like Skype let you to speak to your family and 'see' them whenever you want.

But Skype is a poor substitute for a hug. If my daughter moves to Australia it will be a 24-hour plane journey for me if I want a hug. Of course, if she really wants to go then I'll let her but I would be happy for her to marry the boy next door, live near me and come over for Sunday lunch.

After I talked about this on Heart Breakfast the other morning I received an e-mail from a grandmother who said she is heartbroken because her daughter has just emigrated to Australia with her only two grandsons. Visiting Australia herself is not really an option so she feels as if she is grieving the loss of someone close. I really felt for her and with thousands of people emigrating from the UK every year how many other people must experience the same sadness?

I know my daughters will leave home sooner or later which is why I cherish their company now.

And when they do go I hope they are not tempted to move far away. I realise how selfish that sounds but it's how I feel.

Paulina Gillespie is a presenter on Heart Breakfast weekdays 6-10am

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