Top 6 problems for new parents

These are the difficulties that new parents often encounter when raising a child.

Raising a son or daughter is a challenge in itself. If we add inexperience to this, the result can be psychologically draining.

For this reason, in this article we will take a look at a summary of the problems that first-time parents often encounter and which can be and that can overwhelm them emotionally.

The most common problems in new parents

Although the fact of having a child is not something extraordinary statistically speaking, it does not stop being an experience as intense as, in most of the cases, demanding. Knowing how to keep up with the tasks to be done in order to offer the little one everything he or she needs is not easy.

These are the most frequent forms of discomfort in parents who have to adapt to the need to raise children for the first time.

1. Stress and fatigue

Fatigue is very common in first-time parents trying to adapt to the pace of raising and educating a child (in combination with other responsibilities), and this is also reflected in mood. is also reflected in the mood of the parent.. To this discomfort is added stress, born of this dynamic in which fathers and mothers are accustomed to always being alert in order to support and protect their son or daughter. As we will see, both stress and fatigue produce a chain effect that feeds the appearance of other problems.

Lack of sleep

Facing the challenge of parenthood for the first time is absorbing from the very first moment, which implies that if the use of time is not optimized, the hours that should be devoted to sleeping soundly are affected.. For example, the accumulation of tasks can make us go to sleep late, and even if technically we go to bed when it is time, the activation of our brain prevents us from falling asleep properly.

3. Fear of doing it wrong

The fear of possibly harming our son or daughter is another source of psychological wear and tear to take into account.. However, although the idea that children are physically and psychologically delicate is justified in many cases, in others it is based on unfounded myths and fears. For this reason, it is important to be well informed and to have supervision in matters of upbringing and support for the development of the little ones.

4. Lack of sexual desire

The combination of fatigue and lack of time can take its toll on a couple's sex life.which is often displaced by the urgencies of day-to-day life.

5. Different educational styles

The differences in terms of values and priorities when educating the son or daughter may lead to discussions that need to be managed.. It is important that this situation does not become a battle of egos.

6. Asymmetries in the distribution of household chores

Differences in taking care of household responsibilities can easily arise in couples with little experience in raising children. At the beginning it is difficult to have a global vision of everything that needs to be done and to reach a point of balance of the effort that both must make.

What to do?

Cognitive-behavioral therapy has proven to be an effective tool in overcoming the problems we have just seen. This type of psychological intervention is very useful for adapting to the challenges that come our way throughout life, both from the establishment of new patterns of behavior and from the creation of new ways of interpreting reality and managing emotions.

Through weekly sessions, parents who have problems adapting to their role with their first child develop skills in emotion management, dialogue and consensus building, time management, and the establishment of goals and priorities, as well as strengthening psychologically healthy lifestyle habits.

Looking for psychological assistance?

If you are interested in having the professional support of a psychologist, I invite you to get in touch with me.. Mi nombre es Tomás Santa Cecilia y soy psicólogo experto en el modelo de intervención cognitivo-conductual; trabajo ayudando a particulares y a profesionales tanto de manera presencial (en mi consulta de Madrid) como online por videollamada.

Referencias bibliográficas:

• Berk, L. E. (2012). Infants and children: Prenatal through middle childhood (7 ed.). Allyn & Bacon.
• Blasi, C.H.; Bjorklund, David F. (2003). Evolutionary Developmental Psychology: A New Tool for Better Understanding Human Ontogeny. Human Development. 46(5): 259 - 281.
• Snowman, J. (1997). Educational Psychology: What Do We Teach, What Should We Teach? Educational Psychology, 9, pp. 151 - 169.