Parenting Therapy in Sandy Springs, GA

But now that you’re in the thick of parenting your child, you’re starting to feel like it’s the other way around, that the low points are outlasting the good.

You truly want to make life with your child better and you’ve tried every parenting approach you know, but no matter what you do, nothing seems to be working.

 When you first imagined parenting a growing child you thought of the potential dilemmas he would face. The school struggles and the arguments with friends. But whenever you imagined these scenarios, you thought of yourself as the hero of the story. The person your child needed to talk to and confide in and the person with all the right answers.

You ran through potential scenarios in your head trying to plan out how you would help her with her first failing grade and her first heartbreak. You practiced comforting phrases and empathetic expressions and felt like you could help her tackle any challenge that came her way. And when the days came for you to be your child’s confidant, you put on your game face. You’d put a lot of effort and energy into learning how to be a better parent and you’d prepped for every circumstance.

But here you are, just trying to keep up with the fast-paced, high-pressured world your child is living in. 

Every day feels like a bit of a haze. Your advice doesn’t reach as far as you thought it would, you’re wasting your breath trying to get your point across, and your child doesn’t listen to a thing you say. It feels like everything you envisioned about your role as a parent was a lie.

That’s not to say you thought parenting would be easy. Raising a child today is a huge commitment and requires more from parents than it did when you were young. But you never wanted a mediocre life. In fact, you want the opposite. You know there will be days that are more difficult than others, but you’ve worked hard for the lifestyle you have, and you want to pass on your values and achievements to your child.
What you didn’t expect was how stressful parenting a teen, tween, or young adult would be. You never predicted how many time constraints you’d have to deal with. You had no idea how difficult it would be for you and your child to live up to today’s high standards. And you certainly didn’t expect to have a child who feels lost and lonely.

So here you are

The worried parent, the stressed-out parent, the failing parent

It hit you the other night…

You hadn’t seen your child since she beelined to her room after dinner. You normally like to give her a bit of space, but the two of you hadn’t had a decent conversation in weeks and you were hoping to connect a bit before bed. You practiced what you wanted to say while you loaded the dishwasher and wiped down the counters.

You needed a little more time to work up your nerve, so you headed to your room to get ready for bed. Once you’d washed your face and brushed your teeth you finally decided to just wing it. But when you knocked on her bedroom door she didn’t answer. Not ready to invade her privacy you waited a moment, but something told you to open the door. When you walked in you found an empty room. Your stomach dropped as you realized you had no idea where your child was or who she was with.

Immediately you felt horrified and heartbroken.
In that moment you knew in your gut it was time to take control of the chaos in your and your child’s life. You knew you couldn’t keep going on this path or you would start to feel more out of touch with your child’s world and the things he is struggling with. But you admitted you didn’t have any idea how to be a better parent since everything you’ve already tried hasn’t worked.

You told yourself:

“I can’t believe I’ve lost sight of my child’s behaviors.”

“I’m supposed to know my child better than anyone else, I should be able to keep her from sneaking around.”

“I thought I was being an active and available parent, but clearly I’m wrong.”

“I’m useless since I can’t seem to make my family happy.”

But when you thought about it rationally, when your shock faded away, you realized:

“I need some parenting help so I can figure out how to be a more supportive parent.”

You’ve made every effort to be a good parent, but when you think about it

You’re at a loss for how to help your child thrive.

It doesn’t matter how prepared you were, you did not expect to flounder when the time came to finally be supportive. You truly thought you’d sail through parenting, but you’re sure now that you need some help understanding your role and your influence in your child’s life.

It’s hard to admit that you’re struggling to be the type of parent you want to be. But all the techniques you thought you’d mastered aren’t putting a dent in the type of pressures your child is facing.

Reality is, a lot of parents have trouble helping their children navigate life. Seeking out parenting help doesn’t mean you don’t know what you’re doing. You are not the only parent to feel useless when it comes to supporting and encouraging their child. We see this every day in our parenting counseling sessions. Being a good parent may require more than you’re currently capable of providing, but that’s OK. You simply need to learn the skills and tools that work for children in today’s environment.

You’re ready to not feel so burdened by parenthood and you’re ready for help defining what a happy and healthy home life looks like.