You never stop worrying about your children, says person-centred counsellor, Hannah Bolton,

"No matter how old your child/children are, there's always things you will worry about. As your children grow older, these worries change over time," she said.

"When your child/children are younger it may be breastfeeding vs bottle feeding or when to start weaning. As they become older, your worries may turn into are they hitting their milestones or getting unwell with recurrent illnesses?

"As they start school, it may be are they achieving a good level of development, are they making friends or even comparing your child to other?"

There's always a pressure in society for children to grow and learn, embracing society's norms and conforming to what is seen as, 'normal' behaviour, says Hannah.

"If your child sometimes doesn't display this behaviour, there can be judgements like, 'oh they are having a tantrum, 'someone's not happy,' or looking into behaviours to see if there is a concern.

"Having experience with my two children I'm sorry to have to say that I've felt judged as a parent, or my child has been judged on their behaviour."

Sometimes I have felt that children are not allowed to be children anymore, says Hannah. "Things can be over analysed when it may just be your child's personality, or they may just be having an off day.

"Children are the same as adults - we all have days where we are tired, angry, stressed or feeling low in mood for no reason. A child's behaviour can reflect this too.

"As your children get older your worries may surround exam season, peer pressure and bullying. If this is something that you would like support with, please feel free to contact me."

"As parents, there always seems to be a pressure to make sure you are 'parenting correctly,' and setting your child up to be the best version of themselves.

"The truth is there is no manual for parenting. As parents we may get it wrong sometimes and that is ok - we are learning as we go along.

"We are doing the best that we can. From one parent to another, let's embrace that we are trying our best. So, instead of judging or forming opinions about other people's children or about other parents, let's be kind to one another.

"We all have struggles that not everyone knows about and sometimes people hide these away. We never know what is going on behind closed doors. We don't have to be the perfect parent - they don't exist and neither does the perfect child."

If you or anyone you know is struggling with pressures of parenting, please feel free to contact me.

You can contact Hannah by visiting her website, calling her on: 07768198184, or emailing: [email protected]. 

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