Counting down the days until you board that flight back to Dubai and return to life as you know it? You certainly aren’t alone – so we’ve rounded up the top reasons why living under somebody else’s roof in the UK for weeks on end is a little testing for British Mums in Dubai (to put it mildly…)

1.  You feel like a teenager again. Whether you are staying in your own teenage bedroom, with remnants of Just 17 Magazine stuck to the wall – or in that of your husband, surrounded by Nirvana posters, there and South Park figurines – there’s nothing like returning to a childhood home to bring out the teenager in you. Especially when you are asked every morning: “What time will you be home, dear?” and have to resist the urge to grunt a reply and slam the door in rebellion on your way out…

2. Your children turn into wild beasts. You fly back to the UK with excited angels, who sit quietly with their Grandparents reading stories and enquire about the day’s activities every morning with wide eyes and big smiles. “Ah,” you think smugly, “THIS is why we flew over 3,000 miles and are now living out of suitcases!” But just days later, you are faced with a pack of wild beasts that have forgotten their manners, demand snacks every 3.5 seconds, and have no idea who is supposed to be disciplining them. Is it Mum? Or Granny? Or Great Aunt Sally? Nobody knows – and least of all you…

3. Sharing the bathroom. “What do you mean there’s only one toilet and someone is using it?” you exclaim as your three-year old is crying with desperation behind the door. “Why don’t people in the UK have a couple of spare bathrooms for times like this?” And that’s not to mention everyone’s confusion over why there isn’t a hose by the toilet for washing bottoms. It’s life, but not as we know it…

4. Planning the shopping. “I’m just nipping to Tesco,” you call to your parents at 7pm on a Sunday evening, as you grab the car keys on your way out. “It’s shut dear,” your Dad bellows back, “Don’t forget it’s Sunday!” As the realisation hits, you resist the urge to collapse into an exasperated heap on the floor as you envisage breakfast the next morning with two crusts of bread and roughly three mouthfuls of milk. Where is door-to- door delivery at midnight when you need it?

5. Stupidly light mornings and evenings. There’s nobody to blame but the sun (but oh, you’ll blame it) – but how on earth are you supposed to get overexcited wild beasts to sleep when the thing is shining until 10pm every evening? That’s not to mention the next morning when those little beasts bound out of bed with a spring in their step at 5am and demanding to know where you are taking them. You don’t dare mention there’s still 5 hours left until your planned activity. iPads all round it is then…

6. Too many people in too little space. Living in someone else’s space is the hardest one of the lot, of course – especially when your abode’s usual dweller/s are used to quiet mornings reading a newspaper, afternoons enjoying the summer in the peace of their own gardens, and a plethora of TV channels and sofas to choose from every evening. They love their children and grandchildren of course – but after a few days, they look as shocked as you feel, as they survey the plastic toys strewn across their lounge, baby paraphernalia filling the kitchen surfaces, and muddy boots littering the hall. It’s enough to drive anyone mad. And the worst bit? It’s still only day two…