The Baker Farm: The celebrity parents I look up to most...

I often wish that the makers of Peppa Pig could come up with some sort of parenting guide, piggy-style. Out of all the parents on telly - of human or snouted variety - Mummy Pig and Daddy Pig are the ones I look up to most. What's not to love about them? They never lose their tempers, they always seem delighted with life and they manage to get their message across to their kids without shouting, getting angry or pulling their hair out.

I mean let's face it, Peppa and George can be a bit of a handful at times. Little assholes even, dare I say it. Peppa with her superiority complex and sassy attitude, and George's tantrums and tears can be a bit hard to bear at times. But rather than lose the plot and or the run of themselves, an ever-cool and calm Mummy and Daddy Pig handle all the trials and tribulations of parenthood with the kind of grace I can only aspire to. Gentle parenting at its finest.

I'm not saying they're perfect. Daddy Pig has a reputation for being a bit of a flake and a buffoon, for example. But for the most part, if I could learn to be a little bit more like them in my parenting techniques, I'd be a lot happier. Getting annoyed with kids, or shouting, doesn't work. Distracting them to avoid tantrums, being positive as much as possible - that does. I'm not talking about letting them have their own way all the time so that they grow up to be little shits, or big shits for that matter - far from it. I'm saying that being compassionate with them and acknowledging their feelings, and trying to steer a negative situation into a positive one often stops meltdowns before they really begin. Less stress for all the family.

I have three children aged 5 and under and often find myself getting into a fluster over the smallest of things. They really have a natural talent at winding me up or kicking up a stink at the worst possible time. They fight over toys and get annoyed over what to watch on the telly. So instead of twitching over dirty clothes and spilled milk, I am trying to take a leaf out of the Pig family's book by taking it a bit more in my stride. A kiss and a cuddle and an "I know how you feel, sorry you're sad" whispered into a child's ear is so much better than getting annoyed with them for being upset.

Today my over-tired eldest started crying because there was no ham for her sandwich. Instead of rolling my eyes and telling her to get a grip, which is what I felt like doing, I took a deep breath and told her we'd buy more ham tomorrow and offered to help her look in the fridge for an alternative. The tears stopped pretty quickly and I got a hug and a smile and a thank you. Definitely worth that extra effort on my part.

And as for Mummy Pig and Daddy Pig as a couple, they too seem to have a lot more patience with one another than me and my other half do. "Oh silly Daddy Pig" is the worst I've heard Mummy Pig come up with when he hammers a hole in the wall when hanging a picture, or forgets the picnic basket again. They go on date nights and laugh together often. She never looks like she's fit to throttle him and he never, ever calls her a nag. We could all learn something here I think... .