Dear Coleen: Mum shuns me while favouring brother's family

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Dear ColeenI’m a woman in my 30s and feeling really angry towards my mum, who doesn’t seem to give a damn about me or my two kids.

My children are both under five, I work full time and my husband works away two days a week, yet my mum never offers to help out and doesn’t even ask how I’m getting on.On the other hand, my older brother has an eight-year-old son, who my mum adores and she’s literally falling over herself to look after him and be involved in their lives.I know this sounds very “poor me” but I’ve cried myself to sleep sometimes over my mum’s lack of interest in me and my kids.In my opinion, she should want to be involved and it’s not up to me to force her.

It’s hurtful and it’s started to cause a problem between me and my brother because I resent him for getting all of her attention.My mum, who’s been on her own for a few years since my dad passed away, is going on holiday with my brother and his family this summer, despite me asking her months ago if she’d like to come with us to Devon.Honestly, I don’t know why I keep bothering to try with her.

What do you think?Coleen saysI’m going to try to look at this from a mum’s point of view and as someone who has two sons and a daughter, all in their 20s and 30s.