Parents-of-22 Sue and Noel Radford face major clash over 15-year-old Max’s ‘depressing’ habit
IN tonight’s episode of 22 Kids & Counting, parents-of-22 Sue and Noel faced a major clash.
We saw Sue and Noel at their worst, after a clash of parenting meant the parents of Britain’s biggest family did something they never do – argue.
It all started on a night like any other – Noel was fast asleep, whilst Sue was awake.
But Sue found her son Max playing video games at 2am, leaving her fuming.
She explained: “I was really mad when I found them gaming at 2am. They should be tucked up in bed, getting their beauty sleep.”
To which Noel added: “I mean, within reason, I don’t mind it. It’s not the end of the world is it? It’s the weekend, there’s no school in the morning.”
As a couple, Noel and Sue are united, but when it comes to their attitudes to parenting, less so.
Sue claimed: “Our parenting styles are definitely ‘Good Cop’, ‘Bad Cop’. I’m seen as the Bad Cop.”
Whilst many of the kids commented on Sue’s ‘strict’ parenting, Noel gushed: “I do like to be friends with my kids. You’re still their parent but you are their friend at the end of the day.”
And it appears that the couple’s biggest parental disagreements are over one thing – Max’s 24/7 gaming habit.
Sue revealed: “I absolutely hate it. I feel like he’s getting sucked into this pit of doing absolutely nothing but gaming. It’s very depressing.”
But with Noel happy to let ‘boys be boys’ and let Max do what he wants, Sue had to take matters into her own hands, as she said: “Max before gaming, he loved science, he loved maths, but now, it’s just gaming.
“I’m going to have to introduce some ground rules. I’m quite sick of being labelled the Bad Cop.”
Sue and Noel’s 13th teenager, Max admitted: “I can’t really think of anything that I like more than gaming. I personally think I’m not gaming too much, but other people may disagree.
“It tends to be whenever I get home, to whenever I go to bed.”
But things quickly caused conflict between the parents when they headed to a caravan park in Northumberland for a family getaway.
Sue headed first to the caravan, and Noel followed shortly after with the rest of the kids – but there was one notable absence.
As Noel got behind the wheel, he explained: “This is the first time Sue has let Max stay at home whilst we go away. So hopefully he doesn’t burn the house down or anything drastic like that.
“But yeah, a bit surprised that he’s been allowed to stay behind.”
But things soon erupted into an argument as Noel and the remaining kids arrived at the caravan – only for Sue to discover Max had been left at home.
Noel explained: “Max said you said he can stay at home. I presumed he checked with his mum.”
But Sue was fuming, as she replied: “Max knew that he had to come on that holiday. I told you multiple times that he was not staying at home.”
To which Noel admitted: “He’s pulled the wool over my eyes.
“Me and Sue never fall out. Well, not very often. [But] when we do – ouch.”
But as the family returned home from their break, Max had to face his punishment – a 72 hour screen ban and a telling off from Sue.
Clearly extremely annoyed, Sue fumed: “Max! I’m really not happy! Don’t ever, ever, play one parent off against the other. It’s very naughty.”
In an attempt to get to the bottom of Max’s gaming addiction, Noel arranged for big brother Josh to speak with Max.
The pair went to the butterfly house, somewhere that Max feels at ease.
Josh got candid with his younger brother and admitted: “Mum and dad have been coming to me quite a lot and saying that they’re really worried about how much you’re spending on your gaming.
“You can’t be playing eight, ten hours a day. I’ve been worrying about you.”
Max then admitted his reasons for wanting to play games, as he shared: “It’s fun, simple.”
But Josh wasn’t convinced, as he added: “It felt like he wasn’t telling me everything.”
Moments later, Josh had managed to get to the bottom of the issue, as Max opened up about a diagnosis he received in 2021.
He candidly shared: “School is a place that’s prioritised around socialising. I’ve already established that I have issues with that.”
He later explained: “Talking to Josh, I’ve realised that my autism makes it hard to socialise, hence why I’ve struggled to socialise my whole life.
“Autism is probably the reason that I retreated to the gaming world.
“Maybe I game a lot because I don’t really talk to people on the outside. I do play with my mates, it’s just online.”
As a result of his realisation, Max made the decision to try something he’s never done before.
His father Noel shared: “Max has asked if he can work a shift in the shop, to test his anxiety on talking to strangers. I’m shocked he wants to do this but I’m glad he wants to try.”
Shortly after, we saw the father and son head to the family’s pie shop, as the teenager got his uniform on and prepared to service customers.
The youngster admitted: “I have never done a day’s work. I’m quite nervous.”
But by his second customer, Max was already more confident.
At the end of the shift, the teenager beamed: “It went better than I thought it would. It was a lot easier to talk to people than I thought it would be. It’s helped boost my confidence.”
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