When maintaining his space, manage your expectations and standards and adopt a 'good enough is good enough' mindset. Clean enough is clean enough

"Children’s friendships evolve between the ages of nine and 12, when we tend to see an increased emphasis on the “best friends” group, especially among girls."

"...the task of adolescence is to pull away from our parents and find our voice and identity in the world. Because of the intense change, teenagers do not always handle this with grace..."

He finds it difficult to get out of bed in the morning for school — I've tried talking to him but I'm not getting through

I don’t know how to react when she hurts other children

I appreciate how hurtful it can be to be told that all you have done for your family is still not enough

School is such a big part of our children’s days that when it is not going well for them, it can seem like there is no escape from the stress they are experiencing

They left everything up to me, including keeping an eye on their children

"No one needs to apologise for having a view. That said, we all need to be mindful of how and when we share that view and be sensitive to how it might land with people around us."

What can I do to help them to have a happy Christmas without getting exhausted?