Tag Archives: family

Dealing With Anxiety As a Parent

08/28/2023 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

scrabble tiles spelling ANXIETY, parenting, kids, marriage, aging

Anxiety is one of the most debilitating conditions that sadly, many parents have to deal with daily. The severity of a person’s anxiety can vary from infrequent, and mild, all the way to continual, and intense. Anxiety can affect you both mentally, and physically, which if you are a parent can make life a lot harder to cope with at times. If you are a parent who is dealing with anxiety, then here are a few considerations that you could implement into your life that may help improve the quality of your days and nights.

Regularly take time for yourself

Being a parent means that you will likely be rushed off your feet most of the time, looking out for, and caring for your children. However, you should ensure that you have some time to yourself, especially if you have anxiety. Taking time for yourself will help you recharge, and ground yourself, instead of letting the overwhelming feelings of anxiety take over. If you have young children then you could think about implementing a nap time for them in the day to give yourself a little free time, or set a regular bedtime leaving you some free time in the evening. These small breaks that you give yourself don’t need to be long, but you should make sure that you are allowing yourself to relax, and not filling the time with other chores. Have a cup of tea, or coffee, listen to an audio book, or go for a small walk instead. If you can take time to yourself regularly then it should help with your anxiety levels.

Make dietary changes

You may not think it, or even realize it, but your diet will have a huge impact on your mood, and energy levels, and therefore also on your anxiety too. As a parent, you may feel like your only option is to get a takeout, oven-cook some fries, or deep fry your family’s dinner. However, for example, if your diet primarily consists of high-fat, sugary, or overly processed foods, then your body (as well as your children) will not be getting the adequate nutrition that it needs to function effectively. This can lead to extreme highs, and lows of energy, instead of having a well-balanced baseline to run on throughout the day. If you can try to include as much fresh fruit, and vegetables as possible into your diet while simultaneously avoiding as much of the fatty and sugary foods as possible, you should notice a big change not only physically, but also mentally too. Some people opt for additional supplements to help give their mental health, and anxiety that extra boost. These can be found in the form of magnesium tablets, various herbal teas, and even CBD gummies for men. Any small positive change to your diet will have an impact on your anxiety levels.

Seek professional help

Although there is a lot you can do for yourself through the changing of your lifestyle, and habits, sometimes it may not be enough to overcome the feelings of anxiety that you may experience. If you feel like your anxiety levels are affecting your ability to care for and provide for your children then it may be wise to look into professional help. These professionals will have trained for many years, and have a lot of experience in dealing with the struggles you may be facing. They will be able to offer you potential solutions to your unique position and will help you work through, and overcome the hardships that you are currently facing. Rather than struggling alone, research local professionals that may be able to help with your anxiety, so that you can get back to being the best parent possible.

Reach out to your friends and family

If you feel as if professional help is a step too far, or that you don’t require that level of help and attention, you could always reach out to, and confide in your friends and family about your struggles with anxiety. Most people are aware of how hard parenthood can be, especially if you have the added weight of anxiety too. Because of this, most people that you reach out to will be more than willing to help you wherever possible. Often simply sharing with others can dramatically improve a person’s mental strength, and may just give you the support, strength, and boost that you need to help overcome many aspects of your anxiety.
If you are a parent who has anxiety, you should do what it takes to keep your health on track, so make sure to consider these tips on how to deal with it more effectively.

Life, Parenting, Tips

5 Ways To Be Firm But Fair When Your Teen Makes A Mistake

07/27/2023 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

stressed out dad pulling his hair, teenagers, raising kids, growing up

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Parents dealing with teen troubles is not new. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that these issues go all the way back to the first men and women who heard their teens slam the cave door after storming off. You expect teens to be moody and difficult, but some teenagers can be worse than others. As they find themselves, they may veer too close to dangerous behavior and make a mistake that could ruin their life before it’s begun. But it doesn’t have to as long as you know how to be firm but fair with your teen when they make a mistake.

Establish Boundaries

As kids grow older, they want more freedom, but you must be careful about how much freedom you allow them. They want to hang out with friends and may go out and come back at unsociable hours. This is nothing to worry about as long as they aren’t getting into trouble. However, it becomes a problem when it affects their school work and health. While you can’t keep them cooped up forever, you can make sure they get their work finished before going out with their friends.

