Parenting is just so emotional! How do I cope with it all?

Here are a few tips from Miriam on recognising the high-level emotions that come with being a parent.

• Look after yourself. If you find yourself constantly exhausted, look for ways to take care of yourself first. We share our most important emotional needs with our children. If you think about your own needs, you can better understand how to ensure that your child’s needs are fulfilled.

• Here are our emotional needs as detailed by the human givens approach:

  • Security – a sense of being safe and free from undue fear.

  • Control – a sense of having some degree of control over our lives.

  • Attention – giving and receiving due attention.

  • Intimacy – having an emotional connection with at least a few people with whom we can experience friendship, love or fun.

  • Connection to a wider community – belonging to something bigger than ourselves.

  • Achievement and status – a feeling that we are competent in important areas of our lives, and that this is recognised within the various groupings to which we belong, such as family, work colleagues, or friends.

  • Privacy – having some time to ourselves.

  • Relaxation and downtime – time to do things we enjoy while leaving everyday worries aside.

• As American writer Erma Bombeck wisely said: ‘Your child needs your love the most when he deserves it the least’.