Parenting
Parenting can be very difficult these days. There are multiple pressures on family members and changing pressures on the children. Many families are finding that they are negotiating the new landscape together, since many parents were raised in a time that seemed less complicated.
Conflicts occur in all families. However, there are times when parents feel that they are no longer in control of the family, that parents are struggling to work together, that they are not able to manage the stressors related to parenting, or that they do not feel they are managing their children’s behaviors.
Therapy/Parent Coaching can:
- Help parents address a specific or immediate behavior in a child (such as talking back)
- Help parents recognize and reconcile their different parenting strategies
- Help parents increase their skills at managing the family
- Address communication issues across the generations (parent-child-grandparent)
- Help the family adjust to life changes/transitions/ or crises
Parenting is a difficult task due to multiple pressures on the family. Many families are isolated from extended family and do not have easily available support to help ease the pressure of parenting. For some families, just dealing with everyday schedules, such as getting children to their multiple activities, is so stressful that parents are exhausted. When problems develop, parents may need support and strategies to address them.
Parenting sessions may be done in a variety of settings (couple, family, individual). Often the entire family is invited to sessions to identify some of the areas of difficulty. Parenting work includes exploring ways each parent sees his or her role, the expectations from the children, and disciplining strategies. We often discuss each parent’s background, the parenting style they grew up with, and ways those experiences affect their own parenting behavior. Through a combination of exploring parents’ ideas and expectations, helping parents strengthen their role in the family, and using various strategies to address identified problems, parents can develop skills to help the family through stressful times.
