Parenting

Parenting brings many challenges. Sometimes parents find they need support from outside their family to cope with the demands of this role. Adjusting to becoming a parent brings experiences that can vary greatly from person to person. Another huge adjustment for parents to make often occurs around teenagers or adult children leaving home.

New parents establishing a sense of identity can benefit from therapeutic conversations. Online counsellors, therapists and coaches can help parents in a number of ways. By providing a sounding board for parents to discuss their approaches to child rearing, therapists and counsellors can assist in decision making and strategies for discipline and behaviour questions. Sometimes it is enough to have a set of non-judgemental listening ears available over the Internet. Therapists, counsellors and coaches can also assist in helping parents to develop new routines and habits to improve effectiveness and build self-confidence.

Parents coping with seriously ill children or recovering from tragic circumstances such as the death of their child need special support. Counsellors and therapists who specialise in such issues are sensitive to the time parents require and the need to talk.

Parents have to deal with many unforeseen situations in relation to their children as well as the extra demands on their relationships with each other. Some coaches specialise in coaching parents to improve their relationships with their children or find a better work and family balance. This may involve finding ways to renegotiate boundaries with children as they get older and discover ways to be happy parents of teenagers again.

Photo credit: Margan Zajdowicz

This information is only general and is not a substitute for a professional consultation.

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Parenting

Tracy Hallam

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