In part 1, we talked about the fact that parenting isn’t always as easy as some people make it out to be. Although it may sometimes feel like all of your friends can parent with their eyes closed, and that you’re the only one struggling, we can assure you that this is not true. Sometimes parenting is all smoke and mirrors, so please rest assured that there is no parent in the world that doesn’t have one worry or another on the brain.

So, in part 2 of this topic, we thought that we would help you understand more about what can make parenting so hard, so you can learn and grow as a parent. Remember, the more you understand about what could be behind your struggles, the easier you will find it to work through them.

So, what are some other reasons why parenting can be hard?

Some children will be harder to parent. Although no parent would like to admit that they’re having a harder time parenting than most, the facts are that some children are harder to parent than others. While some are more flexible and chilled out, others are more highly strung and loud. Or perhaps they struggle with issues like learning disabilities, insomnia, and chronic illness. Whatever the issue might be, if your child’s temperament doesn’t quite fit into that of your other family members, it’s likely to make things a bit harder. There’s no shame in admitting this, and in fact, coming to terms with it is the first step to helping you find solutions.

Most parents find it challenging to take care of themselves. As parents, we all like to think we’re invincible, and that there’s no challenge or task we can’t take care of. However, in our momentous efforts to keep everything together for our kids, we often forget to look after ourselves in the process. Learning to take better care of yourself is a process, but one that will ultimately help you also be a better parent. Delegate time for relaxation, exercise, reading a book you like, and getting some proper sleep.

Chronic exhaustion makes parenting harder. We all know that doing just about anything with little or no sleep is pretty much impossible. Sleep is the foundation for doing just about anything successfully in life, including parenting. But ironically, being a parent makes getting proper, restful sleep quite difficult. Even so, try to find coping mechanisms for this. For example, try listening to sleep medications, or try some herbal remedies.

Social media and smartphones make matters worse! In this day and age, we’re all well aware of the dangers of social media and over usage of smartphones. However, this doesn’t stop the average person from indulging in the distraction of their phone far too many times throughout the day. And without realising it, they are also consistently exposing themselves to anxiety-provoking news, pictures, and updates.

Too much information from too many experts tends to make parenting harder. We all benefit from advice, and this is the reason that we often reach out to others for their opinion. However, sometimes having too many opinions on your parenting choices can be deafening and debilitating, and have you overthinking things you shouldn’t. Remember that even the most accomplished child psychologist doesn’t know it all, and you know your little one better than anyone in the world. Asking for advice is good, but also learn to trust yourself, and remember that if someone’s advice doesn’t work for you and your child, that doesn’t mean you’ve failed at parenting.

Why is parenting so hard? (Part 2)