Are you stressed out? Being a parent can be tough. The stress of it all can be very overwhelming, whether you are doing it alone or have a partner to share the responsibility with. The ups and downs in your day can be taxing on your body and overall health. There are many reasons why parenting causes stress in life.
The Formative Years
When your children are small you worry day and night about their safety and how you are doing in the parenting department. You worry if you are doing all you can to promote a happy and healthy lifestyle. While you will always be concerned about these things, that’s not the half of it! The first phase of child development is difficult, but it gets much harder when you are expected to let the rest of the world in. It can truly be the hardest part of it all. It is when outside forces can affect your child or children beyond your protection. Sure, it is a necessary part of growth, but the limited exposure when they are young allows you to keep them under your watchful eye and keep to the safety standards you have set for your young one.
Approaching the School Age
As they grow into a toddler, and approach the school age, your little one will begin to become more independent. While you will still dress, bath, oversee their home studies, and dictate their sleep schedule and food choices, they will be out from under your care at least a few hours a day. You will need to trust the education system and teachers to watch over your child and instill knowledge while in school. This is when your child will learn how to read and write, but also when they will begin to establish some independence and form relationships with other children their age.
While some parents welcome the change in routine and are excited to see them embark on a new adventure, other parents are not so happy about the next phase in their child’s life, as well as some children. There is nothing worse than a scared child clinging to their parent for dear life in the drop off line at school. This can be quite upsetting for the child, and equally upsetting for the parent. Some kids cry and do not accept the change very well. It can be heartbreaking. This separation can cause anxiety and stress.
Continuing Studies
At this point, you may be well into the routine of your child attending school. You may even have pre-school, kindergarten, and the first few years of elementary school under your belt. Packing lunches, getting homework done, and scheduling play dates with other children may come natural to you, or it may not. This schedule can be difficult for many, especially if you are doing it alone. Working a full-time job can be hard when you already have a full-time job as a parent. The drop off at school may not have gotten easier when you are expected at work at the same time, or when you have no choice but to send your little one to after school care because you are not done work yet. Not to mention when your toddler gets sick and you have no choice but to lose a day’s pay and stay home to play doctor. Raising children is not easy.
The Teenage Years
The teenage years can be tricky, and a whole other level of stress. This is right about the time when your young man or young lady start to break out into the world to find themselves. It can be quite challenging to navigate through these years and the children do not make it easy. They will challenge you at every turn.
Pushing the limits at this age is common. They have now found a voice, maybe even an attitude, and a personality that may be new to you. You may not agree with their friend choice, their eating or sleeping habits, their choice of style, or even their opinions, which at one time may have seemed like they were on the same page as you, like a little mini replica, but that most likely has disappeared. Peer pressure plays a part in their everyday, bullying, sometimes lying, and the dreaded exposure to alcohol, drugs, and the opposite sex. This is one phase that every parent can live without. It can be scary and extremely stressful, especially if your child takes a road that is unexpected, and unwanted. It can sometimes be hard to get them to listen or stay on the right track. These are the years that will test you as a parent and probably fill your head with gray hair, but once you and your child navigate through the turbulent waters, you will once again be reunited with the child you thought you knew. It may be an older, altered version, of the child you raised, but none the less you can usually find some common ground again.
Higher Education
Recognizing a matured high school graduate standing before you can help to relieve some of the stress that the teenage years thrust upon you, but it isn’t quite over yet. While you may notice a strong and determined individual that has survived the years of peer pressure and high school drama, the college years are about to begin. Brace yourself. These four years or more, can certainly bring joy, a feeling of accomplishment, and proudness in the person your child has grown to be, but having them out on their own can also be nerve racking.
If your child chooses to live at college, you will worry about them attending classes, making time for their homework after all the partying they will do, and last but not least being slipped a drug while drinking. The stress level sometimes hits an all time high. The difference with high school and college is that your child is able to be reasoned with, and often is mature enough to understand what an opportunity is and how you take advantage of it. They have a dream and a goal for their lives other than hanging with their friends and dating, something that most high school kids only think about.
Unfortunately, dreams often come at a price, and so does the opportunity that college offers. When selecting, remember a state college will usually be cheaper to attend than a private university, which can carry a hefty price tag. If your child was lucky enough to get a scholarship, make sure to take that into consideration. Between the cost of tuition, books, room and board, and living on their own, it adds up to be much more than you may have expected or can afford. There is no set amount that any one child will receive toward college, it will depend on many different variables. There are several options to look into for aid, student loans and even parent loans. Approval will ultimately depend on your income and credit history, which can sometimes pose a problem. When this happens, there is outside funding available with non-traditional funding methods that can help to pay bills, or even a little extra cash for yourself or the college student living away. Be sure to do your research so that you make the best choice for your financial situation. Try to make a stressful situation as manageable as possible.