Dear Maxine, Whenever my son is upset, my heart breaks. It’s got to the point where I find it difficult to go out because he gets so upset. I know I need to do stuff for me but it tears my heart apart when I see him so upset. I know he’s fine after a…
Dear Maxine, I’m really struggling with my two year old. He doesn’t do anything I tell him to. I feel like the world’s worst parent because I don’t have any control over him. I can tell him not to do something 15 times and each time he’ll stop and then go straight back to it. Sometimes,…
Dear Maxine, I feel like a terrible parent. Recently, I have been so shouty with my child. She is just doing my head in. I feel like nothing I do for her is right and we’ve totally lost the connection we used to have. She’s angry all the time, which is making me angry all…
Dear Maxine, I love being a dad, it’s brilliant. I love my son and my partner and I want to be there for them as much as possible. But I am exhausted. I have our baby in the morning, go to work, come home, relieve my partner and then it’s bedtime/tidying time and I’m wiped…
Dear Maxine, Now that lockdown is easing and people can go out and do all the things they used to be able to, I’m starting to feel really boring and like I’m always putting a downer on plans, particularly with my friends who don’t have children yet. They are all really understanding and flexible, but…
What do you notice about your child’s play? Recently, I’ve been thinking about how they always push themselves to learn that little bit extra. Have you noticed this? Or maybe your child doesn’t do that. Maybe your child still plays with the toys they were playing with when they were 3 months old, in the…
Dear Maxine, Thank you for your post on finding playing with your children tedious, it really resonated with me. Do you have any advice on how to overcome the intense feelings of guilt I have when my child is playing on her own? It’s worst when I start doing something else. I feel most guilty…
Hi Maxine, I came across you Instagram and blog recently and I just wanted to let you know how much I love the content. So much of it aligns with how I want to parent my children. Do you have any plans to do any posts around ‘mum guilt’ of finding playing with your children…
When I wrote ‘8 of our children’s key psychological needs‘, I knew I’d eventually have to write the post about accepting feelings. If I’m honest, at the moment, I would say that this is the key psychological need your child has. I’ve put it off and I’m curious about why. Maybe because I know how…
What comes to mind when you read ‘space: a key psychological need’? Do you think of physical space – enough room to move? Or do you think of metaphorical space? Freedom to move? To think? To feel? Physical space What kind of space makes you feel safe? Do you like things to be ordered or…
