All parents, regardless of whether they work or stay at home with their children, will face pressure and stress at some point in their lives due to the responsibilities that child rearing entails.

In general terms the pressures and stresses faced by today’s parents may involve one or more of the following:

Coping as a single parent

Coping with caring for several children

Coping with a baby who does not sleep

Coping with a baby who cries constantly

Living away from family and friends and therefore having a limited support network

Employment problems

Financial problems

Drug or alcohol problems

Relationship difficulties

Coping with a child who has a disability or ill health

Suffering from a disability or ill health yourself

Being a very young or inexperienced parent.

Some people under pressure may be able to cope quite admirably most of the time. Others may react altogether differently under such stresses and, if other factors such as exhaustion, worry, low self esteem, guilt or depression are added to the responsibilities, it is not surprising that some parents find family life difficult to cope with.

Accepting imperfection

If the truth were really known would children actually want their parents to be able to cope with everything, to know all the answers and never put a foot wrong? Of course not! They would have an impossible role model to follow and they would end up feeling as if they had failed miserably trying to achieve the impossible.

Although parents should be aware of the pressures and stresses of everyday life and should strive, where possible, to improve their parenting skills, they also need to remember that parenting should be fun. Enjoy your children. Don’t set your standards too high and you won’t feel as though you are a terrible failure if you snatch two hours’ sleep in the afternoon because you have been awake all night with a crying baby. Will anyone really notice whether you have vacuumed the living room carpet that day? Let your common sense prevail and use your time sensibly.