When it comes to parenting, one thing stands out: the emotional difficulties of parenting are universal.
All parents experience major surges of powerful negative emotions, and many end up in needless suffering as a result of what's going on inside them—how they're reacting to these terrible emotions.
It is interesting to explore your child’s personality between the tough years, and of course, during them. Although not every day is terrible, and not every child is the same, these years appear to be universally difficult for parents. There may be times where you must be left wondering when you'll be able to enjoy this small human who is testing your patience to the breaking point.
The following characteristics are symptoms of parenting that has grown to be challenging:
- Fears for our children: Will they be wounded, unloved, or mistreated in some way?
- Frustration and anxiety: When things go wrong, our best-laid plans fall apart, or things don't turn out the way we expected.
- Feeling a sheer sense of being overwhelmed: This occurs when the expectations placed on our children, whether young or elderly, surpass our ability to meet them in the past or the resources we have available at the time.
- Loss: When we see lovely times give way to the inevitability of change, development, and a universe of demands other than our own, and when we are pained by our children's setbacks, failures, and shattered aspirations.
- Guilt: Over the apparently never-ending examples of the bar being set and our performance falling short, of our failure to achieve what we plan as parents, and possibly doing things that cause pain to our children, both knowingly and unconsciously.
When our normal parenting tools, guidebooks, and rule-of-thumb road maps leave us stranded and vulnerable, we are left in a state of unending confusion.
How to care for your child when parenting seems tough?
Compassionate Listening
Parents must actively pay attention to what their children are saying and encourage them to talk about their fears. Don't make fun of or dismiss what they're going through. Do not make remarks such as ‘this is nothing’ or ‘I had to go through worse when I was younger, and I never felt anxious’ or something along those lines.
Keep in mind that each child is unique. Your youngster requires compassionate acknowledgment of their feelings. Respect, accept and respond to their senses. Always maintain an empathic attitude.
Assisting them with the expression of fears
Parents must engage with their children's concerns and discuss what is causing them to be concerned. Allow them to express their emotions verbally. The act of expressing negative feelings reduces their intensity. This will also provide an outlet for the kids. The last thing parents should do is smother their children's anxieties by rejecting them as unimportant.
Keep your cool
Children will, to a significant extent, mirror the emotions that their parents exhibit. When parents are calm, composed, and sensible when dealing with a crisis, their children are more likely to be calm and composed when confronted with the same issue.