As every parent of an under-12 knows, you can cope with all the stresses of parenthood, even when disasters are piling up like tin cans at the bottom of the recycling box - until, quite suddenly, something simple happens that reduces you to tears (or makes you white-hot with fury).

What are the 10 flashpoints that can make you lose your cool?

10 things to make you lose your cool with kids

  • A broken window
    <p> How many times have you told him not to play football by the kitchen window? Does he ever listen?</p>
    A broken window
  • You never got the letter about parent's evening
    <p> What&rsquo;s the point of giving you a crumpled letter with the date and time of parents&rsquo; evening the day after it&rsquo;s taken place?</p>
    You never got the letter about parent's evening
  • Muddy footprints on the carpet
    <p> You spent a whole hour yesterday hovering the whole house, and now there&rsquo;s a trail of brown footprints all the way from the front door to the kitchen&hellip;.</p>
    Muddy footprints on the carpet
  • Chickenpox
    <p> Everyone says you can&rsquo;t get chickenpox twice. But you can, you can. Or else your horribly spotty six-year-old is a medical miracle.</p>
    Chickenpox
  • Your child loses a left shoe
    <p> How? How is this possible? Will the school let her wear trainers? Or will she just have to hop?</p>
    Your child loses a left shoe
  • Ripped school uniform
    <p> No, it&rsquo;s not possible to do an invisible mend from the ankle to the thigh - and why was your innocent-looking child scaling a six-foot wall in the first place?</p>
    Ripped school uniform
  • Missing sports kit
    <p> Just because you feed the washing machine every single day, it doesn&rsquo;t logically follow that you know the exact whereabouts of her swimming costume/tracksuit/gym kit.</p>
    Missing sports kit
  • A reduction in child tax credits
    <p> You haven&rsquo;t put jam in their sandwiches for the past six months. Now you might not even be able to afford the bread&hellip;</p>
    A reduction in child tax credits
  • Your child needs cash at 8am - and your purse is empty
    <p> It&rsquo;s for the school trip that she didn&rsquo;t tell you about last week - and today is the last day for handing in the money&hellip;</p>
    Your child needs cash at 8am - and your purse is empty
  • Your child has nits - again
    <p> You spent all last week with a nit comb and bottles of cheap conditioner, and sent your little darling off to school with shiny hair free of insect life. But other parents haven&rsquo;t bothered. And now you have to go through the whole thing all over again&hellip;</p>
    Your child has nits - again