The importance of support in parenting
Pregnancy is difficult to handle but nothing supersedes the joy of holding a newborn child. It’s usually an incredible experience for a couple to have kids. Everybody looks forward to when the child will be born and we celebrate once that happens. It’s usually a happy moment nothing can take away that amazing experience. However, being a parent is not an easy task and bringing up a child is far more difficult and challenging than giving birth to one. The moment that child starts to realize the world around them, the demands to put them on the right track and ensure that you are bringing them up in the right way is an incredibly challenging task. This is why parenting is not an individual effort but a group effort that requires support for both the parent and the child. It cannot afford to undermine the role of the other family members or even friends when it comes to bringing up your children. It may not be easy, but it becomes less difficult with support from friends and family.
First of all, we all live in a community and usually there is no way of shielding your children from interacting with everyone else in this community. One day they get to face the real world and deal with real life issues. Therefore, it is important that parenting is more of a group effort than an individual effort. The importance of this is that it prepares a child to deal with real life issues. For example, the rest of your family members can play a huge role in telling you of what is happening to your kid in case they’re not willing to open up to you as their father or mother or even guardian. Having support from other family members not only builds a whole safe environment for the child, but also makes them feel loved and emotionally supported. This is very important especially for the mental health of the child and also in building their self-image. Believe it or not, the attitude of everyone around a child plays a very huge role in shaping how they view themselves as well as the self-esteem.
When it comes to the parent, support will be important simply because you cannot know it all. As earlier stated, parenting is a group effort and so having someone encouraging you that you are doing the right thing is reassuring. It is very easy for parents to fall into the trap of comparing themselves with other parents to determine how well they’re doing. Such a comparison can result in depression and also affect your mental health negatively. You need to understand that you’re not alone in your experience and that other people are also going through the same thing. Having people around you to reassure and encourage you as you bring up a child is very important. There are number of issues that are associated with parenting such as anxiety, anger and stress. All these issues can be dealt with simply by being in a group of other parents where you get to share your experiences and work together in this journey.