Parenting is one of life’s most challenging things that we might face! This can be things such as having an overload of information about how to parent our children and how to meet their needs and the different and competing demands of how to be a good parent, particularly when it comes to managing expectations over the Christmas holidays. Being overwhelmed as a parent is a common occurrence. If a child has additional needs such as a learning difficulty, peer relationship challenges or mental health needs, this can bring additional pressure to the parenting role.
However, there is a lot of support for parents to access how to support themselves and their families through challenging times. Here are a few tips to get you started.
Always remember that there is no one perfect way to care for your children so do not think you are a failure if you do something different to other parents. Do what is best for you and your child even if this is unique.
many parents feel a culture of blame. It is important not to pass this onto your children and expect them to be the best at everything. Pressure can be felt by both children and parents and this can lead to stress and poor mental health. remember to celebrate the little and important successes in life and relationships. Self blame does not lead to an emotionally healthy place.
taking responsibility is different from self blame and condemnation. remember to accept the things you may have been unhelpful and make a commitment to learn from any negative experience. once the learning point is established you can now move on and try something different if a similar situation occurs. Repeating patterns of unhelpful action may require more support but this can be achieved through family based therapy.
Many parents have competing demands as both parents / carers and working. It is important to balance the needs of the family with your own need to have time to reflect and do things you enjoy. This is essential for you to manage your own mental health
parents often learn tips and gain advice from other parents or their own parents. there are many parenting forums online that can help you to find ideas about how to improve family resilience.