I’m four months pregnant and until recently was living with my boyfriend. But then he started getting aggressive and violent, so I asked him to leave. I’ve had to sell the house and move back in with my parents to make ends meet - which my Dad was happy with until it actually happened. Now he’s being really off with me. Plus, the whole family is very unsympathetic to the problems I’ve been having with my pregnancy - none of them seem to care about me at all. Help!.

Susan advises
It’s tricky having your grown-up child move back in with you. You thought you were done with child-rearing, you were really enjoying being just the two of you after twenty years of kids around. It’s a bit much to have one of those kids move back in again. So don’t be too hard on your Mum and Dad. Over time, they’ll almost certainly adjust to having you there.

But you can make it easier on them - and on yourself. How? I wonder whether, without realising it, you’ve slipped back into ‘child mode’. Are you expecting them to do everything for you, as you did when you were last living with them? Are you expecting 24/7 emotional support, as you did when you were growing up? If so, it’s no wonder they’re getting irritated. You’re an adult now and they don’t want to have to look after you any more. Make sure you’re pulling your weight.

Plus, don’t plan on staying for ever; living with your parents for the next ten years is not good for you, let alone for them. So tell them that. Once they know you’re not with them for ever, they’ll find it much easier to enjoy having you with them right now.