by DirectorParenting is a hard job, perhaps the hardest one there is. Parenting involves being fully responsible for a tiny child’s entire life, from their nutrition to their education and everything in between. Parenting is the overwhelming responsibility of making the right choices for your children, choices which inevitably shape their entire lives. Parenting is the process of prioritising another being before yourself; it is no wonder most parents are burdened by stress, anxiety and burnout.
There is adequate research in parenting literature to infer that parents who are easily affected by stressful situations often pass on the same anxious and stressful response to their children. Parents who often handle situations through anger or emotional meltdowns tend to role-model the same coping skills to their children. A large part of parenting is to be a reliable and trustworthy role model who the child can imitate to navigate life.
In this case, it is clear that when parents are emotionally, mentally and physically healthy, their children also have a greater probability of being emotionally, mentally and physically healthy too. Parents who handle life with a certain sense of calm, tend to raise kids with a similar calm and gentle parenting approach that nurtures them. In contrast, parents who use violence, hit their children, or talk in loud angry voices, often have children who will either grow up to be rebellious or become submissive to fearful authority figures.
This understanding of parenting helps us understand that we can only raise healthy children when we are healthy ourselves. We must prioritise our holistic well-being by developing effective coping skills, such as meditation, journaling, physical fitness, good nutrition, good sleeping patterns and healthy social relationships. When children see parents thriving in their life, they aspire to thrive in the same way.
This kind of holistic parenting leads to children who grow up into adults with good self-esteem, high self-confidence and incredible family relationships.