Bringing your baby home from the hospital is one of the most exhilarating and terrifying moments of your life. This beautiful, needy little person looks at you to help him grow up to be strong, healthy and happy. But, how, you wonder? Then you worry- given the ills of our world- is it possible?
You look around at other parents and you are concerned. They are living like maniacs on the crazy train. Mothers worry about the right preschool if they should hold children back in kindergarten, put them in gymnastics or dance, feed them organic or teach them to read before they go to school. And when their kids start school, they become more frantic. How many sports per semester can she fit in, should he have a private tutor, and can she make the travel soccer team? What about music, arts, friends, bullies, and coaches who aren’t good enough? And then there’s the dating issue. When do they start, or should they even date at all? Oh- then there’s teen sex, pregnancy, drinking, drugs, grades, and the right friends.
The bottom line is this: parenting has become overwhelming for most parents and our friends are no help because they’ve jumped aboard the crazy train.
Allow me to give you some encouragement: you don’t need to live this way. You can stop worrying so much and- even start enjoying parenting. How? By shifting your perspective.