Staying Sane While Raising Your Teens

Raising Children Without Losing Yourself

September 9, 2022 at 4:37 pm Leave a comment

Guest blogger, Jenny Miller

Becoming a parent changes everything. Your priorities shift, your responsibilities grow, and suddenly you’re no longer the most important thing in your life. While it’s normal for parenthood to bring major changes, becoming a parent shouldn’t mean losing your sense of self, though. In fact, it’s possible to be a great parent without putting your goals and dreams on pause. Today, C. Lynn Williams explains how!

Loving with Limits: Why Parents Need Boundaries

You’d do anything for your child. However, many parents struggle to balance supporting their child with setting limits.

• Healthy boundaries benefit a child’s emotional and social development, encourage autonomy, and ease the workload of parenthood.
• According to Hand in Hand Parenting, children need four types of limits to flourish: safety, values, expectations, and proposal limits.
• Limits also promote age-appropriate independence. At an early age, that may mean entertaining themselves. As they get older, independent children can troubleshoot problems and do simple chores.

Maintaining Your Identity in Parenthood

Do you feel like you’ve lost your identity since becoming a parent? Parenthood takes a lot of time and energy, but it’s possible to adjust and feel like yourself again.

• Make time for adult relationships. Schedule kid-free time with your partner and maintain a social life, even if it looks different nowadays.
• Set goals for yourself. Do you want to get back into a hobby, learn something new, or adopt a healthier lifestyle? Goals are the key to building a happy life long-term.
• If you’re a stay-at-home parent, consider going back to work. There are numerous job boards where you can find a position that fits your skills. Use a resume builder to give your resume a makeover, then create a winning cover letter to get noticed.
• If you need extra education or training to improve your hireability, look into online learning. For instance, most popular medical coding courses can be done online in less than 30 hours and can really open up doors!

Self-Care Is Family Care

Self-care tends to drop down the priority list after starting a family, but it shouldn’t disappear from it entirely. A good parent is a happy parent, and happiness starts with self-care.

• Focus on the positive changes parenthood brings. There are always challenges, but practicing gratitude makes them feel easier.
• Spend quality time with your children. Take just a few minutes for meaningful connection each day. Even reading to your children each day makes a big difference for you and your kids.
• Take care of your health. Not only do healthy habits give you the physical and mental stamina to rise to life’s challenges, and it also sets a good example for your children.

There’s no question that parenthood requires sacrifice. However, you don’t have to sacrifice your own goals to be an exceptional parent. In fact, by taking care of yourself and continuing on a path of personal growth, you provide your children with a role model for thriving through life’s transitions.

C. Lynn Williams is a veteran educator, speaker, workshop presenter, passionate mother & wife, as well as author of “Trying to Stay Sane While Raising Your Teen: A primer for parents”, “The Pampered Prince: Moms Create a GREAT Relationship with Your Son”, “Raising Your Daughter Through the Joys, Tears & HORMONES!“, “Yours & Mine: A Winning Blended Family Formula“, and “Daddy & Daughter Thoughts: A Dad’s Guide to Daughters“. 

Interested in learning more about your family’s dynamics? Contact me – Ms. Parent Guru to receive information about my inspiring parenting programs for Aging Parents, Mothers and Daughters, Mothers and Sons, Fathers and Daughters or Fathers and Sons.

Click Here to become a part of my parenting community.

C. Lynn Williams, #MsParentguru

Parent Coach, Author & Speaker

clynnwilliams.com

Entry filed under: #lessonslearned, Dad, mom, Parenting, parenting tips, self-care, setting boundaries, single dads, single moms. Tags: adulting, love, SAHD, SAHM, self-identity.