‘There is jealousy and they compete for my attention’

Scarlett Piercy and her partner, Lewis, live with their sons, Jesse, eight and Sonny, six, in Essex

“Jesse was just under two years old when Sonny came along, and he didn’t take to him at all. Not having my full attention was tough for Jesse. He also had slightly delayed speech, which meant communication was difficult, plus in December 2015, Lewis was diagnosed with testicular cancer. Thankfully, he made a full recovery, but it was a stressful time for the family.

Our boys have a good relationship, but there is some jealousy and they still compete for my attention. They are both quite needy, and if I am cuddling one of them, the other will be straight over to get in on the action.

Jesse is very loving, bright, bossy and quick to say sorry. Sonny is a joker, always dressing up in costumes, extremely sociable and stubborn.

We have days when all they do is bicker, and lockdown heightened this when we were all stuck at home. I work part-time in the kitchen, Lewis is upstairs working full-time, then in between we were homeschooling. It was impossible.

Lewis is an amazing dad and as the boys have got older, I can see a strong bond developing. Lewis and Jesse are obsessed with football and it has become their thing. They can while away hours talking about football players.

Because Lewis comes from a family of brothers, he appreciates there are times when our boys just need to fight it out, rather than us always stepping in. I’m often quick to tell Jesse off – that’s probably because he’s the oldest, which I know isn’t fair.

Although the boys will argue most days, it tends to be over pretty quickly. Raising young boys is like having two puppies who

‘Every parent hopes their children will be lifelong friends’

need lots of exercise. As soon as we get outdoors, even if it’s raining, our moods improve all round.

Both Lewis and I are extremely close to our siblings. All our lives are very much entwined, and we value the support they give to us and our boys. Every parent hopes their children will be lifelong friends and I want that for my sons. Fingers crossed.”