At one point or another a parent is sure to feel like they've reached breaking point when it comes to their children.
Whether they're lashing out because they're hormonal, hanging out with the wrong crowd or just going through a weird phase, mums and dads will struggle to understand their youngsters on occasion.
But one woman can't seem to see an end in sight to the struggle she faces with her teenage daughter and it's caused her to admit something shocking.
The unnamed mum took to the internet to confess that she "dislikes" her daughter and sometimes wishes she could put her into care.
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In a lengthy post on Mumsnet, the parent says she feels like a "failure" and a "horrible person" for admitting this, but she needed to tell someone.
She claims that she gets on well with her three sons, but has found it hard to form a mother-daughter bond with her teen girl, who is 14.
The emotional post reads: "I feel like an absolute failure and a horrible person for writing this but I don't like my daughter.
"Don't get me wrong, I love her and wouldn't want anything to happen to her, but sometimes I wish I could put her into care.
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"When she was growing up she was a lovely polite girl with lots of friends and adults couldn't compliment me enough about her. Now she is a lying deceitful, trouble making child."
The woman goes on to explain that the daughter loves to try and get her brothers in trouble and attempts to distance herself from the family.
On a recent holiday, the mum says her daughter made the two weeks a "living hell", causing arguments every day.
She adds: "She said that she is the black sheep of the family and she is abused by me, my husband and my three boys because we do nothing but pick on her. She said she was going to tell her school about how we treat her. I honestly don't know what to do.
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"I try in every way to involve her. I thought she might be jealous because I am very close to my three boys so have arranged for just me and her to do things together but she acts sullen and barely speaks to me.
"I am scared to even say good morning to her because I never know what mood she will be in. I only have to ask her a simple question and she will fly off the handle.
"I feel like giving up."
More than 130 people took the time to respond to the post, with many being sympathetic towards the mum.
One person said: "I think, unfortunately, she's being a teenager. I found it took a while to go from being child to an adult mother-daughter relationship. It as quite fraught at times in my teens."
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Another commented: "I think given that she was a lovely child and how well you used to get on, that this could all be hormone related."
A third added: "Poor you, I've been there. Daughter has now just turned 20 but she was like this for about five years."
However some thought the daughter could probably tell how the mum was feeling and was reacting to that.
A different mum wrote: "The phrase 'I am very close to my three boys' really jumped out at me. A really odd thing to say, at the exclusion of your daughter. Makes it sound like she isn’t even your child. My guess would be that there is some favouritism going on here."
Someone else replied: "I think sometimes once a child gets a reputation for being the difficult one in the family the parents then react differently to that child, which makes the child feel like their siblings are favoured and leads to anger and resentment. "
