Anxiety in parenting

Anxiety in Parenting

Being a parent is hard, its normal to have some level of anxiety. You are suddenly given this human being to care for with no real instructions and no easy answers. Everyone has opinions on what you should do and judges everything you do. I am not ever going to tell you what to do with your precious little one, because what I have learnt is no one size fits all. Two of my friends and I all had children within 2 months of each other. Our pregnancies, births and babies are all so different and, all have different parenting techniques. But often all have the same anxieties. Some of my biggest anxieties over these first 6 months are the amounts Quentin eating and sleeping, when he started to roll I worried he would fall asleep on his face, I worried if everything I was doing was correct, if his development right, along with so many other things. I learnt that I needed to do my own research and try different things to see what is the right fit for us. Over time it has became easier and I learnt that often Quen will tell me what he wants. Some of the best advice I have gotten is

“as long as your baby is fed and happy, you’re doing a good job.”

Which was pretty much my friends telling me to stop overthinking everything. Because I am the Queen of overthinking.

Some anxiety is normal, but when it interferes with daily activities and parenting, it will need to be addressed. I have learnt to deal with my own anxiety as I did not want it to effect Quen. I will talk about ways to help stress and anxiety in my next post. 

The toll of the parents’ anxiety can impact the child’s development. Such as an overprotective parent can prevent the child from exploring, making their own mistakes and slow their learning of problem-solving techniques. This can also remove the child’s independence and decision making. The parents can pass on their anxiety and fears about situations, causing the child to find it hard to manage simple situations. There is also evidence that highly anxious parents can increase the likelihood a child will experience hyperactivity and anxiety themselves.

The reality is you are never going to be perfect, and sometimes you need to do whatever it takes to survive. You will find that even if you don’t do everything perfect, your baby will still develop and learn as they are meant to. Do the best you can and make sure you enjoy your time with your little one. Most importantly give yourself a break!

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