COLUMNIST and trained counsellor Fiona Caine answers another set of reader dilemmas.

MY PARENTS ARE ANGRY ABOUT OLDER BOYFRIEND

I am 24 and currently live at home. For much of the past year, I have been seeing a man who is 33 and has an eight-year-old daughter. We have grown very close and also started making plans to get married. I have been spending more and more time with him in recent months, including staying over at weekends.

READ MORE: I cheated on my husband and found it exciting

My parents noticed this almost immediately and voiced concerns about Covid. I said I was simply spending time with a girlfriend, and that we both did lateral flow tests. They accepted this - until I stupidly mentioned my boyfriend’s name last month and the whole story came out.

Far from being worried about Covid and the fact I had lied to them, they immediately laid into me about the age difference. They are also furious that I will be taking on someone else’s child. I have tried to calm them down, but they won’t let it go.

FIONA SAYS: GIVE THEM TIME

They probably don’t want to see you get hurt. The problem is they are showing this concern in a very heavy-handed and perhaps hurtful way, especially as they know nothing about this man, other than his age and the fact he has a child. I am sure this isn’t deliberate, so please try not to judge them too harshly.

Stay calm and try not to be confrontational, however make it clear that, at 24, you are an adult willing to accept responsibility for your life decisions. Hopefully, this will bring them around.

WHY IS EVERYONE SHOCKED THAT I DON’T WANT KIDS?

I am 32 and left my husband last year, when I found out he’d been having an affair. Since then, I have been living on my own and enjoying the freedom this has brought. Thankfully, we hadn’t had children, and the last few months have made me realise that I don’t want to ever have them. If this means never having a relationship or even never having sex again, I can live with that.

Bournemouth Echo:

When I have told my mum, sister and friends, they have been shocked. recently that I will never have children, she was shocked.

There’s a lot that’s become socially unacceptable these days, but I never thought this would extend to never having children.

FIONA SAYS: YOUR CHOICES ARE VALID

I’m not sure it has. Women (and men) are increasingly choosing to put work, life, and individual happiness over being a parent. As to why your immediate circle of friends and family think overwise, I cannot really comment.

If you choose to live this way and are genuinely happy, don’t let others spoil it for you.

Send an email to help@askfiona.net for advice.