Parenting involves navigating internal conflict between personal needs and child demands.
Self-compassion, curiosity, and challenging traditional notions help parents cope with emotional complexities of parenthood.
Deep dives
Challenges of Parenting
Parenting brings unexpected challenges and a sense of loss, where individuals may feel like they are constantly struggling to balance their own needs with the demands of caring for a child. The constant worries about the child's well-being, brain development, and the transition to new stages can overshadow personal identity. The pressure to be a 'supermom' while trying to reclaim pre-parenthood activities like wearing heels and jeans highlights the internal conflict many face.
Emotional Registry for Parents
The emotional registry for parents involves acknowledging feelings of loss, understanding the need for self-care and setting boundaries, even as societal expectations and guilt may pressurize parents to sacrifice their well-being for their children. By recognizing the importance of self-compassion, curiosity about discomfort, and challenging traditional notions of selflessness, parents can navigate the emotional complexities of parenthood.
Couple Dynamics and Parenting
The transition to parenthood triggers new insights into partner dynamics as individuals witness each other's parenting styles and behaviors, often mirroring their own upbringing unconsciously. Conversations about emotional triggers from childhood, love maps, regulating emotions as a couple, and managing gender roles can strengthen understanding and support within the relationship.
Baby Emotional Registry
The baby emotional registry emphasizes the relentless focus on caregiving, constant meal planning, and the overwhelming responsibility of nurturing a dependent newborn. Understanding individual preferences for caregiving styles and managing the emotional toll of parenting can prepare individuals for the unique challenges of the baby stage, emphasizing the importance of self-care, mantras for resilience, and maintaining a calm presence during moments of distress.
Becoming a parent is really hard. And part of what makes it hard is the unrealistic narrative about what parenthood should feel like. In this episode, Dr. Becky has a real, say-it-how-it-is discussion about parenthood with one of her favorite new friends, Myleik Teele. While no podcast episode can single-handedly make parenthood any easier, this one will help you feel less alone in all the tricky moments that are sure to come.
Get the Good Inside App by Dr. Becky: https://bit.ly/3cqgG2A Follow Dr. Becky on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drbeckyatgoodinside Sign up for our weekly email, Good Insider: https://www.goodinside.com/newsletter Order Dr. Becky's book, Good Inside: A Guide to Becoming the Parent You Want to Be, at goodinside.com/book or wherever you order your books. For a full transcript of the episode, go to goodinside.com/podcast
To listen to Dr. Becky's TED Talk on repair visit https://www.ted.com/talks/becky_kennedy_the_single_most_important_parenting_strategy
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