Tina from Essex tells her story.
I am not married, but have been with my partner for 10 years and we have two boys – Louis, 7 and Daniel, 4. I Despite all the problems I’ve experienced I enjoy being a mum and I want to be good at it.
We have a dysfunctional family because my partner, Steve, has access issues with his daughter, who lives hundreds of miles away. We’ve had financial problems too, and then Steve was diagnosed with cancer. Things started to get on top of me and I just felt that if I didn’t get help soon the whole family was going to suffer.
It was around this time that Daniel arrived. Louis was just two-and-a-half, and he showed anger and violence towards Daniel. It was a very difficult time and it made me wonder why I had another child.
Later on we had issues with Louis’ school. He was kicking and screaming all the way through... he screamed and then I screamed! Things have improved recently though, thanks to the help I’ve received from Family Lives. I wouldn’t say that his behaviour is brilliant, but my behaviour is better, so I can deal with him better.
I found out about Family Lives through a leaflet which led to me attending two six-week courses. The first one was ‘Less shouting, more cooperation’. It really got through to me - even more than my own mother’s voice. The second course I went on was how to get along with your child, and was also very helpful.
