Parenting is hard

Let’s get real. Parenting is hard.

I want to invite more conversations about that.  Without the qualifiers.  Because even saying parenting is hard – I have the impulse to explain why it’s worth it.  Why it’s amazing and beautiful… So let’s not. 

Is there a rule we are following that to talk about the rough parts of parenting, we also have to balance that with the beauty and love? Where does that come from? 

Can we let it be on its own: Parenting is hard.

People with children have significantly higher levels of stress. One meta-analysis of the research done in 2014 indicates: If you have a child with a difficult temperament, a young child, a child with medical, developmental, emotional, or behavior challenges; if you are a single parent, or if you have a limited social support network – your levels of stress are likely to be higher than other adults (Nelson et al  2014).

The challenge isn’t just that the things we have to do as parents are hard.  The challenges come when the rough times, the “I don’t know what I am doing and everything I try makes it worse” times are relentless. Like we cannot get anything in the ‘win’ column. It is the lack of balance that wears us down.

 And for most of us - we desperately want to be a great parent. So the longer we go without some feeling of success - the harder it lands.

We don’t need more images of ‘perfection’ – beautiful, fit parents with immaculate and perfectly organized homes. We need real tools and strategies to get through the rough times.

 Join us in discovering how we can shift the impact of the hard stuff – learn new skills to be able to stress less, maintain boundaries, tolerate tantrums, and keep yourself moving toward the things that matter to you.

Take a course, a workshop, or sign up for 1:1 sessions. Let us help you shift the hard stuff and how it lands for you.

Click here for Free Consultation.

Reference

Nelson SK, Kushlev K, and Lyubomirsky S. 2014. The pains and pleasures of parenting: When, why, and how is parenthood associated with more or less well-being? Psychological Bulletin 140: 846-895.