Find The Root of the Issue

Sometimes, it’s not just teenage hormones. Instead, there could be a much deeper problem you need to address, so try to discover why they are acting out and whether you can do anything about it. After your teen has made a mistake, they will be at their most vulnerable, but that might make them more comfortable speaking to you about what has happened and why they did it so you can have some clarity and fix it.

Stick to Your Guns

While you want to be gentle with your teen after they’ve made a mistake, you should still stick to your guns. Don’t change your parenting approach entirely just because they messed up. They might feel bad enough as it is, and the last thing they want is a lecture, but don’t let them use their problems against you to take advantage of them. While they are getting older, they are still your responsibility.

Show Them Support

You will also need to show them support and remind them that you will be there for them no matter what. Depending on what they did, you can use your network or the internet to find legal representation. One example is finding a dedicated lawyer from McCoy & Hiestand to help with driving violations, especially since your teen is such an inexperienced driver and you may need dependable support from professionals.

Let Them Learn From Their Mistakes

If your child is mature enough, they will take this opportunity to learn from their mistake and become better. Many people embrace their missteps as a way of building resilience and showing them the reality of the world. It may take time for them to accept it, but they will become a better person because of it.

Tough Love

Many parents find it tricky to get the balance right between treating their kids well but also ensuring they do not roll over to every demand. How you act after they make a mistake is vital, as it will set the tone and hopefully mean they learn their lesson and start taking themselves and the world more seriously.

Life, Parenting

Raising a Deaf Child

07/25/2023 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

Dea fness used to be a huge barrier for families. Even going back fifty years, hearing parents who found out that their children are deaf had to make much bigger accommodations to keep their children going to school or ensuring that their children didn’t miss out on everyday experiences. Millions of parents today are raising deaf or hard of hearing children and it’s not so much something to be fearful of like it used to be.

Instead, some hearing parents start managing the impact of hearing loss by ensuring that they expose themselves to the deaf community as much as possible. Some parents who are scared to raise deaf children need to surround themselves with as much information and research as possible. The good news is that there are many different ways that you can raise a deaf child and get support with it, too. From help with speech therapy to the assistance available from audiologists and doctors, families with deaf children have plenty of support and if, as a family, you all learn signing, you will be a much happier family for it! So, what tips will help you when it comes to raising a deaf child? Let’s take a look:

Lady doing sign language, deaf, hearing loss, speech

Image source: Pexels

Find the right educational services. Deafness – no matter how mild – is a disability. If your child needs visual support, signing or technology like hearing aids to help them to hear or to mingle in society, then the right special educational services in your school district can help with their learning accommodations.
Join a signing class. Usually, doctors can tell if your newborn child is going to have a hearing deficit or be fully deaf. If that’s the case, you get the advantage of joining sign language classes. By the time they go to school, they’ll be able to sign with you and you’ll be fluent in your language in your family. It’ll help you in the wider deaf community, too, because then you’ll be able to communicate with teachers and other families!
Learn to communicate beyond signing. There are so many ways that those with hearing issues communicate beyond signing and as a hearing person, you have to educate yourself on this as much as possible. Not only will you be able to communicate more efficiently with your child, you will be able to spend time in the deaf community to adapt better.
Educate yourself on deaf culture. A good way to ensure that you are a parent going above and beyond is to adapt into the deaf culture. The best way to do that is to read books and learn about deaf history. Learn how deafness has been handled through the years and understand the reasons behind deafness. Speak to audiologists and other specialists in hearing matters to understand why your child is deaf in the first place. It can occur because of genetics, trauma and a range of other illnesses and issues, and understanding the trigger for your child can help.
Talk about it as a couple. You and your partner will be tackling your child’s deafness together. Even if you’re not in a relationship right now, you will need to think about discussing their future and the potential roadblocks that you may come across as a family. Once you have these discussions you can also lean on one another when times are tough. As much as you love your child and will pave the roads with gold for their future, it’s not the easiest news to hear when you are hearing parents and haven’t encountered deafness before.
Speak to a therapist. On the back of the point above, it can help to speak through any difficulties with a therapist who can assure you that your child’s future will still be as set as ever. If you speak to a therapist as a family, it’ll help you to accept and appreciate the difference your child has among their peers and they can give you tips and hints of how to adapt.
Teach their siblings to sign. As much as it will be helpful for you and your partner to learn sign language, you need to think about getting their siblings to learn how to sign, too. This will ensure that all of your children can and will communicate effectively.

Having a deaf child is not the end of the world, it just means that you need to make adjustments that suit the family as a whole and you move forward into a new world together.