How to find a parent further down the path

So many times, we don’t know what to do as a parent. We just come up against something that we’ve never had to face and have no idea what to do! I did a video and blog post about one strategy last week, “When you Don’t know What to do as a Mom,” and this week thought I would share another strategy. I hope you enjoy the video about this.

Find a parent that is ahead of you on the path of parenthood.

This comes in handy. I’ve always managed to make friends with moms who are ahead of me. Usually, it wasn’t “on purpose.” We just became friends. But they share so much experience with me that it helps reduce anxiety and questioning when I get stuck as a parent. This started early when I couldn’t get the baby to sleep for more than 15 minutes at a time. I would call up and they would say, “Try this or this or this!”

As the kids moved into school age, they had invaluable advice about how to navigate teachers and classrooms and other kids.

Now that I have a senior, my friends ahead of me have calmed me down so many time if I start panicking about the college application process.

And believe me, I’m passing all this wisdom on to my friends with kids younger than mine as well as my clients.

So how do you make a friend ahead on the path?

Find a parent ahead on the path!

This is a big question, yes? The larger question is how do you make friends in general? But the smaller answer is start looking for them. Look for them in your prenatal yoga class when you’re pregnant. Look for them on the playground. Be courageous about approaching another parent or mom in the grocery store or the play space. Look for them at church or temple or your spiritual gatherings or home. Look for them at school events or at pick-up or drop-off.

This does take some courageousness about approaching another parent and asking them to coffee or the playground or to have a drink together sometime. If your kids are younger, you can set up a playdate and get to know them that way.

Being an introvert myself, I know that this can be difficult for introverts. Often what helps is just a thought to hold onto. The thought can be as simple as, “Everyone needs help in this life. Everyone needs help in parenthood.” Use that to propel you forward to extend the invitation and start the friendship. And then just be open. It may work out. It may not. You may love this person. You may not. But you’ll never know if you don’t try (says mom!).

Although my office is in Broward county and the Fort Lauderdale / South Florida area, I work with people all over the world. If you would like the magic of custom hypnosis or help in being the mom or dad you want to be, schedule a free consultation to see if we’re a good fit to work together using the link below or above.

Yours in health,
Dr. Liz

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