My adult daughter despises her baby half-brother

DEAR DEIDRE: MY adult daughter from my previous relationship has made it clear she wants nothing to do with her baby half-brother.

Things have been strained between us for a long time.

I’m her 51-year-old dad and my partner’s 42. We’ve been together for four years. My daughter is 20 and I haven’t seen her for well over a year.

Her mum and I split up ten years ago. Although I tried to stay in touch, she seemed reluctant.

So I was delighted when she contacted me three years ago.

We started to build a relationship but it soon fell apart. She told me I was never there for her growing up and I was emotionally unavailable.

She’s said some hurtful, horrible things about my 15-month-old son. I put it down to jealousy.

On the rare occasions she visited, it always ended with an argument.

She recently posted a video on social media saying she has watched me build a relationship with my son after I had destroyed ours.

DEIDRE SAYS: Your daughter sees your baby son growing up in a settled, loving family home she never had.

It must all seem very unfair. No doubt she saw her mother struggling to bring her up alone. She didn’t have a close bond with you, so felt unloved and unwanted by you.

Be consistent. Make sure she knows you love and value her.

In time, she will feel confident you are not going to disappear from her life again.