The moment they are born can be terrifying.
Even though there are 7.4 billion people on Earth, a new baby can be profoundly life-transforming to a family from the moment he or she makes the first cry for milk. The amount of care the tiny people need usually shakes up their parents’ schedules and becomes the focus of their time and energy. The former leisure time after work becomes hours packed with feedings, laundry and diaper changes.
And, especially if it’s the first baby, it’s more than a little frightening to the new parent who is suddenly tasked with introducing the infant to the world around them and guiding the child through all the stages of life. While in the beginning, it’s mainly about food and warmth, the real challenges come later, when the child starts to assert herself or himself as an independent person.
Later come fresh challenges as the child tries to excel in school classes or simply manage high-pressure social situations with their peers. At this stage, parents are usually chauffeuring children to sports and other activities – another area of parenting fraught with anxiety. How many activities are too many? Do they need musical training to excel in math? Should they try out for every team or focus on just one sport? Which school will help the child get into the right university?
Overwhelmed and trying to earn a living, some parents are running from home to daycare to work to daycare to activities with hardly a minute to spare, but they still take time to seek advice from parenting experts. Their anxiety leads them to spend millions in the parenting advice industry, which emerged about 300 years ago, when physicians wrote books telling parents what to do. Today, Google the words “parenting advice” and you’ll instantly see 65 million results.
But there is a simple truth about parenting: Most parents already know what to do. Instinctively, we understand our own children and, if we have been paying attention all along, know how to guide them or help them to the next stage. Most of parenting is common sense. If children eat apples, of course they’ll be healthier than if they fill up on gummie bears. If they work hard at their homework, of course they will excel. If you spend time with them, of course they’ll be happy.
What parents need is the confidence to listen to the voice inside their head, not the proliferation of experts on the Internet.
– Editor Christine Endicott
