Knowing when to step back and let our teens be more independent is not always an easy call to make

"You need to hold your boundaries and pick your battles. This time of year is exciting for children, as your mother-in-law says, but I also see every day how utterly overstimulating this season can be for them."

All you can do is stay in the present moment and adapt to however your little one reacts in the moment

You all need to be in the right place to welcome a new family member and it is OK if you don’t feel that you have the capacity to take on any more right now

As best you can, set limits and hold boundaries with him in a collaborative, rather than combative, way

"Both are in the middle childhood phase (eight to 12 years), meaning they are competitors within the same developmental stage, which can lead to the type of tension you describe."

My mum usually picks up my two children from school once a week, but says she won't do so until I apologise for my behaviour. I'm hurt that she has taken sides and is using childcare as a form of leverage.

"The transition from primary to secondary school can be particularly challenging for children. Many are still in transition mode because we are only a few weeks back at school, everything is new, and a period of adjustment is needed."

Her only-child status may be more ‘correlation over causation’ when it comes to her struggles. Many solo-children can turn-take and share, and many sibling-children will struggle just as you describe.

Reading is nurtured and developed in school from ages five to eight years (and beyond, of course), which means your son is still very much in the 'learning to read' (and specifically learning to read with fluency) phase of his education.