Daring Daughterhood

I never expected to still be playing Pokémon GO in 2026. Back in 2016, like most people, I downloaded it during the absolute chaos of peak Pokémon Go summer. Parks were full of people wandering around staring at their phones, everyone suddenly knew what a PokéStop was, and local Facebook groups were treating rare spawns like national emergencies. And then, like a lot of people, I drifted away from it. Until recently. Now somehow, ten years later, I’m back walking around parks catching imaginary creatures while my children ask me why I’m excited about “a shiny thing”. Honestly? I kind of love it. There’s something really comforting about having a hobby that gets me outside without feeling like exercise for the sake of exercise. As an adult — especially as a mum — it’s weirdly easy to stop doing things purely because they’re fun. Everything starts needing a purpose. Productivity. A reason. You can end up spending all your time either working, cleaning, parenting, organising, or feeling g...