Sharon's household philosophy

I don’t like to have too many rules, I want a peaceful life and for my kids to be happy. I’ll get them to school each day, but the rest of the time they do what they want. I want them to enjoy being kids, so I don’t tell them what to do the whole time, and I’ll let them eat what they want and enjoy as many treats as they like.

These are my kids, so what they do is up to me. I would never let Paul tell the kids what to do. My kids think that Paul’s embarrassing, because of his clothes and the fact that he does ballroom dancing - they think it’s for girls. Paul thinks there should be more rules in the house, because he was brought up very differently. But he’s got to learn that he’s in my house now, and things go as I say. The only way I’d let him have his own way is if he could pay all the bills, and I could give up work. Until then, it’s my way or the highway.

If it were up to me, I could go and live in a field with just me and the kids. It would be no problem at all, I wouldn’t need Paul there. I mean, at the end of the day, I love myself and I love my own company and I like to be in the house spending time with me. Paul spends a lot more time out of the house than I do. But I like it when he’s out, because when he’s here too much, he gets on my nerves. He argues back when I ask him to do something useful, like hoovering the stairs, and that makes me mad and I’ll tell him to shut up.

Paul needs to realise that there’s no point moaning at me, he might as well just get on and do what I say. I’ll make him do it eventually. He thinks I’m selfish because I want things to be done straightaway. Paul’s a grown man, and he should be pulling his weight in the house. When he says that he’s the man of the house me and the kids just laugh at him. He can’t do DIY, he can’t do the washing - I can’t trust him to do anything, he’s no more useful than one of the kids.

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