All of a sudden, you became a parent. They handed you a baby and sent you home from the hospital. No instruction manual. No promise of real support. You feel alone, and overwhelmed by the magnitude of the task you’ve committed to undertake. Even if your kids are older, the enormity of the job remains ever-present. You are navigating the fact that they have access to the internet, and social media, and are more savvy at it than you, their parents. You’re worried about the host of challenges the modern world presents to your children. You’re terrified you’ll repeat past patterns, worried you’ll introduce another generation to the trauma that you suffered, worried about everything and anything that might worry you about being a parent, including how your relationship with your partner has and might suffer with the introduction of this great unknown.

You are not alone, nor are you supposed to navigate parenthood alone. Humans are social creatures, and are meant to support each other, especially in tasks like parenthood. Absent the kind of community that would bestow new parents the lessons of previous generations, you can make use of the support you do have–like a therapist just on the other side of a phone call. 

Together, you can create the kind of community that will help support and strengthen you as you navigate parenthood in any stage. You’ll learn tools and techniques to help you develop a sense of calm and agency in the face of the intense challenge that is inevitable in caring for another. You’ll develop awareness of how your own patterns affect your children, and how your own ability to self-regulate is the mechanism by which your children will learn to regulate their reactions. You’ll learn ways to stay connected and loving with your spouse despite the challenges to your relationship endemic in parenthood. Your therapist can be a part of the village in which you raise your children.