Yvonne's household philosophy

I grew up in a large Catholic family in Ireland, where I was taught to respect my parents, trust in God, and be grateful for what I had; now I teach my children to do the same.

I had children young - I missed out on going to college and socialising in my early 20s and I will not let my kids make the same mistakes that I did. My children are to be children, and I am strict about what they can and can’t do. They have to have my permission to do things, because I know what’s best for them. The girls will not wear make-up, short skirts or have boyfriends until they are 18 - these things are a distraction and are to be enjoyed later on in life and not now.

My job is to raise my children properly. They are my pride and joy, and I protect them and run a good home where they know and follow my rules. My children are not allowed to run riot, there are rules in this house that must be followed out of respect for me and their father Dave. I know that I am bringing them up properly because people never say a bad word about them, and they do well at school. I am strict but fair and I stand for no nonsense.

This is a busy house which needs structure, order and routine to run properly. I’ve come up with a schedule which doesn’t change week to week which means that the children know where they should be and what they should be up to at all times.

I pride myself on keeping this house clean and tidy. I clean all day if I have to so that people remark on how lovely it is when they come round. There is no excuse for mess and dirt other than pure laziness - I find it disgusting and will not stand for it.

I love my husband, and believe it’s my role to wash his clothes, clean his house and make sure that everything is nice for him when he comes home from work. However there are times that I wish we communicated more, but we don’t make the time to go out together. Dave likes to be at home, and I guess I am happy that I have created a place that he wants to come back to.

I love my family, my husband, my home and God and I am totally devoted to all of them.

More from Yvonne and Michele