“Do you let yourself cry in front of your kids?”

It’s the question a parent pitched to the masses on Mumsnet recently, after finding herself breaking down in front of her eight-year-old son.

The mum said her son is a “very whiny child” and that morning had been no exception. “He whined about wanting the TV on, whined about wanting his iPad, whined about what I was making him for breakfast, whined about getting dressed, whined about his dad going to work,” she recalled.

The parent said when she offered him a clean pair of pants to get dressed into, he “lost it” at her and was “screeching” because he wanted to wear boxers instead.

Pushed to the edge, the parent revealed: “I burst into tears and I told my DS [dear son] that I had enough of his whining every single bloody day and he was making me feel extremely, extremely unhappy!”

She said she told him to “stop and to pull himself together” and “to consider how he was talking to me” – and it seemed to work, as he got ready for school and into the car without another word.

The mum said she thinks the intervention “did him the world of good”, but then wondered afterwards if she was wrong to have cried.

What do other parents think?

Most people seemed to think it’s fine to cry in front of kids – as long as you don’t make a habit of it.

“I think you did exactly the right thing. Kids don’t need to be wrapped up, and protected at all costs from knowing that their behaviour can be upsetting,” said one commenter.

“I think you have had a somewhat liberating moment, and your son will be fine.”

Another said: “I think it’s fine as long as it’s not for emotional manipulation which it wasn’t in your case,........

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