A mum-of-two has been praised for admitting that she's struggling to 'like' her three-year-old son.
The mum opened up in a forum post on BabyCentre, explaining her feelings were 'really difficult' to explain but that she wanted to see whether 'anyone else felt the same'.
Her post came after she'd welcomed two children; a son who is now three and a half years old, and a daughter who is one and a half.
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A traumatic birth left her with PTSD, and she also struggled with post-natal depression - a type of depression many parents can experience after having a baby.
As her son got older, the mum noticed that he 'misbehaves all the time... is rude, shouts, constantly demands things and never plays nicely with his sister'.
"I feel like all I do is tell him off. I find him really difficult. I feel horrible saying it, but more often than not, he irritates me," the mum wrote in the post titled 'Struggling to 'like' my 3.5yo'.
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She admitted to snapping at her son because he 'gets on [her] nerves', adding: "I feel I have tried everything to change his behaviour around me, but know it's my own fault due to how he makes me feel.
"I need to try and make things better, as it's making me feel so down and almost dread being around him."
The mum explained that she doesn't feel the same way with both of her children, and in fact she 'loves' being around her daughter.
The difference in her feelings towards her two kids has left her concerned that her son will catch on, explaining: "I fear he is going to become much more aware of my different attitude around them both, which I don't want."
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The mum also shared the post in the forum 'Am I Being Unreasonable?', but it soon became clear that other parents didn't think that was the case at all.
One parent got straight to the point with their show of support, responding: "3 year olds are generally ar**holes! It’s that faze where they discovering new boundaries and emotions. It does get easier if that helps."
Another parent assured: "So the way you are feeling is totally normal. Try and make time for your son and give him that attention he's looking for."
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While one reader was so sympathetic to the post that they could have written it themselves, saying: "I’ve been thinking of posting something similar, to the point that I actually had to check your name to make sure I hadn’t made the post earlier!!!"
It sounds like we might need to extend the 'terrible twos' for another year, but hopefully things will only get easier for the mum!
Topics: Parenting, Mental Health
Emily Brown