Meet the Croydon 'yes mum' who never says no to her eight-year-old and 'buys her whatever she wants'

Meet the 'yes mum' who "never says no" to her eight-year-old, buys her whatever she wants and lets her make all her own decisions. Lorna Simpson, 37, from Croydon, South London, believes children don't need someone "constantly telling them what to do and saying no".

She has no rules as she believes Skylah-Faith naturally "does the right thing", doesn't set a strict bedtime and allows her to learn at her own pace. Instead of refusing her little girl Skylah-Faith's requests, she asks her why she wants something and why she's interested in it.

Lorna believes a blanket refusal without explanation is "harsh" and instead opts for communication and understanding. A keen dancer, Lorna has bought Skylah-Faith a dancing pole and an aerial hammock, as well as her own gaming set up - because she asked for it. She even painted the front of her house pink for Skylah-Faith.

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She also allows Skylah-Faith to have her friends over for sleepovers when she likes. But Lorna says her relaxed approach works, with Skylah-Faith rarely demanding things and able to make "conscious" decisions over what she wants.

She says she made the decision to parent Skylah-Faith with a more gentle approach after claiming she had a "strict, lack of understanding" upbringing. Lorna, a part-time busker and home-schooler, said: "Kids get this experience once and they need to enjoy that."

"As far as I'm aware I don't have rules because Skylah-Faith does the right thing so that's proof I don't need rules as it's written in her essence. I may say yes to staying up till like 12 or one in the morning if she really isn't tired or wants to have longer watching a movie or playing online games. I also let her sleep longer till her natural body clock says so but usually she is an early riser."

Lorna said her laid-back approach stemmed from her own strict upbringing. "I had a very forced childhood - my opinion wasn't asked for and I don't like to do that for my daughter. I had to unlearn and re-learn things - it's one of the reasons I took my daughter out of public school and did home education," she said.

Lorna allows Skylah-Faith to make her own decisions and encourages conversations. "Children need understanding - they don't need someone constantly telling them what to do. You let them grow. So we'll be out, for example, and if my daughter wants something online or in the shop and it makes sense and she's genuinely interested in it - then of course I'll get it."

"Lorna explained that Skylah "doesn't ask for things a lot" because she "already has everything she needs or wants". "At Christmas shopping time, she realises that other people buy things for the sake of things," said Lorna.

Lorna says she has 'no regrets' with Skylah's upbringing, and 'just wants to cherish each moment'. Lorna has tried to adopt a balance in her parenting, allowing Skylah-Faith to experience things at her own pace.

She said: "There's a lot of communication going on where I get to see how she feels about something - it's a lot deeper than just saying no to things. I just mainly go with how I am authentically."

Lorna has some restrictions and has on occasion had to refuse some of Skylah-Faith's requests, but the most part, allows her to have what she wants. She had to put her foot down with Skylah's interest in vaping, but by researching together she showed her the dangers.

She says Skylah 'understands the reasoning'. Lorna likes to give Skylah-Faith freedom with her friends but still says she is protective over where she goes. "Sleepover wise - if she wants her best friend over then that's fine but I don't let her go elsewhere," she said.

Lorna says her own strict upbringing stifled her confidence, so she wants things to be different for her daughter. She said: "We've all got it in us to flourish, we don't need anyone else telling us how to be. We don't need to be taught to learn as a lot of the things you learn are through your own interests or experience. From birth, she's been quite advanced and I'm not going to stunt that growth."

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