Sara Cox is a proud mother of three, but she is set to leave the family home she shares with her husband Ben Cyzer in London to embark upon a 135-mile trek through County Durham for BBC Children in Need. She will run, jog, and walk through the hills of Durham, North Yorkshire, Northumberland, and West Yorkshire, starting from Kielder Forest on 10 November and finishing in Pudsey, Leeds, on 14 November, all in aid of children and young people challenged by poor mental health, poverty, social inequality, and family-related issues.
While Sara, 50, is away, we are sure she will be keeping in touch with her brood, and in one unique way, which the BBC Radio 2 broadcaster revealed on a recent podcast appearance. While speaking with singer Jessie Ware and her mother Lennie on their Table Manners podcast in July 2025, Sara said that she tracks her children, Lola, 21, Isaac, 17, and Renee, 15, when she is away from them using Apple's Find My Friends feature on her iPhone.
Sara's parenting rule
Find My Friends is a feature that allows you to share your exact location with family and friends and see theirs on a map. "I just do the usual Apple one. You can see where the kids are," Sara told Jessie and Lennie before adding that she was glad her own mother, Jackie Cox, didn't have access to the feature when she was growing up, as Find My Friends wasn't introduced until 2011.
"My mum would have been like 'Why is Sara on her way to Blackpool?'" the Bolton native, who has hosted Radio 2's drivetime show since January 2019, admitted. "I went to Blackpool when I really wasn't supposed to be. I'd get a lift with some random lads in their XR2s [Ford Fiesta cars]."
A clever parenting hack
Sara Cox is among many mothers who use this feature for safety reasons, so they are able to see where their children are without having to message or call them to find out. In fact, Sophie Hamilton, HELLO!'s Deputy Features Editor and resident parenting expert, is a fan. "My children are aged 12 and 14. I use the location feature on the Family Link app, which shows me where my children are with a timestamp. It's great for helping me know their whereabouts as they travel to and from school and helps keep them safe," she has said. "The app also lets me control their screen time on their phone, and I like that everything is in one place."
What does an expert say?
Dr Sasha Hall, a HCPC-registered senior education and child psychologist, tells us: "Find My Friends can be a really positive tool for families. It can give parents a sense of reassurance and help to reduce anxiety when their child is out, as they know where their child is and can locate them quickly if something goes wrong.
"The key is that it is used openly and with the child’s knowledge, as part of a mutual agreement rather than a secret form of monitoring. This helps to maintain trust and supports a healthy, open relationship between parent and child. It is also important that the use of tracking apps does not replace conversations about safety, responsibility, and how to make good decisions when out and about. These discussions are an essential part of helping children develop confidence and independence."
What has Sara Cox said about her children?
Sara shares her daughter, Lola, with her ex-husband, DJ Jon Carter, whom she split from in 2006, and her two youngest with her husband Ben Cyzer, whom she wed in 2013. She keeps her children out of the spotlight; however, she has spoken occasionally about raising them through the teen years.
Speaking to Good Housekeeping in March 2025, the star admitted: "When they're toddlers, they're really cute, of course, but there's also a lot of brain-numbing activity – the routines, the school runs, remembering the school bags, the PE kits… You don't have to worry about all that so much when you have an older teenager." She added: "They're good company, too – it’s too easy to say they're just a handful. They have their own thoughts and opinions."
Raising her children has also been made easier by her supportive husband. Speaking exclusively to HELLO! in June 2025, Sara revealed: "I'm married to a very brilliant man who's an excellent dad, and he also works from home in an office at the bottom of the garden. We're a good team, and we get on really well. He makes me laugh – he's nearly as funny as me."