Written by Dharani Siripuram (Sem. II)
Becoming a new parent can be a genuinely thrilling experience. However, this treasured experience also brings a rollercoaster of emotions. This doesn’t mean that parenting is easy. The meaning of parenting has changed so much over the past decade or so.
Social and economic changes have changed the way new parents in India understanding parenting. Parents should focus on their own health and wellbeing in order to raise a healthy child.
One of the first issues that new parents face is sleep deprivation. New parents are facing up to six years of sleep deprivation. Not only sleep, they also face feeding dilemmas, and challenges of balancing work and childcare.
Physical recovery post birth, emotional fluctuations, evolving relationship dynamics and financial pressure add to the strain.
New parents worry a lot about the slightest details about their baby. Overthinking or over analyzing and anxiety can take a toll on the parents mental and emotional health. This can also lead to having frequently mixed emotions, which can further escalate to arguments or breakdown.
In an era of increased social pressure on how to be a ‘good parents’, it is no wonder that research says 85% of parents feel guilty that they are not good enough. All parents have their own unique way of bringing up their kids. They do their best to raise them, but nobody’s perfect . That’s why, when they look back, they all want to fix some of the mistakes they made in the past.
There was a time when there were joint families. Grandparents used to sit with children and tell stories from the epics. With that, children’s curiosity increased and their thinking expanded
There was a time when there were joint families. Grandparents used to sit with children and tell stories from the epics. With that, children’s curiosity increased and their thinking expanded. The difference is evident now, because of small families. In today’s families both mother and father are working hard in order to take good care of the children, to give them a good life. But, they do not find time to spend with the children. They want to make them study in big schools, so that they don’t have to face the difficulties they have faced, but they don’t notice whether they like to study or find it difficult.
In the world full of comparison, parenthood also became a competitive thing. Patents often talk about how other children are studying but such words may increase a sense of inferiority in children and may even increase jealousy which is not at all good.
New parents of this generation want their child to be moulded in the shape they wanted. But they are not worried about what their child might actually want.
Being strict doesn’t mean you are not a good parents. First time parents might experience having clashing parenting styles. One might tend to be stricter while the other would want to spoil their first child. This is a typical thing. It’s understandable and can usually be easily resolved.
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