I don’t know what she sees at her fathers house. These are the exact behaviours that I was on the receiving end of when we were “together”. I’ve also seen him treat his mother the same way. I had to stand in between the two of them once as it looked like he was going to hit her. The girlfriend wouldn’t be getting that treatment just yet. It’s still early days.

Every second word out of his mouth is the “f word” or “c word”, so I guarantee my child was exposed to that by him (I don’t cuss, ever. I think it’s vile and makes the person look and sound uneducated)

It’s entirely possible that my child is picking up some of this behaviour elsewhere, but this all started developing as an infant, and as a stay at home mom, there wasn’t a lot of opportunity for outside influences (ie. Daycare)

I do think there is a lot of anxiety there and that it’s manifesting as anger and aggression. I have organised therapy, but it hasn’t started yet.

I do my very best to create a calm environment for my child. Anyone who is a parent knows that it’s impossible to maintain 100% of the time. I have been a lot better since withholding contact – and so has my child. I have no doubt my own stress and anxieties are an influence. I have no problem admitting that. Which is part of the reason why things have to change. I’ve done countless parenting classes, counselling sessions, therapy, anything that comes my way to help, I’m grabbing onto with a vice-like grip… Because I want change. I want the very best for my child.