​Confessions Of A Shouty Parent

Let me start this by admitting that I am a shouty parent. It's not something I'm proud of. Quite the opposite, in fact. I've tried virtually everything to temper my, well, temper in order to become a less shouty mum. But it ain't easy. Shouty is just in my nature.

Which is why I felt marginally less like a crap mother when I read a recent interview with Hollywood A-lister and mum of three Reese Witherspoon.

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Witherspoon said:

"We have rules around the house. I always say if you aren't yelling at your kids you're not spending enough time with them. [I'm] just telling everyone to clean up all the time."

Now I know the idea that you're not spending enough time with your kids if you're not yelling at them won't pass muster with lots of you - those blessed with a less fiery temper than mine probably never find themselves raising their voice whereas my permanent pitch is somewhere between a shout and full-scale banshee mode.

It's almost as if my kids only hear me if I'm shouting. I've tried that clever tactic that teachers use whereby they lower their voices to a menacing whisper until a hush falls over the bemused children. But it lasts all of about three seconds in my house before my kids resume whatever ridiculous antics led me to yell at them in the first place.

But I take some comfort from the fact that even A-listers have to holler from time to time about teeth-brushing or picking shoes up from wherever they've been strewn. Now I'm hardly going to indulge my decibels on account of a celeb mum admitting that she does it too, but it does make me feel a little more human to know that I'm not alone in the shouty mum stakes.

Before you bombard me with messages about how ineffective my shoutiness is as a parenting method, believe me, I know it doesn't work. I can also testify to the fact that shouting at children generally results in children who become quite shouty themselves. So I'm no advocate of shouty parenting. I know there are better ways to communicate with your kids and I will dedicate my life to trying, against all odds, to master them.

But until I do, I think it's ok to admit to feeling a little bit less guilty for knowing that celeb mums aren't perfect either.

What about you? Are you a shouty mum or do you balk at the very idea of raising your voice to your little darling? Do you think Witherspoon has got a point? We'd love to hear your views. Leave us a comment below or come and join the conversation over on our Facebook page.