The reason a mother allows her daughter call another woman 'mum' will melt your heart

Co-parenting is hard; hard on Mum, hard on Dad, but it is always hardest on the kids. 

We do our best to make sure the kids aren't caught in the middle, but they can sense tension.

Our children have some sort of sixth sense when it comes to knowing that something isn't right, so the best we can do is allow them to express themselves freely. 

We need to be content with allowing our children make the right choices too, to understand what situations they are comfortable with which will help them grow. 

And it's the same with co-parenting; our children need to be comfortable with the set-up put in place for them, so that they'll know they belong no matter what doorstep they're standing on. 

Following her divorce, Hayley Booth understood this was something she needed to be on board with for the sake of her daughter. 

Both Hayley and her former husband have moved on in their personal lives, finding love and building a family life. 

But it is their daughter that keeps them linked, and they've seemed to nail the co-parenting thing by going at it full steam ahead. 

Hayley shares: "Often times I have people ask me how my ex, his wife, my husband and I co-parent so flawlessly. My answer is always the same – we just love our daughter. Seriously, it's just that simple."

"No child deserves to be tossed around back and forth, used as a bargaining chip, or to be put in the middle of any adult drama. She didn't choose to be born, and she certainly never chose for her parents to get divorced."

Hayley doesn't see the point in making life harder for her little girl, not wanting her youngster to have to choose which set of parents she should love more than the other, revealing a perk for her daughter that many mums find difficult to comprehend.

"My daughter calls her bonus mum 'Mummy' and you know what? That's okay, because that's what she is to her, she IS her mummy. She is there for her always, […], she teaches her life lessons, she gives her hugs and kisses goodnight, she does everything any mother would do."

"But most of all she loves her like she is her own. It takes a very special woman to take a child that they didn't give birth to under their wing and become their mother."

The mum believes if you're lucky enough as a parent to have a co-parent who loves your children as much as you do, then it should be OK for your child to call them mum or dad, you shouldn't be 'selfish'.

"I would never tell my daughter she can't call her bonus mum 'mummy' because it would hurt her deeply. She is her mummy not only when she spends time with her dad, but all the time."

"Sometimes you just have to put the petty little things aside, to raise your child to be the amazing human being they are meant to be."

And that's not all; Hayley put her own feelings aside in the aftermath to realise that she too has respect for her daughter's bonus mum. They have become best friends, relying on one another for the curveballs life throws at them. 

"She is one of the strongest people I know, and I am thankful for her everyday. Don't tell me that peaceful co-parenting isn't possible, because it is." 

"I know it is. Because I do it everyday."

Fair play to Hayley for putting her little girl's needs first. What are your feelings on this – would you be OK with your child calling someone else mum?