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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Philippa Perry

My mum loves other people’s children more than her own

‘You love her, that’s why this hurts so much’: Philippa Perry.
‘You love her, that’s why this hurts so much’: Philippa Perry. Photograph: Catherine Falls Commercial/Getty Images

The dilemma I am a happily married mum of three. I love my husband and children and have supportive family and friends and a career which I find fulfilling. So far, so good. My issue is my relationship with my mum. She is in her 70s, and she raised me and my siblings as a single parent.

My mum has always been the life and soul of the party. She is a social butterfly and goes out of her way to make friends and become involved with their children and grandchildren. However, her relationship with her own children has always been distant. I visit her frequently, but she never comes round to us, even though we invite her. When we were children, Mum would often fly away to exotic locations and we would be left with a relative or friend or, as we got older, at home on our own.

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