Growing Pains
Children grow & learn so quickly in their first years! It’s magical, mystifying, and exhausting.
It makes sense that parents sometimes have a hard time keeping up. I know I do. Mix in all the demands of life—work, bills, chores, etc. and even small changes can make you feel like the world has turned upside down.
If you're parenting young children, you’ve most likely experienced the feeling of “I’ve finally figured ‘IT’ out!”, only to have your child wake up with new words, skills, or ideas and pull the rug out from under all those routines and methods you thought you had down pat. It happens so quickly!
One minute you’re feeling confident that you can handle this parenthood thing and then, boom! The game changes.
In the moments that your little angel-faced kiddo is the one throwing all the curveballs it’s not always easy to be bigger, stronger, wiser & kind.
You might be surprised to learn that sometimes the reason parents seek therapy for their young children are for seemingly small challenges, things you could easily assume they’ll soon grow out of. You don’t have to be in the depths of suffering in order to ask for help. So where is the line? How do you know when it is time to seek support?
This list captures some of the many reasons parents seek therapeutic support for themselves and their littles ones.
You’ve had the thought “I could use some more support.” And/or you spend hours on Google and Facebook parent groups seeking solutions and none of them quite fit your family’s particular circumstances or align with your parenting philosophy.
Challenges are interfering with the enjoyment of relationships (with your child, with your partner, between siblings, with yourself)
You feel stressed or overwhelmed more often than you feel ease and joy.
You are parenting differently than you were parented, and sometimes you second guess yourself or feel unsure of what you’re doing.
As you’re parenting differently than you were parented, painful memories from your own childhood resurface.
You find yourself confused or upset by your child’s behavior, feelings, or way of being.
Adult problems (work, bills, marriage/relationship, etc) are impacting your relationship with your child.
“Little kid problems”—difficult separations (sleeping, drop offs at day-care), extreme shyness, highly sensitive kiddo, delay in meeting milestones, big feelings, behaviors that make you wonder, “is this normal?”
You have experienced or are experiencing your own mental health challenges and have concerns about the impact on your little one(s)
You need a witness, someone who sees how hard you are working at this parenting thing.
The list could go on… and on…
Truth is, every child and family is unique with their own story to tell and families of all shapes and sizes experience the messiness of parenting and nurturing little ones.
We know just how painful it can be when our own “stuff” disrupts our important relationships and we want you to know that you don’t have to be in this “mess” alone.
You and your child deserve to experience strong connections, love and nurturing in your relationships, even in the midst of the messy.
Parenting can be hard. Kiddos can be baffling. Sometimes the countdown to bedtime is the only thread that you have to hang onto. Or is that just me? If you aren’t sure if therapy is right for you and/or your child, you don’t have to be. You can contact us for a free consultation and without judgment or criticism, we will figure it out together.