I couldn’t agree more with this. Exercise is important but competitive sport in Aussie schools is ritualistic humiliation. Towards the final years of primary, I allowed my daughter to opt out. She is now at an all girls high school where the girls are lovely and supportive when she fails at sports. Thank goodness she is out of that awful primary school sport environment.

Beautifully written and spot on.

I was devastated to learn way too late that night nannies existed! Despite all my complaining re. sleep to the maternal health nurse and everyone I knew, no-one even told me about them til I had my second child. We need way more education/advertising? that they exist so desperate parents can find them!

Unfortunately there isn’t always much the professionals can do to change a child (subject to medication maybe), but I agree five years is way too long to live like this. I was severely sleep deprived with my oldest until she was 3 and it nearly killed me. We had to let her cry herself to sleep in the end and it saved us all. Looking back on it my advice would be to get away from your child for a whole night, regularly. Use your family network or pay a babysitter if you have to, and stay in a hotel or at a friend’s place, to get some uninterrupted nights. Even if you’re still breastfeeding, hire a night nanny to bring baby in just for the essential feeds. I realise this is expensive but it is a lot cheaper than killing yourself in a car accident, and you’re clearly not spending any money on gyms or socialising these days! People say sleep deprivation will pass but I don’t agree with accepting this. Sleep is like food - you need it continuously; you can’t wait 10 years before you get it! People expect mums to make such enormous sacrifices but there comes a time when you need to put your foot down and demand basic standards of living for yourself. Good luck momma, you can do it.