Bringing a new soul into this soul is a joint decision of couples. Then, raising a child is not only a mother’s responsibility, and earning for the family is not only a father’s responsibility. As per traditional parenting1, fathers are only the bread earner, and mothers take the complete care of a child.
This is not the right style of parenting in today’s age. You do not want your child to feed only with one concept that men are money earners, and women make all the sacrifices. Well, both parents should assume equal responsibility to raise a child.
It is an age of conscious parenting2 where you need to have a connection overcorrection. Once you built a good connection with your child, you can automatically correct your child without any toughness.
Today’s kids only need both the parents for their overall personality development. A father’s daily activity is equally important, as a mother.’s It gives them a sense of belongingness, and the child feels secure. They grow up in an environment where both parents should assume equal responsibility.
Every child is unique in their way. Still, they grow up with both parents’ genes. Hence, some characteristics of both mother and father always get transfer to the child. Let the child flow with the situation and condemn strictness. It can turn your child into rigidness.
Gone are the days when a mother will make the kid learn how to cook or how to keep things organized. Now, the father can teach his son how to cook. And, this is where both parents should assume equal responsibility and let them learn that no work is gender-biased. Work is just a little work, and anybody in the family can do it.
Similarly, a mother can go to the office, work for long hours because she is also earning for the family. When a child sees that the mother is living her dream, then the children grow up living their dreams. They understand the meaning of adjustment in a family by observing their parents. Both parents should assume equal responsibility for the baby’s daily care3, medicine, vaccination, and other essentials. If one parent fails to complete it, then the other parent can cope with the situation.
Living in a joint family with grandparents is always an added advantage when both parents are working. The parents can rely on older people in the family when they are at work. But again, it can be dangerous too when two different generations meet one with full of energy and with less power can cause or bring some unforeseen danger.
As parents, you have to understand your responsibility at work and in your family too. This will help you balance in the family. Today we end up living in a nuclear family mostly because of our job commitments. Children are growing up in video calls with their grandparents. Hence, you have too much responsibility and a short time. In such a situation, you need to follow certain steps that can give both parents a sense of confidence.
Planning
This is a stage that needs to start from the early days of pregnancy. Now that you know that a new soul is coming in your life. You can arrange the baby room, items, essentials beforehand to avoid any confusion. You can prepare a checklist, and as per the list, you can continue with all the tasks. It gives a feeling of self-satisfaction that before the baby arrives, you are ready with all
the items that you need as parents and even things that your baby needs.
Planning is still a big part, even when your child is an infant or toddler. Though sometimes babies do not follow any rule book or schedule, yet you should have a backup plan to handle the situation. This takes away the most stress of your life. Working parents need to sort thing well in advance before any emergency arise.
The planning stage keeps the parents in sync, and both of you know what the requirements of your baby are, how the baby reacts with new things, places, situations. Accordingly, you can adjust all the things.
Managing Time
Whether you are working parents or one parent is working, managing time is essential. Time does not wait for you, so if you value time, then time will value you. If you live in a joint or nuclear family, yet it is essential to manage time. Prepare a chart when your baby eats, sleep, take naps, play, and accordingly, you can divide the work, household chores. A smart approach is not to work all day long and get tired. It is about managing time and get things done right.
Somedays can not like other regular days. On those days, you can keep some backup things on kind where your other family members or the other parent can take up the charge. It gives you confidence in work, and you feel proud as parents. With newborns, you need to invest more time to understand the types of cries, and the schedule of your newborn.
Once you are one practice, you can become the master of the activities. You can manage work, baby, and daily activities without any default. Before the situation goes out of control, you can genuinely manage things that will work for you. It will give you the best benefit and will help you effectively in raising a child. When both parents involve their time in a child’s life, it makes a better approach to a child’s life with much more confidence. The child grows up, seeing both the parents actively involved in the upbringing of the child’s life. This is how both parents should assume equal responsibility towards a child.
Understanding Each Other
Before becoming parents, you both were couples. Hence, you must understand each other appropriately. Maybe both of you have a different perspective on life. But when it comes to parenting, you should know each other’s points of view. For the overall development of a child, you both have to agree to the parenting techniques of each other. Then only your kid will get the best parents of life.
When a child sees that parents sync well in their lifestyle, then the kid also grows up with the idea that what a family is. Even if you have arguments, then do not stretch it too long in front of kids. Try to resolve when the kid is not around. As married couples, you have to be very conscious of your kid’s upbringing. The way you mold your child, he will grow up in such a manner.
Learn From Mistakes
A person cannot stay away from mistakes. You are bound to make mistakes. New parents also make mistakes. But, how quickly you learn from your mistakes is the right approach. You should always take a chance that will give you excellent help. It will provide you with a better vision of raising a child. Both parents should assume equal responsibility, can lead to many mistakes. You must rectify these mistakes and try not to repeat them.
Sometimes as parents, you need to experiment with many things. It does not mean that you will not make any mistakes. You should learn from the mistakes and that way you can gain experience in life. Your experience will make you more confident as parents. So, look no further and dive into the parenting journey where both parents should assume equal responsibility towards the child’s upbringing.
Conclusion
These are the few good steps that you can surely follow to make your parenting journey simple and easy. Also, if you do not know anything about parenting, then taking counseling can help both parents should assume equal responsibility for the child. You can start counseling from day one of pregnancy. The early you start, the better you can cope up with the parenting journey.
It surely makes a huge difference in the parenting role. The counselor helps you based on your job, time, and lifestyle. You can perform specific worksheets that can be helpful. You can work on the process of the parenting journey.
Today, parenting is not about correcting yourself. But, it is about adjusting yourself. The way you present yourself towards the kids is much more critical. Your behavior, attitude towards life will shape the kids for the future. Children learn what they see.
They are just a new soul who is dependent on you. As both parents should assume equal responsibility, slowly, you will understand the needs of your kid, demands, and desires. It is a matter of practice that you can handle it with ease and love. You are the first teacher, friend, companion to your child. So, you should know and well educate yourself on how you can manage the kids in terms of equal parenting. Though it does not come with a manual, a little help from a third-party source will not do any harm; instead, it will make the parenting journey smooth.
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- Brudevold-Newman, Andrew, et al. “Study on traditional parenting and child care practices in Zambia.” American Institutes for Research (2018). ↩︎
- Uji, Masayo, Toshinori Kitamura, and Toshiaki Nagata. “Study of the relationship between perceived maternal parenting and self-conscious affects.” Archives: The International Journal of Medicine 2.2 (2009). ↩︎
- Slade, A. R. I. E. T. T. A. “Keeping the baby in mind.” Zero Three 6 (2002): 10-5. ↩︎
Last Updated on by NamitaSoren
