So you say you're feeling overwhelmed by this whole parenting thing? Your child is intense, strong-willed, has big emotions, and you are just hanging on? Or maybe they are slow to warm up and getting them to do anything new feels like a struggle... Wherever you are, it can feel isolating when everyone around you seems to have it so easy. And they're so full of advice, but it just doesn't work for your child. Welcome, friend. The Lifeline is my weekly-ish email for parents just like you. You are not alone, and you don't have to grit your teeth and just get through it. You can change the dynamic within your family. You can reclaim your life. One day at a time. One email at a time. I can't wait for you to join us.
Times of Transition
Reader,
January is typically a busy month around here. We're coming out of the holiday season and diving straight into my daughter's birthday.
This year, January has been a month of transition.
After two four-day weeks at school, schools in our area were cancelled for a week due to weather conditions.
So we stayed home.
It was like another winter break, and it brought with it another transition back to school. It also gave us another chance to observe our daughter living life without school and consider what it might look like for us.
By the end of the week, we knew. We weren't going back.
We've spent the past four months trying to make school work for our family. She has friends there, she loves her teacher, and yet, she wasn't happy. And even as we worked with her (and her teacher!) to solve the problems she was facing, we continued to see a shell of who she truly is - until she had time away from school.
We are homeschoolers again, and it's such a relief.
I have been on a rollercoaster of emotions, and now I am faced with a different sort of transition (trying to sort out running a business and homeschooling), but I'm finding my footing.
I've been processing my feelings and I'm finding my footing again.
Why am I sharing this?
Well, for one thing, I wanted to offer an explanation for why I might be quieter than usual right now. I haven't quite figured out how to make the podcast fit with my new routines.
But I also wanted to offer some reflection on making big changes to support your child's mental health, and I want to encourage you to catch yourself if you're thinking, "Must be nice for them; I could never make it work."
It's hard to make a change like this, even when we are quite sure it's the right thing to do. It's easier to stay in a situation that is not working than it is to make a change and face the unknown.
The unknown comes with the possibility of making things worse. When we make a change, we risk making a mistake, right? It's definitely not the path of least resistance.
Because of that, we often wait to make change for our families until it becomes bad enough to justify the change. We wait until we feel certain that the alternative we are opting into couldn't possibly be worse.
But you don't have to go that route.
You don't have to wait until your world is on fire to decide to do something differently.
You can choose a new path forward, now.
And listen, I know homeschooling is not for everyone, but in 2024 it's more accessible than ever. I know of single working moms who have found a way to make it work.
The fantastic thing is, even if homeschooling isn't the answer, there are so many possibilities, so many ways you can make a change for the better.
It might feel scary, but when you know that's your brain's way of keeping you safe and dealing with known dangers, it doesn't have to be a problem.
Your partner in parenting,
Julia McGarey
PS
Sometimes changing your circumstances is exactly the right thing to do.
Just remember that old ways of thinking and being come with you wherever you go.
That's where coaching comes in.
I can help you make the changes you need to support your child, whether they are external, internal, or (most likely) a blend of both.
The whole process starts with a video consultation to see if we make a good team. Learn more here.
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The Lifeline
So you say you're feeling overwhelmed by this whole parenting thing? Your child is intense, strong-willed, has big emotions, and you are just hanging on? Or maybe they are slow to warm up and getting them to do anything new feels like a struggle... Wherever you are, it can feel isolating when everyone around you seems to have it so easy. And they're so full of advice, but it just doesn't work for your child. Welcome, friend. The Lifeline is my weekly-ish email for parents just like you. You are not alone, and you don't have to grit your teeth and just get through it. You can change the dynamic within your family. You can reclaim your life. One day at a time. One email at a time. I can't wait for you to join us.
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Hello Reader, I'm sending you this email from a new email address - partneredpathparenting@gmail.com. You might want to add it to your contacts to make sure you're it doesn't go to your junk folder. But that's just housekeeping. The real reason I'm writing today is to share something that happened with my daughter recently and how we worked through it. It's a fantastic example of coaching and being coachable, and it illustrates exactly why I love what I do. These principles work for kids and...
Hello Reader, I'm thinking about all of you raising siblings this morning. When you are raising siblings and one of them (or more!) brings intensity to the table, it is natural to think about how it impacts the others. They need more of your attention, so you worry about the others getting less. They disrupt the flow of family life, so you worry about the way it will impact the others. And the others tell you it's not fair. They question what you're doing. They want things to change. And you...