They say 'mum knows best' when it comes to her own child, and for Maia Dunphy, who received a message giving her 'advice' on her parenting knows all about that.
The presenter shares her only child, Tom, with her ex-husband, Johnny Vegas, and in the past has stated that her ten-year-old is 'the main man in my life'
So, when one of her followers decided to give Maia some 'friendly' tips on raising her son, Maia had the perfect response.
Sending Maia a direct message, the lady in question, who seems to go by the name of Fiona, tried to begin her message softly, but unfortunately, it didn't exactly come across that way.
She addressed the presenter by stating, 'Hello Maia, you seem like a nice person and a good mum. I follow you on X as well. As a mum of three adult children, I would just like to offer you advice: avoid posting photos of your lovely boy. Try to hold back from commenting and interacting with randomers online.'
And the message doesn't stop there. 'You have a voice and you want to be heard, but I believe you would be better served texting/ringing/calling in to see your own friends and family. Maybe you are lonely, maybe not, but it just seems like you're looking outside yourself for approval and acceptance. I mean this in the nicest possible way.'
Wait, there is more...'I don't think your little boy should be used as a prop for your own needs. We all love our children, but we have to think of their needs and wants and life ahead. I joined X to try to find out the latest updates on public transport and news! It's an awful platform. I don't comment on anything. It will drag you down...'
While Maia didn't post the full message in view, on social media, it was enough to get her miffed.
Not one to hold back on her beliefs, she replied with the perfect response.
Trying to keep her composure, she began by trying to give 'Fiona' a small insight into what her life entails.
'I brought Tom to a work event this morning, something I often have to do, then there was shopping for new school shoes, followed by the trade-off of popping into Marc's Models to spend some of his birthday money. I have to work again this afternoon from home, and all his friends are away, so he'll do some model building and then we're going swimming together. It's a massive juggle at the best of times, but summer is tougher and everywhere are reminders of the 'traditional' family unit we're not in.'
Maia continued: 'I prioritise him over everything, and we probably spend more time together than most mums and sons on account of our family logistics, but that's just the way it is. There isn't another option and I wouldn't change it for the world!'
Keeping calm (in which we commend her for), she addressed the issue of posting pictures of Tom online. 'I never shared images of him until he was about 7 or 8, when I was asked to find some kids for a charity photo, and he asked if he could be in it too, and I decided that was ok. So now I share a bit more of him. '
'The fact is, we're together so much of the time, it's pretty hard to share any of my life without sharing bits of him. I'm so lucky, he's the best little human in the world!'
'I get sent a few nasty messages here and there, mostly on X and usually from anonymous Baz45825crypto type accounts. But every so often, I get one that stops me in my tracks...like today.'
Highlighting how she has often been offered opportunities for Tom, she said, 'The fact that another woman thought it would be a helpful thing to send someone a message like this is baffling! I could break down the psychology behind it, how it shows a very innate sense of superiority and passive-aggression judgmental nature (She must be a real joy to live with!), but really I just want to tell her to f**k off. So f**k off, Fiona!'
If there is one lesson to be learnt from this...it's don't mess with Maia!
