Parenting

No one can possibly be totally prepared for becoming a parent; the impact that it has on your relationship, the changes in your lifestyle, the responsibilities, the love, the pain, the tears, and the joy. You don’t know what you don’t know until you know. Here are a few of the common issues that come up for parents:

• There’s no time for us
• Our sex life is dead
• You don’t care about me anymore
• Our lives as we knew them are over

It’s taboo to complain about being a parent. If I say I am unhappy that means I am a bad mother. I am going to be judged and criticized. If I tell my partner I still need her attention and love, I am going to be perceived as selfish or childish.

The responsibilities of parenthood are tremendous and can be overwhelming. The relationship between the parents often gets put on the back burner. Time slips away and the stage is set for distance and withdrawal and resentment in response to the frustration and disappointment of the loss of what once was. This can happen in so many ways and to many different degrees, but the main point is that relationships can suffer and often do in the transition to parenthood.

So what can I do about it??????

That is the million dollar question. There is a lot you can do about it. Choosing to focus on the relationship and coming for therapy is a way of reclaiming the couple. Being parents and being a couple are not mutually exclusive. Sure, it is necessary to change and adapt and sacrifice certain things, but the parents need to protect their relationship and cherish what they have if they are to give their best to their children.

I offer individual, couple, and/or group therapy to help parents deal with challenges in parenting and challenges in their relationships. Don’t put it on the back burner any longer. Call or email to arrange for an initial consultation.