How hard is parenting?

By: Dr. Jennifer B. Baxt, DMFT, NCC, DCC

Before having the first child, many will be unaware of how difficult it can be. For the first couple of years, there is the knowledge that the child might wake up through the night and keep the parent or parents up, but few will think about how difficult it can be as the child grows. As kids grow up, they start to lose their dependence on the parent and become more independent in their actions, thoughts and views. Most will forget that while teenage years are the best known years for independent growth, younger years can be just as full of trouble depending on the young individual.

Different individuals will grow at a different rate from others. Everyone is different and this includes all ages, including younger children. Some will take longer to lose their dependence while others will seem to trade it in for more dependence at a younger age. While many generalizations about parenting exist, there are some things that some parents will have more difficulty with their kids than others will. Most of these differences will often depend on the situation of the family, how the parents bring up their children, how much the attention the child gets and whether they have enough to keep them busy. Children who have inherited different genetic problems and diseases can be more difficult to raise, especially if they spend a lot of time in the hospital or they are older and have a pretty good understanding about what problems they are suffering from. Whether the child is perfectly healthy or afflicted with health problems, there are a number of difficulties that the parents will have to go through as the child grows and works through their stages of development.

Parenting is not an easy responsibility and definitely not something to take lightly. A parent is responsible for the proper care and development of each little person they decide to have. In fact, some expectant parents will panic over whether or not they can handle being responsible for the life they are about to bring into the world. It can be an overwhelming situation at any time during the child’s growth; from before they are born until they are eighteen and ready to leave the house. It is normal for parents to become stressed out over parenting, especially if they are a single parent.

Therapists and counselors can help parents who are stressing out over their role as parents. The stress is not good for the parents and it is certainly not good for the child. Children are surprisingly perceptive and can easily pick up on the emotions of their parents. Being stressed can also have a negative impact on how someone will parent their children and this is not healthy when trying to maintain a strong, healthy bond with the child. Rifts can occur and continue to grow until the family unit is broken. Online therapy can help parents to get advice and suggestions on the things that they can do in order to make their lives easier. It can be helpful to families who already have problems or even families who do not have problems yet. Seeking out the helpful advice before problems set in is always the best course of action. Contacting a therapist or counselor about raising a child can eliminate many of the problems that new parents will often face. They can help turn the parenting experience into something less stressful and more enjoyable.

Jennifer Baxt, LMHC, LMFT offers online audio/video counseling as well as works with children, individuals, couples, geriatric patients, depression, bipolar, anxiety and substance abuse. Please contact Complete Counseling Solutions via email jennifer@completecounselingsolutions.com or visit our website http://www.completecounselingsolutions.com for any further information.

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